Located in Spokane, Washington, Latah Books is one of the premier book publishers in the American West
06/26/2025
A poignant essay by Latah author Rue Matthiessen about the impact her father--the revered author Peter Matthiessen--had on her development as a writer and his inspiration for a character in her recently released novel, Woman with Eyes Closed.
This Father’s Day, I celebrate the unexpected gift he gave me—not just the love of words, but the example of a life built around them.
06/26/2025
Delighted to share this glowing Foreword Review of Atomic Pilgrim! Due out July 16th.
Atomic Pilgrim: James Patrick Thomas’s incisive memoir "Atomic Pilgrim" recalls his 6,700-mile pilgrimage to witness, reveal, and protest the true human costs of nuclear weapons. A child during the Cold War, Thomas recalls sirens calling students to rehearse...
06/17/2025
We are delighted to announce that Rue Matthiessen's mesmerizing and indelible literary thriller--Woman with Eyes Closed--is officially available today! Based on the real 2012 art heist of several masterworks, this is beach reading at its finest.
You can meet Rue and get a signed copy of Woman with Eyes Closed at the Bridgehampton Barnes & Noble on June 21st, the Bridgehampton Library on August 1st, or the East Hampton Library on August 9th. Enjoy!
06/17/2025
Check out Latah author Leslie Absher's latest piece in The Boston Globe's Sunday Magazine!
You can snag your copy of her acclaimed memoir, Spy Daughter/Queer Girl, at www.latahbooks.com/store, Bookshop.org, Amazon, or your favorite indie bookstore.
The day my mom accused my dad of being a spy, I wanted to share more. But my family was big on silence.
06/09/2025
Join author Rue Matthiessen at the Bridgehampton Barnes & Noble on June 21st at 2 p.m. where she will be signing copies of her sexy new art heist novel "Woman with Eyes Closed." This is beach reading at its finest, a literary thriller set among the dunes of the East End!
"...especially for East End readers, Woman with Eyes Closed will longingly resonate, recalling a time before luxe buildings and big money art acquisitions came to dominate a once genuine artists’ community. And the novel has — no spoiler alert — a lovely ending."
~Joan Baum, Sag Harbor Express
06/04/2025
Join bestselling author Rob Phillips at the Columbia Center Barnes & Noble in Kennewick where he will be signing copies of his thrilling Luke McCain mystery series set in Eastern Washington. Saturday, June 14th from 11-2pm.
Follow the adventures of Luke McCain, a Washington State Fish and Wildlife officer, as he solves crimes of poaching, drug trafficking, and murder in the rugged wilderness of Yakima County. With his loyal K-9 partner, Jack, McCain uses his tracking skills and deep knowledge of the outdoors to assist local law enforcement. The series blends police procedural action with outdoor adventure, featuring realistic Pacific Northwest settings and fast-paced mysteries. Fans of C.J. Box and Nevada Barr will enjoy these wilderness-driven crime stories!
05/23/2025
"In these days when it seems like we are constantly discussing how the world can come crashing down around us at any given moment for any one of a thousand equally terrifying reasons, we often forget about the ever-present danger of nuclear weapons. In Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America’s Darkest Nuclear Secrets, James Patrick Thomas seeks to remind us that, as Catholics, we are always invited, if not obligated, to take a stand against the ever-present and ever-growing danger posed by nuclear weapons."
In his forthcoming memoir Atomic Pilgrim, James Patrick Thomas recounts his cross-continental pilgrimage from Washington State to the Holy Land and his later activism back home. Writing for The Jesuit Post, Luke Lapean, SJ reflects on how the memoir provocatively asks whether true success in the str...
03/31/2025
We are ecstatic to announce that Mitch Friedman's stirring and profound memoir/guide on strategy -- Conservation Confidential: A Wild Path to a Less Polarizing and More Effective Activism -- is now available for pre-order!
"A legend in the conservation community, with myriad landmark successes over his decades of activism, Mitch Friedman distills the lessons he has learned. Brutally honest, poignantly reflective, and beautifully written, Conservation Confidential is the open-hearted story of a life well-lived."
~Denis Hayes, CEO of the Bullitt Foundation, author of Cowed, and national coordinator of the first Earth Day in 1970
"Older generations of activists owe it to their successors to pass down what they've learned, a charge Mitch Friedman forthrightly fulfills in these pages! His advice won't please everyone, but it demands engagement from anyone who cares about the wild world around us."
~Bill McKibben, author of Here Comes the Sun and co-founder of 350.org
Conservation Confidential: A Wild Path to a Less Polarizing and More Effective Activism is a memoir and guide on strategy for activists from Mitch Friedman, a national leader in the conservation movement and founder/Executive Director of Conservation Northwest
03/06/2025
Cascade Witness -- the 8th in Rob Phillips' bestselling Luke McCain series -- is now available for audiobook! Listen today via Audible, iTunes, and Amazon. Enjoy!
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03/03/2025
Latah is elated to announce that James Patrick Thomas's soul-stirring memoir -- Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets -- is now available for pre-order!
James Patrick Thomas’s path toward nuclear disarmament began on Good Friday, 1982, when he and his fellow peace pilgrims started walking away from the Trident Nuclear Submarine Base near Seattle. Their Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage would span 6,700 miles across the United States and nine other countries, each step aimed at ending the nuclear arms race.
After two years on the road, Jim continued his pursuit of peace and disarmament. Back in Spokane, Washington, Jim turned his attention toward the Hanford plutonium factory—one of the original Manhattan Project sites just 110 miles from his home. Over the next two decades, Jim helped uncover stunning revelations about Hanford’s toxic regional impact and its role in our nation’s nuclear weapons complex.
Atomic Pilgrim is the story of how one person’s faith, actions, and persistence can impact seemingly immovable systems and hold even the most powerful bureaucracies to account.
Atomic Pilgrim is author James Patrick Thomas's memoir of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimage (a 6700-mile walk across the United States and nine other countries) and the author's subsequent quarter-century spent investigating radioactive pollution from the production and testing of nuclear weapons, most...
02/25/2025
The latest novel in Rob Phillips' bestselling Luke McCain series -- Cascade Witness -- is available today!! If you're in the Yakima area, you can snag an autographed copy at Inklings Bookshop from 4-6:30pm, where Rob will be signing copies. Snacks and refreshments provided. Otherwise, copies are available via the Latah online store, Amazon, Bookshop.org, your favorite indie bookstore, and elsewhere. Enjoy!
02/17/2025
Join bestselling author Rob Phillips at Inklings Bookshop on Feb. 25th, 4-6:30pm, where he will be signing copies of his latest Luke McCain novel -- Cascade Witness! Snacks and refreshments included. See you there!
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Located in downtown Spokane, Washington, Latah Books is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to the publication of meaningful, well-crafted books and to helping fill the interstitial spaces in our literary community.
We are proud to collaborate with numerous award-winning and bestselling authors, and we especially enjoy supporting the careers of writers typically underrepresented and overlooked in today’s literary ecosystem: authors from rural and small-town America, authors from working-class and blue collar backgrounds, incarcerated authors, and authors of color. While we can only publish a small percentage of the manuscripts we receive through our traditional publishing program, our mission is to support as many emerging authors as possible through our writing workshops and Indie Support program.
Why Latah?
A Nez Perce word, Latah (pronounced LAY-tə) is the name of the creek along which most of our staff has lived, worked, recreated, meditated and fallen in love for many years. Latah Creek is a modest but vital stream flowing onward to greater waters. We can't imagine a more fitting name for the spirit of our enterprise, and for honoring the legacy of those who cultivated this land before us.
Why Nonprofit?
Meaningful literature is essential to a thriving, democratic society, yet many of the most enlightening and innovative books cannot generate enough revenue to be published successfully with a traditional, market-driven approach. Latah Books was granted nonprofit status to help ensure that quality literature is available to readers, regardless of profit. Our 501(c)(3) status allows us to expand on the success of our traditional publishing program while unlocking vital book projects that require alternative funding sources, such as longform investigative journalism, books by prisoners, community collections, and reissuing important out-of-print books. Being a nonprofit also allows us to better support community literacy through writing workshops, book donation drives and other creative initiatives in development.
