'THE BEST FROM SZYMANSKI'S WHEELHOUSE.' Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence Ken Szymanski is at it again, this time with a 15-story summer-themed collection. This August, he and musician Derick Black, pictured, will hit the road in celebration of Summertime Souvenirs. (Photo via WPR)

We’re calling this the Szymanski Surprise: Eau Claire Writer-in-Residence Ken Szymanski just announced his latest book – on the same day it releases. Today, July 16, Summertime Souvenirs is officially up for grabs.

Szymanski’s latest collection contains 15 feel-good summer-themed stories while mixing in what is perhaps the only downfall of summertime: its fleeting nature.

This August, Szymanski and frequent collaborator and musician Derick Black will hit the road for “The Traveling Literary Jukebox Experience Highway 29 Summertime Souvenir Tour” (say that five times fast). The five-city tour will be a literary-reading-meets-living-room-concert, with Szymanski sharing stories from his extensive back catalog as well as Summertime Souvenirs.

From Summertime Souvenirs's back cover:

"Why buy souvenirs? Because people want to remember a place, a feeling, a moment—and they need a little help. With Summertime Souvenirs, author Ken Szymanski sets out to do what souvenir coffee mugs and T-shirts can’t: tell the stories from life’s small turning points, especially ones that might otherwise fade away. From Tilt-A-Whirl rides to softball fields, from lake shores to wedding dance floors, Szymanski turns fleeting memories into lasting stories.

But Summertime Souvenirs is more than a memory collection—it’s about what those moments leave behind. And it’s an invitation to dust off your own forgotten summers—the ones that shaped you in subtle ways. From childhood to parenthood, from fresh starts to the final innings, summer always goes too fast.

Don’t let it slip away without a souvenir.”

As described by Szymanski, audiences will select story topics from a jukebox card which he will read, while Black will play a song to match the reading. For the first 100 books sold, a free souvenir sticker will also be thrown in.

Fellow Eau Clairian authors Andrew Patrie (Clumsy Love: A Father’s Journey Parenting His Transgender Daughter) and Matthew Mabis (Letters to Matt LaFleur) praised Szymanski’s latest collection.

“Forget the gimmicky trinkets. Ken Szymanski’s Summertime Souvenirs isn’t a shoebox full of time-capsule knickknacks stashed in the back of the closet," Mabis writes. "With each footrace down memory lane, he reminds us that totems and talismans — like Lake Superior agates and autographed baseballs — have no power without a backstory. Both musing and amusing, he reminisces his way through the bygone dog days to find deeper truths about his friends, his family, and himself. Summertime Souvenirs offers the best from Szymanski’s wheelhouse: hometown transcendentalism shimmering with nostalgia.”

The Traveling Literary Jukebox Experience tour will visit Owen, Marathon City, Wausau, and Green Bay – all on Aug. 14 – and Chippewa Falls on Aug. 28. More information related to the tour will soon be shared at www.kenszymanski.com, where the book will also be available for purchase (it is stocked locally at The Local Store, 205 N. Dewey St., Eau Claire). 

Ken Szymanski is Eau Claire's Writer-in-Residence (2020-2025) and is the author of Home Field Advantage and Sit Down and Stay Awhile (and is a longtime Volume One contributor). Szymanski has been featured on Wisconsin Public Radio's "Wisconsin Life" and has hosted many literary-focused events in the Chippewa Valley including literary concert experience, The Love Never Stops Tour.