Bookmarks Presents Kate Bowler

Bookmarks is thrilled to host Kate Bowler for her latest book, Joyful, Anyway, on April 8, 2026!

Spend an evening with Kate Bowler—bestselling author, Duke professor, and expert at telling the truth about being human—in conversation with nationally bestselling author Virginia Evans. Together, they will discuss joy that doesn’t require us to pretend everything is fine. Expect laughter, honesty, and the rare relief of being told the truth: you can’t always be happy—but you can be joyful, anyway.

Tickets are $35 (plus taxes & fees) and include a pre-signed copy of the book as well as access to the event. Please note there is no public signing or meet and greet opportunity at this event.

Bookmarks has the pleasure of hosting bestselling authors throughout the year at events that bring an audience of 500+ readers. These off-site events are held in larger venues, and the ticket price includes a copy of the author's book. If you ever see one of your favorite authors featured for a Bookmarks Presents event, get your tickets early, because they go quickly! Some recent Bookmarks Presents featured authors include Fredrik Backman, Erik Larson, Anne Lamott, Stacey Abrams, and Chris Paul. Click here for more information about event series at Bookmarks.

Have any questions? Check out our page and email [email protected] for further inquiries.

Bestselling author and Duke University professor Kate Bowler reveals the surprising magic of joy—and how we can access it even when happiness feels out of reach.
Joy won’t cure you, but it will carry you.
After surviving a stage-four cancer diagnosis, Kate Bowler knew she was supposed to be grateful. She was alive. Blessed, even. But still she ached—for more connection, more surprise, less resentment on an ordinary day.
So she went looking for joy. Not the toxic-positivity kind. Not a 5-step plan. But the type that sneaks in unexpectedly, seemingly out of nowhere. A lemur sunbathing. A belly laugh at a funeral. A dive into the Atlantic with a shark wrangler.
Witty and honest, in Joyful, Anyway, Bowler shows how joy can surprise us—even in the middle of pain, boredom, and longing.
This is not a book about fixing your life. It is about how we can all find more—feel more—by making room for small, extraordinary moments.
For anyone who has ever felt stuck or achy for meaning, who has been undone by loss, or who believes that joy is just out of reach and wants, simply, to have more fun, Joyful, Anyway is a delicious, insightful tour through the questions that sit in the deepest part of our souls. It proves that for every time we ask is this it?, joy will answer: There is more.

Kate Bowler is the four-time New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason; No Cure for Being Human; Good Enough; The Lives We Actually Have; Have a Beautiful, Terrible Day; Blessed; and The Preacher's Wife. She hosts the popular podcast Everything Happens and writes the Substack of the same name. A Duke University professor, she earned a master's of religion from Yale Divinity School and a PhD at Duke University.

Virginia Evans is from the east coast of the United States. She attended James Madison University for her bachelor’s in English literature, as well as Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, for her master’s of philosophy in creative writing. Now she lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and her Red Labrador, Brigid. The Correspondent is her debut novel.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

First Baptist Church, 501 West 5th Street, Winston-Salem, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Get App