Latest Posts - Michael N. McGregor

THE LAST GRAND TOUR One of Kirkus Reviews’ “Best Indie Books of January”

Kirkus Reviews sent out its list of the “Best Indie Books of January” this morning and The Last Grand Tour was one of just three novels (and six books in total) on it.

You can view the whole list here and read Kirkus‘s starred review of The Last Grand Tour here.

This honor comes just 13 days before the novel’s release on January 28. On that day, Powell’s Books in downtown Portland, OR, will be hosting the book’s launch. At the event, I’ll be in conversation with the brilliant documentary filmmaker Brian Lindstrom. Brian’s latest film is the fascinating “Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill.” Click on the title to watch a trailer for it.

A huge thank you to Powell’s for hosting this celebration!

A few hours before the Powell’s event–at 3 p.m. on the 28th–I’ll be participating in a panel discussion at my old university, Portland State, called “From Manuscript to Marketplace: The Last Grand Tour’s Collaborative Journey.”

Here are the details:

Panel Discussion, From Manuscript to Marketplace: The Last Grand Tour’s Collaborative Journey

Tuesday, Jan. 28 | 3pm | FMH 302

Discussion with PSU Creative Writing alumni from local small press Korza Books and Professor Emeritus Michael N. McGregor about their collaborative work to prepare McGregor’s Kirkus-starred and highly acclaimed debut novel, The Last Grand Tour, for its release that day. Michael and the Korza staff will give attendees an inside look at the journey from manuscript to published book, focusing on the practical steps of manuscript evaluation, revision and editing, cover and page design, promotion and marketing, and more.

My co-panelists will be Korza Books founder and editor Michael Schepps, editor Molly Simas, and book designer Olivia Croom Hammerman.

Thank you to the PSU Creative Writing program for hosting us!

Willamette Week Newspaper Features THE LAST GRAND TOUR as One of Four “Standout New Books by Pacific Northwest Writers”

The Last Grand Tour is one of just four new “standout” books featured in Oregon Winter, Willamette Week‘s annual winter activity magazine. The guide can be picked up for free at locations all around Portland, OR.

In an article titled “These Standout New Books by Pacific Northwest Writers Will Transport You This Winter,” WW writer Michelle Kicherer recommends Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir Reading the Waves, John Larison’s novel The Ancients, Judy Nahum’s poetry collection I Have Wrestled with the Way Clouds Weep, and The Last Grand Tour for “cozying up indoors this winter.”

“The Last Grand Tour,” Kicherer writes, “offers a grand escape this winter that might make you grateful to be home under a blanket.”

You can read the full article online here.

Thank you, Willamette Week!

A Celebration of the Triumph of Freedom Over Tyranny

The festive atmosphere as the Wall came down in 1989 (image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Thirty-five years ago today, I stood in my apartment in Seattle and watched images like this on my TV with tears in my eyes. I’d been in East Berlin just weeks before and seen new friends there shy away from Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing point to the West, while I passed through freely. My tears were tears of joy for them.

My forthcoming novel, The Last Grand Tour (publication date: January 28, 2025), takes place in Germany and nearby countries in the years right after the Wall fell, when there was hope and even belief everywhere that freedom would always eventually triumph over tyranny.

1989 was an extraordinary year, and that day, November 9, when the Wall came down, was the most extraordinary of all.

“Vivid and Sweeping…a Gripping, Entertaining, and Ultimately Transporting Novel”

A beautiful new endorsement of THE LAST GRAND TOUR by Chelsea Bieker, author of the new breakout bestseller MADWOMAN.

“[Bieker’s] writing is raw, breathlessly confessional, brilliant in its depiction of the long shadows cast by domestic violence, the constant tension carried by survivors.”

– The New York Times Book Review

You can pre-order my novel by clicking here:

https://bookshop.org/a/84534/9781957024103

And order Chelsea’s wonderful book by clicking here:

https://bookshop.org/a/84534/9780316573290

Or ask for these books at your favorite independent bookstore!

Book Launch for THE LAST GRAND TOUR at Powell’s Books on January 28!

The publication-day launch for The Last Grand Tour is set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at Powell’s Books in downtown Portland!

I hope you’ll be there!

If you can’t come, you can pre-order the book from Powell’s and they’ll send you a signed copy right after the event. Just click here.

I’m delighted to have documentary filmmaker Brian Lindstrom interviewing me that night. A few months ago, I attended a pre-release showing of Brian’s latest film, Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill, and was blown away. It’s a thoroughly fascinating look at the difficult times of a terrifically talented singer-songwriter whose name and songs might have become as common as those of Joni Mitchell or James Taylor if her life had gone differently.

Lost Angel is available on Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime. And Brian’s earlier documentary, Alien Boy: The Life and Death of James Chasse, is available on Kanopy. He is currently working on a documentary about the marathon program at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, OR, and a follow-up to his 2016 film Mothering Inside about the Family Preservation Project at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, OR.

I hope you’ll come out on January 28 to celebrate the release of The Last Grand Tour into the world!

KIRKUS REVIEWS Gives THE LAST GRAND TOUR a Starred Review!

screenshot of Kirkus Reviews starred review of The Last Grand Tour.

The first review of The Last Grand Tour is out–and it’s a very good one: a starred review from Kirkus Reviews!

Click here to read the whole review.

For those who don’t know about Kirkus starred reviews, here’s what one author wrote about them:

“Kirkus stars are like diamonds: extremely rare. A starred review is the top of the top, a prestigious, Holy Grail that highlights books of “exceptional merit.” A starred review represents outstanding writing.”

This kind of attention is huge for a first novel from a small publisher. I’m deeply thankful to the unnamed reviewer.

“A Haunting Story About Love and Disillusion”

You can pre-order The Last Grand Tour by clicking on the name of one of these great independent bookstores hosting book-related events:

Powell’s Books, Portland, OR (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)

Edmonds Bookshop, Edmonds, WA (Thursday, January 30)

Village Books, Bellingham, WA (Thursday, February 6)

Third Place Books Ravenna, Seattle, WA (Tuesday, February 11)

You can also pre-order from:

Bookshop.org

Amazon

“A Journey of the Heart Filled with Longing and Brio”

You can pre-order The Last Grand Tour by clicking on the name of any of these great independent bookstores that will be hosting book-related events:

Powell’s Books, Portland, OR (Tuesday, January 28, 2025)

Edmonds Bookshop, Edmonds, WA (Thursday, January 30)

Village Books, Bellingham, WA (Thursday, February 6)

Third Place Books Ravenna, Seattle, WA (Tuesday, February 11)

You can also pre-order from:

Bookshop.org

Amazon

Scenes from My Time in Cold-War Russia in 1986

In the fall of 1986, my buddy Steve Smith and I spent two weeks in St. Petersburg (then called Leningrad) and Moscow with a student exchange group. Mikhail Gorbachev, who would eventually dismantle the Soviet Union, had been in power only a year, but the students we met were already testing the possibilities for more freedom.

Because Gorbachev’s reign was so new, conditions throughout the country remained the way they’d been for decades. One of my first realizations upon seeing the relative poverty and the poor conditions in which people lived was that the US government had been overselling the Soviet threat for years. This feeling was enhanced by how generous (though reticent) the people we met were.

That’s me in the blue coat–and is that a KBG agent taking my picture?

Among the things I remember most clearly were the lines everywhere for basic goods, the empty grocery stores, and the restaurant where I tried to order off a menu full of items, only to be told again and again that they didn’t have my choice. Finally, I asked what they did have and the waiter pointed to two or three things.

I shot only slides in those days, and I took these iPhone stills with the slides set on top of a light table, so they aren’t as clear as they might be–but you get the picture, so to speak.

Locals heading into a Russian Orthodox church

That Time I Listened to the World Series in Class

When I was a kid, you could send in bubblegum wrappers and get prizes. I found this envelope that held one of them in an old box yesterday. (Notice the cost for mailing a package then: six cents.)

It may have held the tiny transistor radio I took to my grade school to listen to the baseball playoffs while in class. My teacher never noticed the wire going up to my ear.

That had to be about this time of year. The team I was cheering for was the Cincinnati Reds, one of whose stars, Pete Rose, died a couple of days ago. The other stars were Joe Morgan and Johnny Bench.

The Reds lost the World Series to the Oakland A’s in seven games that year.

I chewed a lot of bubblegum in those days!