Wisconsin's Oldest Bookstore
Events at Janke Book Store
Dec 03, 2023 Meet Jan Brett 10:00 AM
It is with great excitement that Janke Book Store of Wausau, Wisconsin has been selected as a stop on the 2023 JAN BRETT WINTER WONDERLAND TOUR. To accommodate the large crowd, we will be hosting Jan Brett at the Wausau Elk’s Club Ballroom at 414 Scott Street, Wausau, Wisconsin, on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2023 at 10 am.
Jan will start with a drawing presentation (lasting approximately 20-30 minutes) related to her book, COZY, and talk about her research trip to Alaska.
A book signing will follow in the ballroom. Jankes will be accepting pre-sold hardcover book orders. As orders are received, either in person or telephone, this will dictate the line order. For example, the first person to pre-order a book(s) will be the first in line. The crowd size will determine whether there is time to sign pre-sold books. We cannot guarantee that pre-solds will be signed, however, we can guarantee the pre-sold’s will receive a signed bookplate. And fans are welcome to have as many signed bookplates as they would like.
Please arrive early: First 100 families in line will receive a free signed Jan Brett poster.
Jan’s tour bus will be parked in front of the Elk’s Lodge. It is wrapped in artwork from her books. Your family is welcome to take a photograph next to the bus.
Meet Hedgie, Jan’s favorite character from The Mitten and The Hat. Have your photo taken with Hedgie.
Photos will be permitted, but we will be unable to do posed photos with Jan in an effort to keep the autograph line moving.
We will have treats and activities for the kids to create while waiting. Stop in or call 715-845-9648 to prepay your Jan Brett book orders. Monday-Saturday 9-5.
Dec 14, 2019 12:00 to 2:00
The Yellow Scarf
Meet Carol Jean Baker, author of The Yellow Scarf, on Saturday, December 14 from 12:00 to 2:00 at Janke Book Store.
Dec 08, 2019 12:00 to 2:00 PM
Stevens Point Brewing Company
Meet John Harry, the author of Stevens Point Brewing Company, on Sunday, December 8 from 12:00 to 2:00 PM.
Oct 27, 2019 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
100 Year Party!
Sunday, October 27th, please join us at the Rothschild Pavillion from 1 - 4 pm for a PARTY!
Janke Book Store is celebrating 100 years!
All are welcome to join family and friends for this celebration. The Janke family thanks the community for supporting them for the past 100 years!
Enjoy the music of piano virtuoso Dan Larson while sipping on a root beer float and munching molasses cookies.
View displays of books and historical artifacts from 100 years of bookselling business.
Take you photo with a vintage 1919 Model T.
Prizes and Giveaways!
Proclamation by Mayor Mielke
"Turning the Pages of Janke Book Store" Presentations at 2 pm and 3pm.
This event if free and open to the public.
Oct 19, 2019 11:00 to 2:00 PM
Fiddling With Fate
Meet Kathleen Ernst, author of Fiddling With Fate, on Saturday, October 19 from 11:00 to 2:00, at Janke Book Store.
Oct 08, 2019 6:30 PM
The Last Gold, based on the book Munich to Montreal
This Event will be held at the Center for Civic Engagement at UWSP at Wausau.
This event is part of the series: A Walk in Their Shoes.
Hear the inspiring story of Wendy Boglioli, member of the 1976 Gold Medal Olympic Womens Swim Team. The book based on this tumultuous period in Olympic Swimming history is : Munich to Montreal, Women's Olympic Swimming in a Tarnished Golden Era written by Casey Converse.
Sep 29, 2019 i:30 PM to 2:30 PM
Thousand Miler: Adventures Hiking the Ice Age Trail
This event will be held at the Marathon County Public Library.
This event is part of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
What's it like to hike more than 1,000 miles across Wisconsin? Find out from someone with first-hand knowledge during the Central Wisconsin Book Festival!
Author Melanie Radzicki McManus spent 36 days hiking the entire length of Wisconsin's Ice Age Trail - and in doing so, joined the "Thousand-Miler" club. During this CWBF event, McManus will take the audience on that journey with her (from the comfort of their chairs, of course) as she walked through the state's forests, prairies, farms and some far-flung small towns. A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.
Free and open to the public, no registration required. For more information about this and other CWBF events, call 715-261-7230 or go to mcpl.us/cwbf.
Sep 29, 2019 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
Dead Big Dawg
This event will be held at Trail's End Lodge.
This event is part of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
One of Wisconsin's most popular authors is coming back to join us during the Central Wisconsin Book Festival!
Victoria Houston, the mind behind the Loon Lake fishing mystery series, spoke to a packed room at our first festival in 2017 and we're excited she'll join us again!
This time around, she'll join us at Trails End Lodge in Wausau, right next to the Big Rib River - a perfect spot to talk about a fishing mystery! Houston will share the real-life inspiration for the newest Loon Lake mystery, Dead Big Dawg. A Q&A with the audience and book signing will follow the talk.
Free and open to the public, no registration required. Call 715-261-7230 for more information.
Sep 28, 2019 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM
Wisconsin State Parks
This event will be held at the Marathon County Historical Society.
This is an event of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
Learn more about the extraordinary geology and history of Wisconsin's state parks during the Central Wisconsin Book Festival!
Author Scott Spoolman will take us on a journey in words and visuals through 28 state parks, forests and natural areas. With an in-depth dive into natural history, he'll show how geologic phenomena shaped Wisconsin and discuss the evolution of flora and fauna and human activities in the state. A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.
Free and open to the public, no registration required. Call 715-261-7230 for more information.
Sep 28, 2019 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Madison in the Sixties
This event will be held at the Marathon County Historical Society.
This event is part of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
Whether you lived through the 1960s, or you're a history buff yearning to learn, join us for a talk about the scene in Wisconsin's capital city in the Sixties!
Stuart Levitan, author of "Madison in the Sixties," will discuss issues that dominated the decade, including landmark civil rights laws, urban renewal and antiwar protests, and highlight specific events such as the Black Studies Strike and Mifflin Street Block Party Riot. A Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.
Free and open to the public.
Sep 28, 2019 2:30 PM to 3:30 PM
Paris by the Book
This event will be held at the Marathon County Public Library.
This event is part of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
The Central Wisconsin Book Festival welcomes award-winning Wisconsin author Liam Callanan to join us for a reading of his work!
Callanan's most recent novel, "Paris by the Book," drew rave reviews and is based on his family's own trip to the City of Lights in 2012. He's also the author of "The Cloud Atlas," "All Saints" and "Listen & Other Stories." Callanan will read some his work, and we'll have plenty of time for audience questions! A book signing will follow the presentation.
Callanan will also participate in a panel discussion with authors Callie Bates and Charles Hughes prior to his solo event.
Free and open to the public, no registration required. Call 715-261-7230 for more information.
Sep 27, 2019 7:30 PM to 8:30 PM
Hanif Abdurraqib: Readings From
Held at the Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art.
An event of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival
The Central Wisconsin Book Festival is thrilled that poet, essayist and cultural critic Hanif Abdurraqib will join us for one of our festival's headline events!
Abdurraqib, who hails from Columbus, Ohio, will read from his newest collection of poetry, "A Fortune for Your Disaster," which will be published in September from Tin House.
According to Tin House, the book is "about how one rebuilds oneself after a heartbreak, the kind that renders them a different version of themselves than the one they knew. It's a book about a mother's death, and admitting that Michael Jordan pushed off, about forgiveness, and how none of the author's black friends wanted to listen to 'Don't Stop Believin'. It's about wrestling with histories, personal and shared. Abdurraqib uses touchstones from the world outside—from Marvin Gaye to Nikola Tesla to his neighbor's dogs—to create a mirror, inside of which every angle presents a new possibility." A Q&A and book signing will follow the reading.
Abdurraqib's first poetry collection, "The Crown Ain't Worth Much," was named a finalist for the Eric Hoffer Book Award and was nominated for a Hurston-Wright Legacy Award. His collection of essays, "They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us," was named a book of 2017 by BuzzFeed, Esquire, NPR, O: The Oprah Magazine, and Pitchfork among others. His most recent book is the New York Times bestseller "Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to A Tribe Called Quest."
Free and open to the public, but this is sure to be a popular event so you can secure your spot(s) through free tickets on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hanif-abdurraqib-at-the-cwbf-readings-from-a-fortune-for-your-disaster-tickets-69355318625?aff=utm_source%3Deb_email%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3Dnew_event_email&utm_term=eventurl_text
Call 715-261-7230 for more information.
Sep 23, 2019 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Life after Hate - Veninga Lecture on Religion and Society
Held at Wausau East High School.
An Event of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
A former white supremacist and a Sikh whose father was murdered in a race-based attack will headline the ninth Veninga Lecture on Religion and Society on September 23, 2019.
As a young man in Milwaukee in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Arno Michaelis was a leader of a worldwide racist skinhead organization. His life turned around when he became a single parent and was shown kindness and forgiveness by the people he once professed to hate. Pardeep Singh Kaleka lost his father in the August 5th, 2012, shooting at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin. In the midst of his grief, Kaleka reached out to Michaelis to try to understand the mindset of the white supremacist who had taken the life of his father and five others. The two quickly formed a strong friendship and have created Serve 2 Unite, an organization that engages students in creative service learning with a global network of peacemakers and mentors to divert young people from extremist ideologies, gun violence, substance abuse, and other forms of self-harm.
Together with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robin Gaby Fisher, Michaelis and Kaleka authored the book The Gift of Our Wounds: A Sikh and a Former White Supremacist Find Forgiveness After Hate, published in 2018. WIPPS is collaborating with the Central Wisconsin Book Festival and this Veninga Lecture will also be the kickoff event for the 2019 festival.
Sep 07, 2019 11:00 to 2:00 PM
The Last Night on the Titanic
Join Veronica Hinke, author of The Last Night on the Titanic, at Janke Book Store on Saturday, September 7 from 11:00 to 2:00 PM.
Apr 07, 2019 1:00 to 2:00 PM
Meet Jerry Apps, author of Civil Conservation Corps
Meet Jerry Apps, author of Civil Conservation Corps in Wisconsin on Sunday, April 7 at 1:00 PM. His talk and autographing session will be held at the Marathon County Historical Society in the Lower Level. Janke Book Store will have copies of the books available for sale at the event. Free and open to the public.
Jan 26, 2019 12:00, 1:00 and 2:00 PM
Winterfest Storytime
Join Sonja and Cooper the Therapy Dog for Winter Fest Storytime on Saturday, January 26, at 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00 PM. at Janke Book Store.
Dec 01, 2018 5:00 PM
Meet Jan Brett
JAN BRETT @ JANKE BOOK STORE Saturday, December 1 @ 5 pm
Cozy up at Janke Book Store with beloved children's author Jan Brett on The Snowy Nap Tour! Jan is bringing the Snowy Nap bus to Downtown Wausau to tell us all about the winter Hedgie didn't want to miss. Join the author and illustrator of The Mitten and many more stories for a presentation, drawing demo, and book signing. There will also be photo opportunities with Hedgie! Throughout the evening, we will be giving away 20 Snowy Nap canvas bags!
Tickets: By purchasing a book(s) through Janke Book Store, you will have an opportunity to meet Jan Brett and have her personalize your book(s). Tickets to this event are available now by coming to the bookstore or calling the bookstore with your credit card. Following the presentation, the number on the ticket will be the sequencing for the autograph line. Time permitting, non-ticketed attendees, may have an opportunity to visit with Jan. Her new book, Snowy Nap, is $18.99.
Please be patient with us, as we anticipate this to be the event of the year. We want everyone to have a good experience!
Oct 11, 2018 4:00 PM to 6:00 pm
Unethical
On Thursday, October 11 from 4-6 PM, meet Ed Wall, author of Unethical at Janke Book Store.
Sep 29, 2018 10:00 AM
Lakeside Companion
On Saturday, September 29, at 10:00, meet Ted Rulseh, author of The Lakeside Companion at Janke Book Store. This program is in collaboration with the 2018 Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
Sep 29, 2018 7:00 PM
The Fall of Wisconsin
The Central Wisconsin Book Festival is happy to welcome Dan Kaufman, author of The Fall of Wisconsin, to discuss his book on the state of Badger politics. This event will be held at the UW Center for Civic Engagement at the UW-SP Wausau Campus. Janke Book Store is a supporter of the Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
Sep 29, 2018 1:00 PM
Our Living Ancestors
Saturday, September 29 at 1:00 PM, meet John Bates, author of Our Living Ancestors at Janke Book Store. This program is in collaboration with the 2018 Central Wisconsin Book Festival.
Sep 08, 2018 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Wisconsin Waterfalls
Saturday, September 8 from 12:00 to 3:00 PM, meet photojournalist Bob Schneider, author of Wisconsin Waterfalls at Janke Book Store.
Sep 08, 2018 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Strawberry Chicken
On Saturday, September 8, from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM, meet Molly Vidas, author of Strawberry Chicken, at Janke Book Store.
Oct 08, 2017 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Dead Spider
Sunday, October 8, meet author Victoria Houston at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum.
Books will be for sale at the museum courtesy of Janke Book Store.
Oct 08, 2017 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Fly Rod of Your Own
Sunday, October 8, meet author John Gierach at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum from 2:00 to 4:00 PM.
Books will be available for sale courtesy of Janke Book Store at the museum.
Oct 07, 2017 5:30 - 7:30 PM
Fly Rod of Your Own
Saturday, October 7, meet author John Gierach at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum from 5:30 to 7:30 PM.
Books will be available for sale from Janke Book Store at the museum.
Oct 07, 2017 11:00, 12:00 and 1:00
Namaste, Great Gray
Saturday, October 7, meet Beverly Davis, author of Namaste, Great Gray. Participate in a storytime and yoga at 11:00 am, 12:00pm, and 1:00pm in the lower level at Janke Book Store.
Sep 30, 2017 3:00 - 4:00 PM
My Two Elaines
Saturday, September 30 at 3:00 PM, meet former Governor Martin Schreiber, author of My Two Elaines, at Janke Book Store.
Books will be available for signing.
Sep 30, 2017 10:00 - 11:00 AM
Badger Baseball
Saturday, September 30, meet Steven Schmitt, author of A History of Badger Baseball: The Rise and Fall of America's Pastime at the University of Wisconsin.
Books will be available for signing.
Sep 09, 2017 2:00 to 4:00 PM
Creating God by Jean Dee
Saturday, September 9, 2017, visit with author Jean Dee. Books will be available for autographing.
Sep 09, 2017 11:00 am to 2:00 pm
Death at Gills Rock
Saturday, September 9, 2017, meet Patricia Skalka at Janke Book Store. Books will be available to purchase.
Sep 07, 2017 5:30 - 7:30 PM
The Love You Find
Thursday, September 7 from 5:00 to 7:30 PM meet author, Kandace Elmergreen at Janke Book Store.
Jan 28, 2017 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00 PM
Winter Fest Storytime
Join Sonja and Cooper the Therapy Dog for Winter Fest Storytime on Saturday, January 28, at 12:00, 1:00, and 2:00 PM. Janke Book Store, Lower Level.
Dec 19, 2016 4:00 - 7:00 PM
Meet Marla McKenna
Monday, December 19 from 4 - 7 meet author Marla McKenna at Janke Book Store
I'm a Secret Superhero will be available for purchase.
Dec 10, 2016 12:00 - 2:00 PM
Meet Jonathan Graham and Pat Lane Diaz
Saturday, December 10 from 12 - 2 PM, meet author Jonathan Graham and illustrator Pat Lane Diaz.
Bright Cold Sunny Day will be available for purchase and autographs.
Dec 10, 2016 12:00 - 2:00 PM
Meet Gary and Mary Carle
Saturday, December 10 from 12:00 - 2:00 PM, meet Gary and Mary Carle.
Copies of their book Where the Brown Things Go will be available for signing from the author/illustrator team.
Dec 03, 2016 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Meet author John Marvin Hanson
Saturday, Dec 3rd - Meet author John Marvin Hanson
HUNTING CAMP 52: Tales from a North Woods Deer Camp
Nov 03, 2016 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Book release party for Heidi Riveron
Oct 23, 2016 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Meet & Greet author Karl Stewart with Walter John Chilson
Meet & Greet author Karl Stewart with Walter John Chilson
SEVENTH CRUISE: A WWII novel based on interviews with local veterans.
Oct 20, 2016 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Book Talk and Signing with author Jack Mitchell
Book Talk and Signing with author Jack Mitchell
WISCONSIN ON THE AIR: 100 Years of Public Broadcasting in the State That Invented It
Jun 09, 2016 3:00PM-5:00PM
Meet & Greet VICTORIA HOUSTON
Mar 10, 2016 4:30-5:30
Meet Mike McCabe
Author of Blue Jeans in High Places
Jan 30, 2016 12:00, 1:00 & 2:00
Story Time with Illustrator Robyn McNaull
HOOT-HOOT, GOODNIGHT
Jan 16, 2016 1:00-3:00
Meet & Greet - Mark Weissman M.D.
BRAINSURGEON
Jan 12, 2016 3:00-5:00
Meet & Greet - Senator Tim Cullen
RINGSIDE SEAT: WISCONSIN POLITICS, THE 1970s TO SCOTT WALKER
Dec 05, 2015 1:00 - 3:00pm
Meet & Greet - Mark Weissman
Author of
Brainsurgeon
Wings on an Angel
Clouds on a Ghost
Nov 28, 2015 1:00-4:00
Meet & Greet - Kathleen Ernst
Kathleen is the author of
The Chloe Ellefson Mysteries:
Death on the Prairie
Tradition of Deceit
Heirloom Murders
Old World Murder
Heritage of Darkness
Lightkeeper’s Legacy
Settler’s Life: Pioneer Life
American Girls books
Nov 02, 2015 4:00-6:00
Meet & Greet - Gary Jones
Doc's Codicil