Embracing the Local
Extension Cords and All
Sign In or Register Now to see if this title is available for request.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Bookshop.org Buy on Kobo Buy on WaterstonesSend NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app
1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 10 Nov 2026 | Archive Date 8 Oct 2026
Talking about this book? Use #EmbracingtheLocal #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!
Description
He didn’t set out to become a civic leader, he just wanted a glass of wine. After two, he found himself in charge of a scrappy, all-volunteer Chamber of Commerce in California’s Sierra Nevada foothills.
After twenty years solving complex organizational problems, the challenges should’ve been familiar enough: limited resources, competing priorities, overextended people, and an organization that needed to change.
Embracing the Local: Extension Cords and All follows one year of small-town leadership through a struggling economy, damaged Christmas trees, parade fees, volunteer exhaustion, bizarre phone calls, and at least one situation that sounded suspiciously deep-state for a nonprofit in the Sierras.
Along the way, a man accustomed to finding solutions discovers what actually holds a community together. Beautiful places don’t run on charm alone. They run on tired people, fragile institutions, stretched businesses, thin trust, and the dangerous expectation that someone will always step up.
Funny when it shouldn't be, candid when it needs to be, and never intentionally sentimental, Embracing the Local is about the lure of belonging, the work of community, the limits of leadership, and the cost of helping.
Because loving a place is easy. Serving it well is harder.
Advance Praise
“Cantrell has created a unique perspective and voice in outlining the details of his own leadership efforts and foray into civic activities. His eye-opening, engrossing story will attract readers from general-interest and non-governmental backgrounds alike, and deserves highlight and high recommendation from libraries.”
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
“Cantrell writes in a wonderfully conversational voice, using dry humor to make his admissions about his fixer instinct candid. Cantrell makes civic memoir distinctive by turning volunteer decisions into a model for distributing responsibility, so organizations can continue beyond one leader.”
—Asher Syed, Readers’ Favorite
“Glen Cantrell’s Embracing the Local offers readers a down-to-earth look at what happens when volunteers hit a wall. His voice is honest, and he uses plenty of self-deprecating humor to examine his own habit of trying to fix things without being asked.”
—Dylan Insch, Readers’ Favorite
“The theme is leadership, and it shows how fragile the civic system is. This book has a lot that readers can learn from, and I gladly recommend it.”
—Erick Ramos, Readers’ Favorite
Marketing Plan
Publication: November 10, 2026
Embracing the Local: Extension Cords and All is supported by a coordinated prepublication and launch campaign targeting readers of memoir, narrative nonfiction, civic and community leadership, rural affairs, nonprofit leadership, and place-based writing.
Review & Trade Outreach: Advance review campaign includes NetGalley, Edelweiss+, Kirkus Reviews, Reedsy Discovery, Book-shelfie, Readers’ Favorite, and additional independent review and discovery channels. Embracing the Local has received advance recommendations from Midwest Book Review and Readers’ Favorite, with Midwest Book Review coverage scheduled for October 2026.
Library & Bookseller Outreach: Advance digital review copies are being distributed through NetGalley and Edelweiss+, with outreach to librarians, independent booksellers, and regional library systems. The title is being positioned for both general nonfiction readers and professional audiences interested in community leadership, nonprofit organizations, rural communities, and civic life.
Awards & Recognition: The book is being submitted to a targeted slate of national, regional, independent, memoir, and nonfiction awards through the 2026–27 awards cycle.
Author Platform & Content: Author Glen Cantrell writes at More Taste Than Fortune, with essays and field notes exploring community, leadership, place, books, and the occasionally ridiculous machinery of civic life. Prepublication content and excerpts support discovery without reproducing substantial portions of the book.
Regional & Community Outreach: Outreach will leverage the author’s established relationships with civic organizations, chambers of commerce, community leaders, nonprofit professionals, regional media, and rural-community networks, particularly in California and the western United States.
Bookstore Launch: A featured launch event is planned for Small Business Saturday (11/28/2026) at Pixie’s Books, an independent bookstore in the community featured in the memoir. The event connects the book’s themes of local business, community, and place directly to its launch strategy.
Other Launch & Ongoing Promotion: Publication will be supported by author website content, email and social media promotion, reader/reviewer outreach, regional publicity, speaking and discussion opportunities, and continued post-publication review and award activity.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Ebook |
| ISBN | 9798996901050 |
| PRICE | $8.99 (USD) |
| PAGES | 154 |