Decemberists lead singer Colin Meloy published his first book, The Wildwood Chronicles, a young adult novel set in Portland, Ore., in 2011. Illustrations were added by his wife, Carson Ellis, who also created the distinctive artwork on the “Mysterious Benedict Society” books. A New York Times review praised "The Wildwood Chronicles," calling it a “richly satisfying weave of reality and fantasy,” although the reviewer also cautioned that the novel's bike-riding heroine could occasionally get “almost too Portlandy.”
