April and May 2025 Author Readings and Community Events at The Seattle Public Library
release date: March 27, 2025
The Seattle Public Library’s spring calendar is blooming with inspiring and enriching events, from a talk with Shamichael Hallman about “Meet Me at the Library” on April 14 to a discussion with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer” about his much-anticipated new book.
All Library events are free and open to the public. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar. Many of these events are supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. See the Seattle Reads calendar for additional community events related to this year’s Seattle Reads selection, “You’re Still Here,” edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón.
APRIL AUTHOR AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
- Seattle Reads: Travelling Music: Honoring the Life of Colleen J. McElroy. Sunday, April 6, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Local poets and writers read from the work of Colleen McElroy, an internationally known Northwest poet who took in the world and spun tightly composed verses about her life and travels. Registration is required.
- Shamichael Hallman discusses “Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy.” Monday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Town Hall Seattle. Drawing from Hallman’s experience at the Memphis Public Library and his extensive research and interviews across the country, “Meet Me at the Library” offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and the role it could play in healing our divided nation. Partners include Elliott Bay Book Company, Soapbox Project and Town Hall Seattle. Registration is required.
- Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and Peter Steinhauer: "Enduring Spirit of Vietnam.” Tuesday, April 15, 2025, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and photographer Peter Steinhauer, author of “Enduring Spirit of Vietnam” and other monographs, will highlight how the arts have played a powerful role in healing and reconciliation. Partners include the Vietnam Society, Peace Trees Vietnam, Friends of Little Saigon and Elliott Bay Book Company. Registration is required.
- Celebrate "Duel" with Jessixa and Aaron Bagley. Saturday, April 19, from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 a.m. Lake City Branch. Join us to hear 2024 Washington State Book Award-winning children’s author and illustrator Jessixa and Aaron Bagley discuss their debut graphic novel “Duel,” about a rivalry between middle-school sisters that culminates in a fencing duel. Registration is not required.
- Seattle Reads: The KUOW Book Club with Katie Campbell, Laura Da’ and Cedar Sigo. Thursday, April 24, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. KUOW Book Club’s Katie Campbell sits down with local poets Laura Da’ and Cedar Sigo, whose work is featured in this year’s Seattle Reads selection, “You Are Here,” an anthology edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. It is also the April 2025 selection of the KUOW Book Club. Registration is required.
- Poetry in Public with D.A. Navoti, Troy Osaki and Guests. Tuesday, April 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Celebrate the first event in our new “Poetry in Public” series, curated by poet planner Laura Da’. Through a submission process open to all King County residents, poems inspired by the theme 'Places of Landing' were shared with the public on transit. Registration is required.
- Día de los Niños/Día de los Libros, Children's Day/Book Day. Tuesday, April 29, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. South Park Branch. Celebremos El Día de los Niños / Día de los Libros con la artista e ilustradora local Olivia Sua, quien leerá Uno Más, One More: A Latino Retelling of an Old Scottish Ballad. Celebrate Children’s Day / Book Day with local artist and illustrator Olivia Sua, who will read “Uno Más, One More: A Latino Retelling of an Old Scottish Ballad.” Evento en español e inglés; the event is in Spanish and English. Registration is not required / No se requiere inscripción.
MAY AUTHOR AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
- New Yorker editor Michael Luo discusses “Strangers in the Land.” Friday, May 2, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company. In a captivating debut, Michael Luo, executive editor of The New Yorker, tells the story of a people who, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, migrated by the tens of thousands to a distant land they called Gum Shan ––Gold Mountain. Luo follows the Chinese from these early years to modern times, as they persisted in the face of bigotry and persecution, including a series of federal laws that marked the first time the United States barred a people based on their race. Registration is required.
- Viet Thanh Nguyen and Shawn Wong discuss “To Save and Destroy.” Wednesday, May 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer,” will discuss his new book with fellow author and scholar Shawn Wong. “To Save and Destroy” is a moving and unflinchingly personal meditation on the literary forms of otherness and a bold call for expansive political solidarity. Partners include the Elliott Bay Book Company. Registration is required.
- Seattle Reads: Lynda Mapes and Rena Priest Discuss “The Trees Are Speaking.” Thursday, May 8, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Seattle Times reporter Lynda Mapes and poet Rena Priest will discuss Mapes’ new book, “The Trees Are Speaking,” which takes readers on a bicoastal journey to connect the present and future of Pacific Northwest forests. Registration is required.
- Seattle Reads presents Ada Limón. The 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón will travel to Seattle to speak at several events related to this year’s Seattle Reads selection, “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.” Central Library, Level 1 Auditorium: Friday, May 16, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m, The event will also feature Seattle’s new Civic Poet Dujie That, who will read a poem to start off the evening. Green Lake Branch: Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Former Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest will read a poem to start. Columbia Branch: Saturday, May 17, from 3 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. Youth Poet Laureate Janae Lu will open the event with a poem.
- Moira Macdonald and Bethany Jean Clement discuss "Storybook Ending: A Novel.” Wednesday, May 28, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Seattle Times arts critic Moira Macdonald will discuss her debut novel, "Storybook Ending," with Seattle Times food critic Bethany Jean Clement. When an anonymous note left in a book finds the wrong recipient, two women — a lonely remote worker and a widowed single mom— find themselves in an unusual love triangle with a handsome local bookstore clerk. Registration is required.
MORE INFORMATION
The Library believes that the power of knowledge improves people's lives. We promote literacy and a love of reading as we bring people, information and ideas together to enrich lives and build community. Find more events at www.spl.org/Calendar.
Contact the Library’s Ask Us service by phone at 206-386-4636 or by email or chat at www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.