Fall in Love With These Author Readings and Community Events at The Seattle Public Library
release date: February 13, 2024
From Susan Lieu’s “The Manicurist’s Daughter” to Shaun Scott’s chronicle of Seattle sports history, “Heartbreak City,” the Library is spotlighting much-anticipated new books by local authors and more in the next two months.
All Library events are free and open to the public; events requiring registration are noted below. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar.
The Library offers a range of other free events and workshops, including story times, Homework Help, business workshops, and civic and community programs.
AUTHOR AND COMMUNITY EVENTS
- Ijeoma Oluo discusses “Be A Revolution: How Everyday People Are Fighting Oppression and Changing the World―and How You Can, Too.” From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, February 27. The event will be held at Langston Seattle, 104 17th Ave S., Seattle. Join us to celebrate the publication of Oluo’s new book, an examination of the current state of anti-racist activism in America. “Be A Revolution” is both an urgent chronicle of this important moment in history, as well as an inspiring and restorative call for action. Oluo will be in conversation with Nikkita Oliver. Registration is required. Thanks to our partner Langston Seattle, and our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation.
- Leslie Jamison and Claire Dederer discuss Jamison’s new book “Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story.” From 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m., Tuesday, March 5. Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium. From the bestselling author of “The Recovering” and “The Empathy Exams” comes “Splinters,” Leslie Jamison’s riveting story of rebuilding a life after the end of a marriage. Jamison will be in conversation with Seattle author Claire Dederer, author of “Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma.” Thanks to our partner Third Place Books, and our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is required.
- Shaun Scott discusses “Heartbreak City” with Kurt Streeter. From 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 10. Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium. Seattle-based writer and organizer Shaun Scott discusses his latest book, “Heartbreak City: Seattle Sports and the Unmet Promise of Urban Progress,” in conversation with New York Times reporter Kurt Streeter. In “Heartbreak City,” Shaun Scott takes the reader through 170 years of Seattle history, uncovering at every step of the journey how sports have both united Seattle in pursuit of triumph and revealed its most profound political divides. Thanks to our partners University of Washington Pressand Third Place Books. Registration is not required.
- Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore and Jordy Rosenberg discuss “Touching the Art.” From 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m., Wednesday, March 13. Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium. A mixture of memoir, biography, criticism and social history, “Touching the Art” is queer icon and activist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore’s interrogation of the possibilities of artistic striving, the limits of the middle-class mindset, the legacy of familial abandonment, and what art can and cannot do. Sycamore will be in conversation with Jordy Rosenberg, author of the novel “Confessions of the Fox” and the forthcoming hybrid work “Good Material.” Registration is required.
- Susan Lieu discusses “The Manicurist’s Daughter” with Daniel Tam Claiborne. From 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m., Tuesday, March 19. Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium. Susan Lieu is a Vietnamese-American, Seattle-based author, playwright, and performer who took her autobiographical solo theatre show “140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother” on a 10-city national tour. “The Manicurist’s Daughter” is her emotionally raw memoir about the crumbling of the American Dream and, as a daughter of refugees, her search for answers after her mother dies during plastic surgery. Lieu will be in conversation with Daniel Tam Claiborne, a multiracial essayist, multimedia producer, and author. Thanks to our partner Third Place Books, and our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is required.
- Morgan Parker and Jane Wong Discuss "You Get What You Pay For." From 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Wednesday, March 20. Central Library, Level 1 – Microsoft Auditorium. Join us to hear poet and writer Morgan Parker discuss her memoir-in-essays "You Get What You Pay For" with Jane Wong. In “You Get What You Pay For,” the award-winning author of "Magical Negro" traces the difficulty and beauty of existing as a Black woman through American history, from the foundational trauma of the slave trade all the way up to Serena Williams and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Thanks to our partner Elliott Bay Book Company, and our sponsors The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is required.
- Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford: “Writing the ‘Other’ and Sensitivity Reading.” From 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m., Thursday, March 28. Central Library, Level 1 - Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for the first event in a new guest-curated series by Seattle writer Nisi Shawl (“Everfair,” “The Kinning”), who co-authored “Writing the Other: A Practical Approach.” During this first event, authors Nisi Shawl and K. Tempest Bradford discuss what “Writing the “Other” means and go into detail about one tool: the sensitivity read. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is required.
WRITING EVENTS AND BOOK CLUBS
- El Club Latino. From 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday, March 10. Central Library. Level 8 - Meeting Room. Únase al Club de Lectura de la Biblioteca Central. El libro de este mes es: "Cien cuyes.” No se requiere inscripción.
- Writers Read. From 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 10. Columbia Branch meeting room. Join us for a monthly reading series featuring an open mic and selected author readings from local writers. Registration is required.
- Low Vision Book Group. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., Tuesday, March 12. Central Library, Level 4 - Room 6. Join our Low Vision Book Group for a discussion of "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah. Registration is not 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.