Writers take the stage at bookstores and events all around town.

Local Events – see below

Local Bookstores

Book Reviews & Coverage

Pictured above: Stephanie Land, author of the best-selling memoir (turned Netflix series) ‘Maid’ and the new memoir ‘Class’, talks with writer Sara K. Runnels at Town Hall Seattle (Nov. 2023). Photo by Chase D. Anderson.  

 

 

Author Events @ Bookstores 

Independent bookstores known for robust lineups of author talks. Most events are free and open. See NWT’s Bookstores page for a fuller list of local stores hosting occasional author visits and community events.

 

Elliott Bay Books  (Seattle – Capitol Hill) 

Landmark independent bookstore with near-daily author events and long-running book clubs; with a small cafe in store. Also sponsors off-site events.  

View upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events @ Elliott Bay:

Allison Pugh — The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World (10/4)

Amanda Helander — Divine Mortals (10/10)

Michael Steven Wilson and José Antonio Lucero — What Side Are You On? (10/11)

Mary Poppins Storytime (co-presented with The 5th Avenue Theatre) (10/12 – afternoon)

Elizabeth Chiarello — Policing Patients (10/14)

Elaina Ellis & Amber Flame (with Jasmine Silvera) — Someplace Generous: An Inclusive Romance Anthology (10/17)

Jon Macy — Djuna: The Extraordinary Life of Djuna Barnes (10/18)

Kelly Goto — Seattle Samurai: A Cartoonist’s Perspective of the Japanese American Experience (10/24)

Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz — The Indian Card (10/28)

Rupi Kaur — Milk and Honey (10/29)

Eddie Ahn (with Daniel Tam-Claiborne) — Advocate (11/1)

Brad Klausen (with Jesse LeDoux) — From a Basement in Seattle (11/11)

Nico Lang with Matt Baume — American Teenager (11/13)

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Select past events: 

Karla Cornejo Villavicencio (with Carolyn Pinedo-Turnovsky) — Catalina (8/5) (Stand-out debut novel)

2024 Jack Straw Writers Group Reading (8/6)

Elisabeth Eaves (with Jamie Harrison) — The Outlier (8/7)

Lola Milholland (with Angela Garbes) — Group Living and Other Recipes (8/8)

Yvie Oddly (with Matt Baume) — All About Yvie: Into the Oddity (8/30)

Coco Mellors (with Laurie Frankel) — Blue Sisters (9/10)

 

Third Place – Seward Park  (South Seattle) 

Bustling neighborhood location of three-store local chain features wide-ranging book clubs, frequent author events, and large selection; with Chuck’s Hop Shop (taps and bottle shop), food, and coffee shop.

View store’s upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events @ Seward Park:

Johnny Compton (with Cherie Priest) — Devils Kill Devils (10/3)

Andie Burke — Fall for Him (10/15)

Frank Abe with Vince Schleitwiler — ‘The Literature of Japanese American Incarceration (10/21)

Melissa Wiesner (with Jo Segura) — Wish I Were Here (10/24)

Mubanga Kalimamukwento — Obligations to the Wounded: Stories (10/28)

Peter Ames Carlin (with Claire Dederer) — The Name of This Band Is R.E.M.: A Biography (11/11)

African-American Writers’ Alliance Poetry Reading (monthly, 2nd Thursdays)

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Select past events: 

Cynthia A. Wilson — Black Civil War Veterans in Washington State: Men of Valor (8/6)

Bookstore Romance Day 2024 (8/17) (all-day event; at all three locations)

Hadley Leggett (with Tara Conklin) — All They Ask Is Everything (8/27)

Eva Walker & Jacob Uitti — The Sound of Seattle: 101 Songs that Shaped a City (8/29)

Release Party for Intermezzo by Sally Rooney (author not in attendance) (ticketed event) (9/24)

Lauren Appelbaum (with Hadley Leggett) — Rachel Weiss’s Group Chat (9/26)

 

Third Place – Ravenna  (North Seattle) 

Cozy neighborhood location of three-store local chain features frequent author events and large selection; with cafe on lower level. 

View store’s upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events @ Ravenna:

Minsoo Kang — The Melancholy of Untold History (10/15)

Magic Monday (performances by magicians) (monthly, 2nd Mondays)

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Select past events: 

Cherie Priest (with Kat Richardson) — The Drowning House (8/6)

Bookstore Romance Day 2024 (all-day event; at all three locations) (8/17)

Sam Sax — Yr Dead (8/19)

Hyeseung Song (with Arlene Kim) — Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl (9/18)

Cathy Yardley — Do Me a Favor (9/20)

Linh Thủy Nguyễn (with Nikki Châu) — Displacing Kinship: The Intimacies of Intergenerational Trauma in Vietnamese American Cultural Production (9/24)

Laura Chow Reeve (with Jane Wong) — A Small Apocalypse: Stories (10/1)

 

Third Place – Lake Forest Park  (north of Seattle)  

First and largest location of three-store local chain features popular author events and large selection; surrounded by shops in Town Center and events with Third Place Commons.

View store’s events here 

Select upcoming author events @ Lake Forest Park:

Sabaa Tahir (with Christine Day) — Heir (10/9)

Margaret Mizushima (with J.A. Jance) — Gathering Mist (10/16)

Hannah Shaw & Andrew Marttila (with Lindy West) — Cats of the World (ticketed event) (10/17)

Shannon Lewis — Slow Burn: An Anthology of Household Horror (10/24)

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Select past events: 

Anna E. Collins (with Jo Segura) — Worst in Show (8/13)

Bookstore Romance Day 2024 (8/17) (all-day event; at all three locations) (read NWTheatre’s review of 5 recent romance novels here)

An Evening with Shorecrest High School’s Tattoo Magazine (poetry & musical performances) (8/21)

Jodi Picoult (with Julia Quinn) — By Any Other Name (purchase & tickets required) (9/12)

Rushie Ellenwood — A Song for Nolan (morning storytime event) (9/15)

Alisa Alering (with Jaq Evans & Leif) — Smothermoss (9/18)

 

 

Headliners 

Talks by touring writers on the area’s biggest stages.

 

Seattle Arts & Lectures  (Seattle – various locations) 

Organization bringing talks by public figures and best-selling authors to local venues.  

View upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events with SAL:

Sandra Cisneros @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (10/8)

Malcolm Gladwell @ Benaroya Hall & streaming (tickets required) (10/16)

Casey McQuiston @ Rainier Arts Center & streaming (tickets required) (10/31)

Robin Wall Kimmerer @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (12/9)

Percival Everett @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (1/23/2025)

Ta‑Nehisi Coates @ Benaroya Hall & streaming (tickets required) (2/18/2025)

Maggie Smith @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (2/27/2025)

Natasha Lyonne @ Benaroya Hall & streaming (tickets required) (3/11/2025)

Abby Jimenez @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (4/3/2025) (Read NWTheatre’s review of 2024 book here)

Hanif Abdurraqib @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (tickets required) (4/9/2025)

Kevin Kwan @ Benaroya Hall & streaming (tickets required) (5/29/2025)

Writers in the Schools (WITS) Year‑End Reading & Celebration @ Town Hall Seattle & streaming (free events) (6/4-5/2025)

Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight @ Common Area Maintenance (free series) (11/20, 1/15/2025, 3/5/2025, 5/14/2025)

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Past events: 

View speaker archive here

 

Seattle Symphony / Benaroya Hall  (Seattle – Downtown)

Arts & culture hub in Downtown Seattle, hosting speaker events in addition to orchestra concerts.  

View upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events:

David Sedaris (tickets required) @ Benaroya Hall (11/10)

See above for Seattle Arts & Lectures events held at Benaroya Hall  

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Select past events: 

Fran Lebowitz (with Claire Dederer) (tickets required) @ Benaroya Hall (9/22)

 

Seattle Theatre Group  (Seattle – Downtown & U-District) 

Arts & culture hub in Downtown Seattle, hosting speaker events in addition to orchestra concerts.  

View upcoming events here 

Select upcoming author events:

Hillary Clinton @ Paramount Theatre (tickets required) (10/20)

Sharon McMahon @ Neptune Theatre (tickets required) (10/30)  

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Select past events: 

Jonathan Van Ness @ Paramount Theatre (12/9/2023) (see NWT’s coverage here)

 

 

Want more? 

See NWT’s robust list of independent bookstores, many hosting book clubs and occasional author events, here

See book reviews and other coverage here