April and May 2026 Author and Community Events at The Seattle Public Library

Spring is a wonderful time to check out author and community programs at the Library, from One Book, One Coast programs that explore the history of Japanese American incarceration to an evening with Laurie Frankel and Nancy Pearl on May 13 to a KUOW Book Talk with Seattle author Sonora Jha on May 21.

Find all our book-related events, including a variety of book and writing programs, in our Authors and Books calendar. Find information and registration through the event links below.

All Library events are free and open to the public. Many of these events are supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is not required unless noted.

UPCOMING AUTHOR AND COMMUNITY EVENTS

• One Book, One Coast: Densho - Looking Back and Looking Ahead. Saturday, April 4, from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. In honor of Densho's 30th Anniversary, Densho founder Tom Ikeda and Executive Director Naomi Kawamura will showcase Densho's oral history archives, explore how their work has changed over the last 30 years, and why it's more important than ever. Registration is required.

• One Book, One Coast: Frank Abe discusses "Literature of the Japanese American Incarceration." Wednesday, April 8, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. As part of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, writer, historian and editor Frank Abe will lead a conversation about an anthology that compiles nearly 70 selections of fiction, poetry, essays, memoirs, and letters that tell a shared story of the struggle to retain personal integrity in the face of increasing dehumanization. Registration is required.

• Margaret S. Barrie discusses "Auntie M. Speaks." Wednesday, April 15, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. High Point Branch. Author Margaret Barrie will lead a discussion of her memoir about her childhood and beyond in a predominantly Black community –– segregated by white politics –– who created a village in Seattle’s Central District, testament to the resilience of the community and the power of nature to heal.

• An Evening With Audiobook Narrator Julia Whelan. Wednesday, April 15, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Award-winning audiobook narrator, screenwriter, and actor Julia Whelan will bring one of her own books to life, “Thank You for Listening,” with a live reading. Registration is required.

• Katharine K. Wilkinson discusses “Climate Wayfinding.” Thursday, April 16, from 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Visionary climate leader Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson offers a compassionate and empowering guide to navigating a changing world. Join Dr. Wilkinson for a dynamic book experience, immersing in the wisdom of “Climate Wayfinding” and the beauty of poetry, art, and song.Registration is required.

• KUOW Book Talk with Molly Olguín. Thursday, April 23, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. As part of our spring KUOW Book Talk series, Seattle-based writer Olguín will discuss her award-winning collection “The Sea Gives Up the Dead,” which reimagines myths and fairy tales through a queer lens, exploring the borders between fantasy and reality, love and loss, and the monstrous and the human. Registration is required.

• David Szalay Discusses "Flesh.” Monday, April 27, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company (1521 10^th Avenue, Seattle). David Szalay will discuss his Booker Prize-winning novel "Flesh," a propulsive, spare, and deeply contemplative book about a man whose life is derailed by a series of events he’s unable to control.

• El Día de los Niños / El Día de los Libros / Children’s Day / Book Day. In honor of Día, events at several Library locations will celebrate children, families, and reading, emphasizing the importance of literacy for children of all linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
  • Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to noon. Central Library, Level 1, Faye G. Allen Children’s Center. Enjoy a story time in Spanish celebrating children, families and reading. There will be refreshments and a craft activity. Event is in Spanish.
  • Tuesday, April 28, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. South Park Branch. Community members will share the voices of their ancestors through stories, and music in Indigenous languages from Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. Event is in Spanish and English.
  • Saturday, May 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Beacon Hill Branch. Experience the Puerto Rican tradition of the vejigante and the rhythm of bomba music with Grupo Bayano. Event is in Spanish and English.

• Amara Lakhous Discusses "The Fertility of Evil.” Tuesday, April 28, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 4, Room 1. Influenced by the author’s return to Oran after years spent living in Italy as a political refugee, this gripping historical novel weaves a crime story that uncovers the hidden networks and masterminds that render a complicated picture of Algeria's shadowy history. Registration is required.

• Maria Dolan and Kathryn True discuss “Seattle Field Guide.” Saturday, May 2, from 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Dolan and True will discuss their new “Seattle Field Guide,” which shares easy-to-follow ideas for mushroom hunting in city parks, biking through salmon restoration sites, identifying lichens in historic cemeteries, and more adventures. After the talk and book signing, there will be an optional guided walk to the waterfront. Registration is required.

• One Book, One Coast: Tamiko Nimura discusses "A Place for What We Lose: A Daughter's Return to Tule Lake." Tuesday, May 5, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. As part of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, local author Tamiko Nimura will discuss her new memoir, a deeply affecting memoir of reckoning with a father’s death and the Japanese American incarceration. She will be in conversation with UW Professor and author Shawn Wong and Caitlin Oiye Coon, a Yonsei whose family was also at Tule Lake.

• Laurie Frankel and Nancy Pearl discuss “Enormous Wings.” Wednesday, May 13, from 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Local literary luminaries Frankel and Pearl will discuss Frankel’s new book. “Enormous Wings,” an urgent novel about motherhood and family, sex and love and friendship, and how those bedrocks can still change, and then change everything. Registration is required.

• Natalie Porter discusses "Girl Gangs, Zines, and Power Slides.” Thursday, May 14, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Skateboarding librarian and author Porter shows how a once-equitable sport became re-branded as a boys-only pursuit in the 1980s and 1990s, and emphasizing the importance of validating stories that have been buried, dismissed, or ignored. Registration is required.

• KUOW Book Talk with Sonora Jha. Thursday, May 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Acclaimed Seattle author Sonora Jha will discuss her latest novel, “Intemperance” with KUOW host Katie Campbell. “Intemperance” is a sweeping and intimate story inspired by an ancient Indian ritual and the complexities of aging, love, and self-possession in a modern world. Registration is required.

• Neena Viel discusses "I’ll Watch Your Baby.” Tuesday, May 26, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 4 - Room 1. In conversation with Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann, Neena Viel will discuss “I’ll Watch Your Baby,” a suffocating and sharp narrative horror novel for fans of Victor LaValle and “The Reformatory.” Registration is required.

• One Book, One Coast: Scott Kurashige Discusses “American Peril.” Saturday, May 30, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. As part of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, Kurashige will discuss his new book, “American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism,” about the long history of anti-Asian violence in America and how we can learn to build lasting solidarity. Registration is required.

• One Book, One Coast: George Takei Watch Party. Sunday, May 31, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Library, Greenwood Branch, Southwest Branch, online. As the culmination of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, join us for a watch party at several Library locations or online of a livestream event with George Takei, actor, activist, and author of “They Called Us Enemy.” He will be in conversation with LA County Librarian and Director, Dr. Skye Patrick and Long Beach Public Library Director Cathy de Leon. Registration required only for the online program.

About The Seattle Public Library

The Seattle Public 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 empower 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 spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information. Find out more about our future plans at www.spl.org/StrategicPlan.