Author Readings Presented by The Seattle Public Library in May
release date: April 26, 2018
The Seattle Public Library will feature writers and their work at several locations throughout Seattle in May. Event details with times and locations are outlined below.
Sara Blaedel – 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 2 at the Ballard Branch 5614 22nd Ave. N.W., 206-684-4089. Best-selling Danish crime author Blaedel reads from and discusses her latest novel, "The Undertaker’s Daughter," as part of Nordic Seattle's Nordic Literary Series. Ilka Jensen's father suddenly dies and leaves her an American funeral home he owns. When she goes to Wisconsin to sell it, she stumbles on an unsolved mystery and a killer on the loose.
Naomi Hirahara and Heather C. Lindquist – 2 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. Sunday, May 6 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636. Edgar Award-winning author Hirahara and editor Lindquist will discuss "Life After Manzanar" and examine the period just after the WWII incarceration of Japanese-Americans, when internees returned home to find their communities profoundly changed. Following will be a conversation with Tom Ikeda, Densho’s executive director.
African-American Writers’ Alliance Showcase – 7 p.m. to 8:20 p.m. Thursday, May 10 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636. Join us for a showcase of local voices, celebrating the poetry and prose of the African-American Writers Alliance.
Yaa Gyasi – Seattle Reads author Gyasi will discuss "Homegoing" at three locations and have conversations with a representative from the Seattle arts and literature community. No tickets are required.
- 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 16 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 104 17th Ave. S. – with local writer Lola E. Peters
- 1 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. Thursday, May 17 at the Ravenna-Eckstein Community Center, 6535 Ravenna Ave. N.E. – with local writer Lola E. Peters
- 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 17 at The Seattle Public Library, Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636 – with local arts leader Vivian Phillips
Hallgrimur Helgason – 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, May 23 at the Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W., 206-684-4089. Icelandic author Helgason discusses his novel "Woman at 1,000 Degrees" as part of Nordic Seattle's Nordic Literary Series. It tells the story of Herra Björnsson's life – one that saw her in Denmark before the war, orphaned in Germany during World War II, fleeing to Argentina after the war, and from then on searching for happiness with others in many countries.
Partnerships and Sponsors
The Nordic Literary Series is presented in partnership with the Nordic Museum and Secret Garden Bookshop.
Hirahara and Lindquist's event is presented in partnership with Densho and Elliott Bay Book Company.
Seattle Reads is presented in partnership with Northwest African American Museum, Langston, Black Heritage Society of Washington and the African-American Writers' Alliance. The program is made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and The Wallace Foundation, with support from media sponsors The Seattle Times and KUOW 94.9 Public Radio, and Vintage Books.