Fall 2025 Author and Community Events at The Seattle Public Library
release date: September 9, 2025
This fall, the Library invites you to laugh out loud with guest curator Amy Hirayama; explore the myth of bringing your authentic self to work with Ted Talk speaker Jodi-Ann Burey; and watch a special screening of “She Marches in Chinatown,” just to name a few events on our fall schedule.
All Library events are free and open to the public. Find information and registration through the event links below or at spl.org/Calendar. You can also find many wonderful programs for kids and families at our Kids and Families calendar.
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 EVENTS AND EXHIBITS
- Discovering Hidden Green Lake: A neighborhood Walk-and-Talk with David B. Williams. Sunday, Sept 14, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Green Lake Branch. Join award-winning author and naturalist David B. Williams on a one-mile walk that will explore the historic route of Ravenna Creek (the lake’s original outlet), a Cold War bunker, and how Green Lake was altered to create a bigger park. Registration is required.
- David Armstrong discusses his new book “Broadway Nation: How Immigrants, Jewish, Queer, and Black Artists Invented the Broadway Musical.” Tuesday, Sept 23, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Vivian Phillips will interview David Armstong, Artistic Director Emeritus of the 5th Avenue Theatre, about his new book “Broadway Nation.” The event will also include musical performances by Sarah Rudinoff, accompanied by Mathew Wright.
- Guest Curator Amy Hirayama presents “Comedy Gold.” Wednesday, Sept. 24, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Writer and educator Amy Hirayama has created a fall series that invites us to consider the role of play in collaboration and how collaborative play might help us connect with each other. The opening event, “Comedy Gold,” features short sets from local comedians before a conversation about collaboration in comedy. Registration is required.
- Cruel and ineffective: A conversation about the increased criminalization of homelessness in our city, state, and country. Thursday, 25, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join Josephine Ensign, the author of "Way Home: Journeys Through Homelessness," along with fellow panelists Derrick Belgarde and Sara Rankin, for a discussion on homelessness and criminalization in our communities. Registration is required.
- “She Marches in Chinatown”: Community Screening and Panel. Sunday, Sept. 28, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for a special screening of "She Marches in Chinatown," a documentary about the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team, formed in 1952. The screening will include a video presentation in remembrance of the late director, Della Chen, and a Q&A with the co-producer and Drill Team alumnae.
- Jodi-Ann Burey Discusses “Authentic” with Sonora Jha. Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Jodi-Ann Burey, writer and critic known for her TED talk “The Myth of Bringing Your Full, Authentic Self to Work,” and upcoming book based on the TED talk, delves into the dangers of disclosure in environments that aren’t built for our well-being. Registration is required.
- Changing our Future: Rethinking Education, Justice and Youth. Tuesday, Sept. 30, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wyncote NW Forum at Town Hall Seattle. A panel led by journalist Claudia Rowe explores themes in her new book "Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care." Rowe will be joined by Kaaren Andrews, Dr. Ben Danielson, and Henterson Carlisle to examine the roots of youth incarceration and explore solutions through education and justice reform. Registration is required.
- “Rooted & Rising: Stories from the African American Archive.” Through Sunday, Oct 5, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Central Library, Level 8 Gallery. This exhibit features artwork inspired by a selection of powerful archival materials from the Douglass-Truth Branch's African American Collection that capture the depth and diversity of Black life in the Pacific Northwest. It was curated by local interdisciplinary artist Imani Sims of Vivid Matter Collective.
OCTOBER EVENTS
- Chi-ming Yang, author of Octavia Butler: H Is for Horse. Friday, Oct. 10, from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Elliott Bay Books. An homage to the childhood genius of the legendary Black science fiction writer, Yang’s “Octavia Butler Hi Is for Horse” brings to view a selection of Butler's unpublished writings and drawings, and traces her fascination with human-alien symbiosis to her early empathy with horses and other marginalized creatures. Registration is required.
- Daniel H. Wilson discusses “Hole in the Sky.” Thursday, 16, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Daniel H. Wilson discusses “Hole in the Sky,” a gripping thriller — and Native American first contact story — from the New York Times bestselling author of “Robopocalypse.” Co-presented by Clarion West and Third Place Books. Registration is required.
- Cory Doctorow discusses “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It.” Wednesday, Oct. 22, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. When Cory Doctorow coined the term “enshittification,” now a book, he was not just finding a funner way to say “things are getting worse.” He was making a specific diagnosis about the state of the digital world and how it is affecting all of our lives. Registration is required.
- Clay Vermulm & Tamara Sellman discuss “Rain Shadows” in conversation with Neena Viel. Thursday, Oct. 28, from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Dive into local horror with authors Clay Vermulm and Tamara Sellman and their podcast-turned-book “Rain Shadows: Dark Tales from Washington State.”
- Guest Curator Amy Hirayama presents “Perfect Pairings.” Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. The second event in Hirayama’s fall series invites surprising collaborative pairs to share their secrets about connection across disciplines, learning from each other, and flow and conflict within collaboration.
NOVEMBER EVENTS
- Becky Spratford Discusses “Why I Love Horror.” Thursday, Nov. 6, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Edited by Becky Siegel Spratford, a longtime librarian, “Why I Love Horror” is a captivating anthology featuring essays from celebrated horror writers including Grady Hendrix, Paul Tremblay, Stephen Graham Jones, Josh Malerman, Victor LaValle, Tananarive Due, and Rachel Harrison. With Sadie Hartmann, aka Mother Horror.
- Guest Curator Amy Hirayama presents “Collab-o-Rama." Sunday, Nov. 23, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. As the final event in Hirayama’s fall series, this collaborative play fair will give you a chance to visit different stations and engage in collaborative, generative activities. You’ll walk away with art projects, written pieces/poems, ideas/resources, and hopefully connections to new friends.
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 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 www.spl.org/Ask. Staff are ready to answer questions and direct you to helpful resources and information.