May 2026 Author and Community Events at The Seattle Public Library

The Seattle Public Library’s May calendar is blooming with author and community programs, from an evening with Laurie Frankel and Nancy Pearl on May 13 to a KUOW Book Talk with Seattle author Sonora Jha on May 21 to watch parties on May 31 of a talk with George Takei, as the capstone of the One Book, One Coast program.

Find all our book-related events, including a variety of book and writing programs, in our Books and Authors 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

• El Día de los Niños / El Día de los Libros / Children’s Day / Book Day. 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. 
• 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.
• SIFF Movie screening: "Reservation Redemption" & "Talliyah." Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) for a screening of "Reservation Redemption," and the short film, "Talliyah." Registration is required. Tracy Rector, a filmmaker, curator, and the founder and co-director of 4th World Media Lab, will facilitate a Q&A following the film. Registration is required.
• 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.
• ZAPP Zine Collection Open Hours. Saturdays, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., May 16 through June 27. Central Library, Level 7 Zine Room. Explore the ZAPP Zine Collection of over 30,000 zines, minicomics, and other small press periodicals.
• “Living with Conviction” Community Conversation. Sunday, May 17, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. In conjunction with the Level 8 Gallery exhibit, “Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State,” join us for this special event featuring panelists living with court-imposed debt. The program supports Living with Conviction's commitment to educating and breaking down the barriers between people with criminal histories and those without. 
• 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.
• Film screening of “Since I Been Down.” Sunday, May 31, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for a screening of “Since I Been Down,” a documentary follows the effort of Kimonti Carter and other incarcerated individuals as they break free from their fate and create a model of education that is transforming their lives, their communities, our prisons, and our own humanity. The event will include a moderated discussion with filmmaker Dr. Gilda Sheppard, Kimonti Carter, and Tonya Wilson, also featured in the film.  
• 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.
• Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State Exhibit. On display at the Green Lake Branch gallery and the Central Library Level 8 gallery during open hours through July 26. In partnership with formerly incarcerated individuals, this exhibit confronts how Washington courts have been sentencing people not only to prison but also to a lifetime of debt. Through photographic portraits, stories, and multimedia, the exhibit goes beyond polarizing headlines and statistics, shining a light on this injustice by sharing stories of our common humanity.

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.