News Release: ‘Seattle Reads’ Program Announces New Artistic Partnerships for ‘Meet the Author’ Events This May
release date: April 27, 2017
The Seattle Public Library will present three featured "meet the author" events this May with Angela Flournoy, author of the 2017 Seattle Reads selection "The Turner House," with special performances by Northwest Tap Connection, a dance studio with a race and social focus, and the African-American Writers' Alliance, a collective of Seattle-area writers of African descent.
Seattle Reads is an annual citywide reading and community discussion program that concludes each year with a series of author events including readings, performances, book signings and discussions.
The Library's literature and humanities program manager, Stesha Brandon, is newly overseeing the program in its 19th year and is excited about the potential these new partnerships bring to the program.
"The Library has worked closely with the community on planning this year's Seattle Reads celebration and I'm thrilled that Northwest Tap Connection and the African-American Writers' Alliance are developing unique performances inspired by this great book," said Brandon. "I think these events are going to be really special and I know their performances will bring another important layer of depth to our conversations around the themes in the story."
Other community partners working with the Library on this year's author events are Langston, Northwest African American Museum and the Black Heritage Society of Washington.
Library events are free and open to the public. Registration is not required for these events but are first come, first served. Doors open 30 minutes prior to event start times.
FEATURED EVENTS THIS MAY
Meet Angela Flournoy at the Columbia Branch of The Seattle Public Library
Flournoy will discuss "The Turner House" from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday, May 8 at the Columbia Branch, 4721 Rainier Ave. S., 206-386-1908 . The African-American Writers' Alliance will perform poetry based on the themes of home and family, in keeping with themes from the novel. A book signing will follow the program and books will be available for purchase through Third Place Books. Limited parking available.
Meet Angela Flournoy at Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute
Join the conversation about this year's Seattle Reads selection, "The Turner House," from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 at the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute, 104 17th Ave. S., 206-684-4758 . This event will feature a discussion and audience Q&A with Flournoy in conversation with visual artist Inye Wokoma and moderated by community arts leader Vivian Phillips. Northwest Tap Connection will perform dance pieces inspired by "The Turner House." A book signing will follow the program. Several options for free lot and street parking are available.
Meet Angela Flournoy at the Central Library
Flournoy will read from "The Turner House," and take audience questions, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11 at the Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium, 206-386-4636 . Northwest Tap Connection and the African-American Writers' Alliance will perform dance and poetry inspired by the novel. A book signing will follow the program and books will be available for purchase through Elliott Bay Book Co. Garage parking is available for $6 after 5 p.m.
OTHER SEATTLE READS AUTHOR EVENTS THIS MAY
Flournoy will also discuss "The Turner House," take audience questions and sign books at the following neighborhood events:
3 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. Tuesday, May 9 at the University Branch, 5009 Roosevelt Way N.E., 206-684-4063 .
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 9 at the Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W., 206-684-4089 .
12:30 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. Wednesday, May 10 at the Southwest Branch, 9010 35th Ave. S.W., 206-684-7455 .
ABOUT 'THE TURNER HOUSE'
"The Turner House" is a compelling consideration of the price we pay for our dreams and the ways in which our families bring us home. Growing up in California, author Angela Flournoy often visited Detroit where her father grew up. The fiction she read never depicted the experiences of people like her family - working class African-Americans who made up the majority of the city. "The Turner House" explores this American story. "The Turner House" was a finalist for the National Book Award, was shortlisted for the PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Fiction, nominated for an NAACP Image Award and named a New York Times Notable Book of 2015.
ABOUT ANGELA FLOURNOY
Flournoy is the author of "The Turner House" and a 5 Under 35 honoree by the National Book Foundation. Her fiction has appeared in The Paris Review and she has written for The New York Times, the New Republic and the Los Angeles Times. A graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Flournoy has taught at the University of Iowa and The Writer's Foundry at St. Joseph's College in Brooklyn.
ABOUT SEATTLE READS
Seattle Reads was the first citywide reading program of its kind in the country and is designed to deepen engagement in literature through reading and discussion. This year's Seattle Reads program is made possible by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and The Wallace Foundation, with additional support from media sponsors The Seattle Times and KUOW 94.9 Public Radio and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.