Author Readings & Community Dialogues Hosted by The Seattle Public Library in December
release date: November 30, 2021
Attend author events, book discussions and community dialogues, expert conversations and literary programs from the comfort of your own living room this December. The Seattle Public Library has a wide variety of online readings and discussions coming up, including three events with authors who won a 2021 Washington State Book Award, a discussion of “Crip Kinship,” and the final event in a guest-curated series on radical self-acceptance as activism.
Library events are free and everyone is welcome. Registration is required for each event. Please visit the Library's calendar to sign up.
READING & DISCUSSION SCHEDULE
- 6 – 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 1, Washington State Book Awards: J. Koh and “The Magical Language of Others.” Join us for a conversation with E.J. Koh, winner of the 2021 Washington State Book Award for Biography and Memoir, and Zola Mumford, librarian and Washington State Book Award judge. “The Magical Language of Others” is a powerful and aching love story told in letters from mother to daughter.
- 6 – 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 6, Shayda Kafai and Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha Discuss "Crip Kinship." In recent years, disability activism has come into its own as a vital and necessary means to acknowledge the power and resilience of the disabled community. In "Crip Kinship," Kafai and Piepzna-Samarasinha explore the art-activism of Sins Invalid, a San Francisco Bay Area-based performance project, and its radical imaginings of what disabled, queer, trans and gender nonconforming people of color can do.
- 6 – 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, Radical Self-Acceptance as Activism: “Sensual Self” presented by Ev'Yan Whitney. Guest Curator Olaiya Land ends her series on radical self-acceptance as activism with an event featuring Ev’Yan Whitney about the importance of reconnecting with pleasure and Whitney’s book, “Sensual Self.” In this series, Land, founder of the online journal and community Lionesse, is in conversation with authors and activists of diverse backgrounds about their personal journey towards self-acceptance and how their work aims to help others lean into embracing themselves more fully.
- 6 – 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, Washington State Book Awards: “Take a Stand: Art Against Hate, a Raven Chronicles Anthology.” Winner of the 2021 Washington State Book Award for Poetry, "Take a Stand: Art Against Hate, A Raven Chronicles Anthology" contains poems, stories and images from 117 writers and 53 artists. Moderated by editor Anna Bálint, this event will include readings from contributors Ronda P. Broatch, Risa Denenberg, Patrick Dixon, Thomas Hubbard, Rob Jacques, Priscilla Long, Jed Myers, Shankar Narayan, Susan Rich, Kathleen Stancik, Mary Ellen Talley, Angelina Villalobos and Carletta Carrington Wilson.
- 6 – 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 9, Words, Writers and Southwest Stories: Hidden Histories: The South Vietnamese Side of the Vietnam War. How did the South Vietnamese military experience the Vietnam War? In “Their War: The Perspectives of South Vietnamese Military in the Words of Veteran-Emigrés,” historian Julie Pham illuminates the experiences of Vietnamese refugees who came to America after serving in the South Vietnamese military, with little recognition and understanding of their contributions and role.
- 6 – 7 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 15, Washington State Book Awards: Jennifer Longo and “What I Carry.” Don’t miss Jennifer Longo, winner of the 2021 Washington State Book Award for Young Adult Literature for “What I Carry,” a powerful and heartwarming look at a teen girl about to age out of the foster care system. Longo will be in conversation with Claudia Rowe, who won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for Biography and Memoir for “The Spider and the Fly,” and who has a forthcoming book on the foster care system.
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 build community.
To learn more about the Library’s work throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, read our 2020 Impact Report.
Visit the Library's Road to Reopening page for more information on current Library services.
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.