If you aren’t riding the new light rail back and forth on Saturday, consider creating your own transit route to a few favorite bookstores.
Seattle Independent Bookstore Day (April 27) returns for its 10th anniversary with 28 participating Puget Sound bookstores, from Edmonds to Burien, Poulsbo to Redmond. Getting your event “passport” stamped at all 28 by May 6 earns you discounts and major book-nerd bragging rights.
It’s a great reason to support local book shops — in our UNESCO City of Literature — which have survived against all kinds of odds.
Most participating stores have treats planned for the occasion, from literary tote bags and fancy pencils at Paper Boat Booksellers in West Seattle to a special showing of first-edition Ernest Hemingway novels (previously owned by his first wife Hadley Richardson) displayed beneath the beautifully arched ceiling at Arundel Books in Pioneer Square.
While we have books on the brain, consider a few upcoming literary events of note:
Tonight! Novelist Gabrielle Zevin will speak as part of Seattle Arts and Lectures (April 25, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall Seattle; live streaming tickets also available). I never thought I’d be emotionally invested in a novel about video-game creators, but boy was I wrong. Her 2022 book Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow totally hooked me with its evocative exploration of different ways and motivations for artmaking.
Also coming up at Seattle Arts and Lectures is Terrance Hayes. If you’ve heard this stellar poet read his work aloud before, you know: This appearance is not to be missed (Rainier Arts Center, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.; live streaming tickets also available). His latest collection So to Speak reflects his signature mix of pop-culture references (from Bob Ross to Lil Wayne), allegory, strict poetic forms and historical truth telling.
Finally: This year’s “Seattle Reads” selection is Octavia Butler’s uncannily prescient novel Parable of the Sower (published in 1993 and partially set in 2024). Within this dystopian tale, the “grand dame of science fiction” and MacArthur genius predicted many current social issues regarding climate change, civil unrest, distrust of police and space travel.
The book marks the first time Seattle Reads has selected a work of science fiction for the city to read “together,” and only the second time a local author has been chosen. (Butler spent her final seven years living in Lake Forest Park.)
Seattle Public Library has lots of related events planned, leading up to what would’ve been Butler’s 77th birthday on June 22. That includes the launch party and panel discussion of the book (Downtown Library, May 1 at 6 p.m.; free registration required).
Speaking of Black arts legacies… Have you signed up for the Black Arts Legacies newsletter yet? Season 3 is in full swing, with our first artist profile — Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence — launched earlier this week. Discover a new artist “reveal” each week through June via the newsletter and on BlackArtsLegacies.com.
Brangien Davis
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