Seattle Fall Arts Preview: Meet and Greet the Season’s Class of Local Literary Luminaries
The six Seattle authors you shouldn't miss this fall
By Gavin Borchert September 2, 2019
This article originally appeared in the September 2019 issue of Seattle magazine.
This article appears in print in the September 2019 issue as part of the Fall Arts Preview. Click here to subscribe.
From left to right:
Timothy Egan
Journalist, author of eight books (soon to be nine), New York Times columnist and preeminent explicator of Seattle to the rest of the world.
What’s New: In A Pilgrimage to Eternity: From Canterbury to Rome in Search of a Faith (Penguin Random House, $28, October 15), Egan takes a journey, both personal and literal, tracing the roots of his Irish Catholic faith and its place in today’s world.
Appearing: 10/15. 7:30 p.m. $35. Town Hall, First Hill, 1119 Eighth Ave.; 206.652.4255
Lindy West
Essayist, activist and begetter of the Hulu series Shrill, based on her memoir of the same name.
What’s New: The Witches Are Coming (Hachette Books, $27, November 5), a new essay collection that pushes back on the pushback to #MeToo and the reflexive cry of “Witch hunt!” that goes up every time a white guy’s bullshit is called out.
Appearing: 11/26. 7:30 p.m. $35. Town Hall (via Seattle Arts & Lectures), First Hill, 1119 Eighth Ave.; 206.652.4255
Shin Yu Pai
Visual artist, poet, book artist and former Seattle Art Museum poet-in-residence. (Pai also has work included in the anthology Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota’s Garden; see Johnson entry below.)
What’s New: Ensō (Entre Rios Books, $25, early 2020), mid-career reflections on topics ranging from her influences to her process, multimedia work to motherhood. Plus, haiku.
Appearing: 9/14. 5:30 p.m. Free. Seattle University, Lee Center for Arts; 901 12th Ave.; 206.296.600
Shauna Ahern
Vashon Island food blogger and cookbook writer, aka the “Gluten-free Girl.”
What’s New: Enough: Notes from a Woman Who Has Finally Found It (Sasquatch Books, $22.95, October 8) recounts her journey out of self-negativity: I’ve had enough, I’m good enough, I’ve found enough.
Appearing: 10/10. 7 p.m. Free. Third Place Books, Seward Park, 5041 Wilson Ave. S; 206.474.2200
Paula Becker
Prolific essayist for HistoryLink.org whose Looking for Betty MacDonald: The Egg, The Plague, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, and I uncovered the eccentric life of a fondly remembered local icon.
What’s New: In A House on Stilts: Mothering in the Age of Opioid Addiction (University of Iowa Press, $18, September 15), the historian turns memoirist, confessing the heartbreaking struggles of parenting a heroin-addicted son.
Appearing: Various appearances around the city, including 9/21 (2 p.m., free) at Seattle Central Library, downtown, 1000 Fourth Ave., 206.386.4636; and 10/28 (6 p.m., free) at University Book Store, University District, 4326 University Way NE, 800.335.7323
Charles Johnson
Novelist (Middle Passage), screenwriter, University of Washington professor emeritus and winner of practically every literary prize America has to offer.
What’s New: Johnson wrote the foreword to Spirited Stone: Lessons from Kubota’s Garden (Chin Music Press, $34.95, October 15), an anthology honoring gardener Fujitaro Kubota and the Rainier Beach garden named for him. Other contributors include Jamie Ford, Claudia Castro-Luna and Shin Yu Pai.
Appearing: 10/17. 6:30 p.m. Free. Seattle Central Library, downtown, 1000 Fourth Ave.; 206.386.4636
Editor’s note: This article has been updated since print publication.
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