10 Not-to-Miss Author and Community Events for Spring 2025

The Library’s spring calendar is blooming with inspiring events, from an April 14 talk with Shamichael Hallman, author of “Meet Me at the Library,” to a May 7 discussion with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer,” about his much-anticipated new book.

All Library events are free and open to the public, but many require reservations; see links below for information on how to get your ticket.  

Also see our post on Seattle Reads programs to see the multitude of community events celebrating this year’s selection for our citywide book club, “You’re Still Here,” edited by U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón. 

Shamichael Hallman discusses “Meet Me at the Library: A Place to Foster Social Connection and Promote Democracy.” Monday, April 14, 7:30 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. Town Hall Seattle. Drawing from Hallman’s experience at the Memphis Public Library and his extensive research and interviews across the country, “Meet Me at the Library” offers us a revealing look at one of our most important civic institutions and how it can help heal our divided nation. Partners include Elliott Bay Book Company, Soapbox Project and Town Hall Seattle. Registration is required. 

Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and Peter Steinhauer: “Enduring Spirit of Vietnam.” Tuesday, April 15, 2025, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Against the backdrop of the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese author Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai and award-winning photographer Peter Steinhauer, author of “Enduring Spirit of Vietnam” and other monographs, will highlight how the arts have played a powerful role in healing and reconciliation. Partners include the Vietnam Society, Peace Trees Vietnam, Friends of Little Saigon and Elliott Bay Book Company. Registration is required. 

Celebrate “Duel” with Jessixa and Aaron Bagley. Saturday, April 19, from 10:30 p.m. to 11:30 a.m. Lake City Branch. Join us to hear 2024 Washington State Book Award-winning children’s author and illustrator Jessixa and Aaron Bagley discuss their debut graphic novel “Duel,” about a rivalry between middle-school sisters that culminates in a fencing duel. Registration is not required.

Poetry in Public with D.A. Navoti, Troy Osaki and Guests. Tuesday, April 29, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Library, Level 1, Microsoft Auditorium. Celebrate the first event in our new “Poetry in Public” series, curated by poet planner Laura Da’. Through a submission process open to all King County residents, poems inspired by the theme ‘Places of Landing’ were shared with the public on transit. Registration is required.  

New Yorker editor Michael Luo discusses “Strangers in the Land.” Friday, May 2, from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. Elliott Bay Book Company. In a captivating debut, Michael Luo, executive editor of The New Yorker, tells the story of a people who, beginning in the middle of the nineteenth century, migrated by the tens of thousands to a distant land they called Gum Shan ––Gold Mountain. Luo follows the Chinese from these early years to modern times, as they persisted in the face of bigotry and persecution, including a series of federal laws that marked the first time the United States barred a people based on their race. Registration is required. 

Viet Thanh Nguyen and Shawn Wong discuss “To Save and Destroy.” Wednesday, May 7, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer,” will discuss his new book with fellow author and scholar Shawn Wong. “To Save and Destroy” is a moving and unflinchingly personal meditation on the literary forms of otherness and a bold call for expansive political solidarity. Partners include the Elliott Bay Book Company. Registration is required.  

Seattle Reads presents Ada Limón. The 24th U.S. Poet Laureate Ada Limón will travel to Seattle to speak at several events related to this year’s Seattle Reads selection, “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World.” Central Library, Level 1 Auditorium: Friday, May 16, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m, The event will also feature Seattle’s new Civic Poet Dujie That, who will read a poem to start off the evening. Green Lake Branch: Saturday, May 17, from 11 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. Former Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest will read a poem to start. Columbia Branch: Saturday, May 17, from 3 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. Youth Poet Laureate Janae Lu will open the event with a poem.    

Moira Macdonald and Bethany Jean Clement discuss “Storybook Ending: A Novel.” Wednesday, May 28, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Seattle Times arts critic Moira Macdonald will discuss her debut novel, “Storybook Ending,” with Seattle Times food critic Bethany Jean Clement. When an anonymous note left in a book finds the wrong recipient, two women — a lonely remote worker and a widowed single mom— find themselves in an unusual love triangle with a handsome local bookstore clerk. Registration is required. 

See our arts and author events calendars for more events. We are grateful to The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation for their support of events at the Library.

  The Library’s spring calendar is blooming with inspiring events, from an April 14 talk with Shamichael Hallman, author of “Meet Me at the Library,” to a May 7 discussion with Viet Thanh Nguyen, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of “The Sympathizer,” about his much-anticipated new book. All Library events are free and open to the public, but … Continue reading “10 Not-to-Miss Author and Community Events for Spring 2025” 

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