“Written in memory of women and girls killed in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico and for all women and girls who are victims of domestic violence.” —from the dedication of Killing Marías Claudia Castro Luna was the first author I had the pleasure of hosting here at Elliott Bay in our Readings Room. Washington State Poet Laureate, Seattle …
On Monday, April 1, booksellers from around the region gathered in Portland with authors and publishers following a booksellers’ education session from the American Booksellers Association. The Authors on the Map book signing and a happy hour hosted by Forest Avenue Press, Counterpoint Press, and Tin House Books were an opportunity for booksellers to meet …
Kittens in vending machines, hippos rising out of dark water, broom handles made of gold: in his first novel, King of Joy, Seattle writer Richard Chiem blends comforting absurdity with the most profound reaches of grief. The result is a strange, unsettling harmony that is typical of his writing. Drawing from themes also present in …
Stephanie Land’s Maid gives voice to those of us who have lived below the poverty line. Land cleaned other people’s houses while her own walls were covered in black mold that made her child sick. She lost precious wages standing in line for food stamps. She filled out endless paperwork to get childcare so she could work …
I was born in Seattle, at Swedish First Hill, but my family moved away when I was a baby. My parents had grown up in Queen Anne and Ballard, attended Seattle Pacific University, and pastored their first church in Renton. So every summer, my family made the long drive from our home in San Diego …
I have been a book professional since 1974. In the course of my career, I have met many authors. Some have become friends. Bharti Kirchner is one. I try not to let friendship get in the way of honest reviews. Ms Kirchner has written several books in the fields of cooking and fiction. Season of Sacrifice is the first …
There’s a scene in A False Report I think of often. Stacy Galbraith, a police detective in Golden, Colorado, goes home after work. She tells her husband about a case she’s working—a rape investigation with all kinds of chilling twists. Her husband works at another police department, nearby. He listens, then tells her: We’ve got …
The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association, a trade association of independent booksellers, publishers, authors, and librarians, announced the winners of the 2019 Northwest Book Awards. The awards are selected by a committee of independent booksellers from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska. From more than 400 nominations written or illustrated by creators from the Pacific Northwest …
Valerie Trueblood’s precision in dissecting the complexities of human nature is perhaps her greatest strength. With stories that teeter on the brink of catastrophe, Trueblood doesn’t shy away from the grim and bleak, but her empathy and compassion are what stop you in your tracks. Terrarium is one of 12 finalists chosen for the 2019 Pacific Northwest …
Oluo’s timely and powerful book posits that we need to talk about race but often don’t because we are afraid we will get it wrong, not know enough, not know how to answer common arguments, or otherwise cause more harm than good. In So You Want to Talk About Race, she uses straightforward language, clear …
