Scholar Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation examines the historical and modern moments and movements that have exposed the deep, structurally unequal roots of police violence and larger systems of mass incarceration. The recently released second edition expands on her original analysis of the #BlackLivesMatter movement and its potential to usher forward larger movements for Black liberation with a new chapter and a foreword from Angela Y. Davis. Join us for our free virtual event September 21st, at 5 p.m. (PT) / 8 p.m. (ET), where Dr. Taylor, activist and creative Nikkita Oliver, and Marguerite Casey Foundation CEO Carmen Rojas, will discuss this fight for Black liberation and the role philanthropy can play in supporting how we get there.

The impact and indomitable spirit of Billie Jean King—pathbreaking feminist, champion of equality, world-class athlete—transcends her spectacular sports achievements. Her new memoir, All In, chronicles King’s journey to find her true self, from her humble beginnings to her brilliant tennis career, her activism, and her unwavering commitment to fairness and social justice. All tickets (except Student/25 & Under, complimentary, and a limited number of Reduced Price/No Book tickets), include a copy of King’s forthcoming book, All In, shipped by our partner bookstore to the ticket holder’s address. This event will be pre-recorded due to timezone differences.

Please join us for an afternoon of inspiration, possibility, and community to help Seattle Arts & Lectures raise $110,000 to send our WITS Writers-in-Residence back to school!

In the Pulitzer Prize–winning All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr crafted one of the most beloved novels of our time. A writer of immense imagination and compassion, Doerr has returned with Cloud Cuckoo Land, a soaring novel about children on the cusp of adulthood searching for hope in a broken world. Cloud Cuckoo Land is a hauntingly beautiful and redemptive novel about stewardship—of the book, of the Earth, of the human heart. All tickets (except Student/25 & Under, complimentary, and a limited number of Reduced Price/No Book tickets), include a copy of Anthony Doerr’s forthcoming book, The Cloud Cuckoo Land, shipped by our partner bookstore to the ticket holder’s address.

How does one recover from addiction without destroying the self-as-addict? Pilgrim Bell, Kaveh Akbar’s newest collection of poems, meditates on this question, taking readers on a spiritual journey through disavowal, divinity, and belonging. With formal virtuosity and ruthless precision, Akbar’s brilliant poems unfold in the empty space where song lives, teasing the sacred out of silence and stillness. Q&A with Lena Khalaf Tuffaha.

The author of six books of fiction, Lauren Groff has been described as brilliant and hard-working, “a woman of intellect and integrity, generous and warm, and hard to keep up with.” The same could be said of her stunning, glimmering prose. The two-time National Book Award finalist and the New York Times bestselling author returns with an exhilarating new novel called Matrix, her first since the groundbreaking Fates and Furies. In this tale of historical fiction, Groff follows the real-life figure of Marie de France into a violent, sensual world of religious ecstasy and consuming passion—a world that refuses to reconcile itself with Marie’s bold heart and crusading existence. All Literary Arts Series, Create Your Own Series, and Super SAL subscribers (except Student/25 & Under and complimentary subscriptions) receive Groff’s forthcoming book, Matrix, mailed to the subscriber’s address.