Choose Your Season: Rebecca Hoogs’ Recommended Pathway

June 16, 2026

In our 2026/27 Season, SAL is moving to Create Your Own Series subscriptions, giving you the freedom to build a season that’s entirely yours. But if you love the idea of a curated pathway, Executive Director Rebecca Hoogs has put together her recommended six-event arc for the year.

Subscriptions and memberships go on sale June 16 at noon—single tickets follow on July 2.

By Rebecca Hoogs, SAL Executive Director

One of the best parts of running Seattle Arts & Lectures is the conversations that I get to have about books. People are always asking me what I’m reading—and I get to ask them right back: “What are you reading?” Thanks to these conversations, my notes app is full of books that I want to read, my library holds come in faster than my eyes can dash left to right, and my TBR piles are, let’s say, architectural. (Structurally sound? No. Exciting? Yes!)

A related question is: Which events are you most excited about this season? The truth is that choosing favorites among authors is a bit like choosing favorite children. I would never!

But that said, I do love recommending pathways—a sort of Choose Your Own Adventure as one wends their way through the year. And here is one pathway that adheres to the classic curatorial principles of a traditional Literary Arts Series:

  • It offers a balance of fiction and nonfiction authors.
  • It features authors who are both households names and those who are on the rise. You might come because of the names you know, but you’ll come away with new favorite authors and often be most delighted by the new-to-you speakers.
  • It spans the year so that you join us for the conversation, each evening building on the previous event, each time we see each other we are layering the previous experience onto the present.

Emily St. John Mandel
September 22 | Fiction

Those who know me well know that Station Eleven is one of my top ten books of all time (I loved the show that was made of the book almost as much), and I’ve read everything she’s written since. Her books often leap into the near future—a future where things have gone off the rails—but remain rooted in humanity, the belief in art, and the power of connection. Her books are twisty multiverse books; people and plots dance towards each other only as the books resolve. I got to read an advance copy of her forthcoming novel Exit Party (big perk, I know!) and I gobbled it up—eagerly trying to figure the mysteries out, feeling deeply the human mystery of it all. I can’t wait for you all to read this book and to hear her onstage at SAL, a full decade after her last appearance.

Michael Lewis
October 28 | Nonfiction

People often ask me about authors I wish would come to SAL, and Michael Lewis has been on the list for a very long time, so I’m glad that we’re finally making it happen this fall! He has an uncanny ability to make complicated systems understandable. Whether he’s writing about finance, sports, government, or human behavior, he helps readers see the hidden structures shaping our lives. In his new book, Blockers, he turns his attention to the federal workers whose expertise keeps government functioning—and what happens when that expertise is dismissed.

Min Jin Lee
November 14 | Fiction

During the pandemic, Min Jin Lee was one of the very first writers that we hosted online. I spent a lot of time emailing and on zoom with Min Jin and well, I can confirm that she is the nicest person, and the talk that she gave from her living room to yours about the world she created in Pachinko was soulful and personal. I cannot wait to host her in slightly bigger room—Meany Hall—as we bring her in person to hear about the writing of her forthcoming novel, American Hagwon, an ambitious and deeply humane novel about education, identity, and the pursuit of a better life across generations and borders.

David Treuer
January 25 | Nonfiction

From Rez Life to the National Book Award finalist The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee and now the forthcoming The Savage Mind, David Treuer has consistently expanded our understanding of Native life, American history, and the stories a nation tells about itself. Few writers combine intellectual rigor, moral clarity, and narrative power so effectively.

Brian Goldstone
February 9 | Nonfiction

One of my favorite things SAL does is introduce audiences to writers they may not yet know. Brian Goldstone’s Pulitzer Prize-winning There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America is a remarkable work of reportage that combines rigorous journalism with extraordinary empathy. I suspect many attendees will leave this event having discovered a writer they’ll continue following for years.

Kiran Desai
April 22 | Fiction

Last year, it seemed like everyone was reading The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny—I’m so excited the author said yes to SAL! This is a rare opportunity to hear Kiran Desai discuss the work behind one of the most read novels of the decade. From The Inheritance of Loss to her newest book, Desai has consistently explored questions of identity, migration, family, and home with extraordinary intelligence, humor, and compassion. I am excited that we are co-presenting this event with the Jaipur Literature Festival.

***

Looking at this group together, what strikes me is the balance: fiction and nonfiction, familiar names and exciting discoveries (depending on your lens—all of these writers will be known and new to some of you!). These are all writers who help us understand both the world as it is and the world as it might be.

Each event will stand on its own. Together, they offer six different ways of thinking about how stories shape our lives.

Want to get a head start? Here’s the book I’d recommend reading before each event.

Posted in SAL Authors 2026/27 Season