Events at SAL
Upcoming Events
A Conversation with Matty Matheson
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
SAL Presents
The acclaimed chef, New York Times bestselling author, and executive producer and actor on The Bear redefines cooking’s iconic trinity: soups, salads, and sandwiches. Chances are you’ve eaten a soup, salad, or sandwich in the past day (or maybe all three). This trio makes up so many of our meals but is rarely given the attention it deserves–until now.
Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Community
This four-part reading series features acclaimed poets, writers, and comics artists who teach in SAL’s Writers in the Schools program.
Abraham Verghese
Sunday, November 24, 2024
Literary Arts
The newest book from Abraham Verghese, The Covenant of Water, reminds audiences of why he is hailed as one of the modern era’s greatest epic novelists.
Aimee Nezhukumatathil
Thursday, December 5, 2024
Poetry
Known for her poetry, her essays, and the way she lights up the world, Aimee Nezhukumatathil restores our astonishment again and again.
Robin Wall Kimmerer
Monday, December 9, 2024
Encore
Author of the sensational Braiding Sweetgrass—a book that forever changed nature writing—Robin Wall Kimmerer returns with The Serviceberry.
YPF Reading: Winter
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Free Events
Join us for a poetry reading featuring SAL’s talented Youth Poetry Fellows. At Youth Poetry Fellowship (YPF) meetings this year, fellows have been honing their craft and strengthening their performance.
Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight
Wednesday, January 15, 2025
Community
This four-part reading series features acclaimed poets, writers, and comics artists who teach in SAL’s Writers in the Schools program.
A Conversation with Percival Everett
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Literary Arts
Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Percival Everett a “literary icon” (Oprah Daily), and one of the most decorated writers of our lifetime, James—his powerful retelling of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
Michele Norris
Tuesday, February 4, 2025
Literary Arts
For decades, Michele Norris has been at the heart of American journalism, with her role as host for NPR’s flagship radio show All Things Considered from 2002-2011, and her other work at multiple outlets through the years. She was the first African American female host at NPR, and she has won multiple awards for her journalistic contributions. In 2010, Norris began the Race Card Project, in which she invited people to share their thoughts about race.
Naomi Shihab Nye
Thursday, February 6, 2025
Poetry
Naomi Shihab Nye has spent more than forty years as a self-described “wandering poet,” traveling the country and the world to lead writing workshops and inspiring students of all ages.
Audrey Tang
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Ted Chiang Presents: Love, Hope, and Other Four Letter Words
Described as one of the “ten greatest Taiwanese computing personalities,” and the former Digital Minister of Taiwan, Audrey Tang has made it her mission to align technology with democracy, and to counteract the polarization, inequality, loneliness, and fear that digital technology has catalyzed. Q&A with Community Curated Series director Ted Chiang.
An Evening with Kelsey McKinney
Sunday, February 16, 2025
SAL Presents
Can you keep a secret? As the pandemic forced us to socialize at a distance, Kelsey McKinney was mourning the juicy updates, jaw-dropping stories, and idle chatter that she’d typically collect over drinks with friends, encouraging her to create the blockbuster Normal Gossip podcast.
A Conversation with Ta-Nehisi Coates
Tuesday, February 18, 2025
SAL Presents
From the bestselling author of Between the World and Me comes a new collection of visionary essays, The Message.
Maggie Smith
Thursday, February 27, 2025
Encore
Maggie Smith is the author of the instant bestseller You Could Make This Place Beautiful, a bittersweet recollection of the disintegration of her marriage and her renewed commitment to herself, as well as stunning collections of poetry such as Good Bones, and essays like the ones in Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change.
Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
Community
This four-part reading series features acclaimed poets, writers, and comics artists who teach in SAL’s Writers in the Schools program.
A Conversation with Natasha Lyonne
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Ted Chiang Presents: Love, Hope, and Other Four Letter Words
Natasha Lyonne continues to push boundaries as an Emmy- and Golden Globe nominated producer, actor, writer and director with more than three decades in the industry to her name.
YPF Reading: Spring
Friday, March 14, 2025
Free Events
Join us for a poetry reading featuring SAL’s talented Youth Poetry Fellows. At Youth Poetry Fellowship (YPF) meetings this year, fellows have been honing their craft and strengthening their performance.
The SAL Gala: Words Bloom
Friday, March 21, 2025
Fundraisers
The event will feature a lively reception and delicious multi-course dinner, an engaging program featuring a special guest author and youth poet, and a live and online silent auction of unique literary experiences and treasures.
Emma Donoghue
Friday, March 28, 2025
Literary Arts
Emma Donoghue, the “soul-stirring” (Oprah Daily) nationally bestselling author of Room, returns with a sweeping historical novel about an infamous 1895 disaster at the Paris Montparnasse train station.
Abby Jimenez
Thursday, April 3, 2025
Meet Cute
Abby Jimenez, “full of fierce humor and fiercer heart,” (Casey McQuiston) is the bestselling author of seven wildly popular, laugh-out-loud, pull-at-your-heartstrings romantic novels, including Just for the Summer, The Friend Zone, The Happy Ever After Playlist, and more.
Hanif Abdurraqib
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
Encore
Hanif Abdurraqib witnessed a golden era of basketball growing up in Columbus, Ohio, one which inspired the writing in his memoir, There’s Always This Year—a triumph, which is brimming with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, and hope.
C Pam Zhang
Thursday, May 8, 2025
Literary Arts
C Pam Zhang has stunned audiences with her rapturous and revelatory storytelling in her acclaimed bestselling novel Land of Milk and Honey.
Murmurations: Local Voices Taking Flight
Wednesday, May 14, 2025
Community
This four-part reading series features acclaimed poets, writers, and comics artists who teach in SAL’s Writers in the Schools program.
Merlin Sheldrake
Wednesday, May 21, 2025
SAL Presents
A plant scientist, microbiologist, and ecologist, Merlin Sheldrake has dedicated his scientific career to the relationship between humans and “more-than-human” organisms.
A Conversation with Kevin Kwan
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Meet Cute
From Kevin Kwan, the iconic internationally bestselling author of the Crazy Rich Asians trilogy, comes Lies and Weddings—a new outrageous, thrillingly plotted comedy of manners in which a forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent tropical wedding. Meet Cute Series, Create Your Own Series, Super SAL subscriptions, and single tickets, with the exception of a limited number of Pay What You Can tickets, include a paperback copy of Lies and Weddings.
WITS Year-End Reading & Celebration: Elementary & Middle Schools
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Free Events
Bring a listening ear and a joyful spirit to the WITS Year-End Reading & Celebration! Every year, WITS culminates in a program-wide reading and celebration of student work that features student readers from approximately 30 schools and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
WITS Year-End Reading & Celebration: Middle & High Schools
Thursday, June 5, 2025
Free Events
Bring a listening ear and a joyful spirit to the WITS Year-End Reading & Celebration! Every year, WITS culminates in a program-wide reading and celebration of student work that features student readers from approximately 30 schools and Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Chapbook Launch
Tuesday, June 24, 2025
Free Events
Please join us in celebrating the launch of the 2024/25 Seattle Youth Poet Laureate Janae Lu’s chapbook. Published by Poetry Northwest Editions this is the tenth edition of the Seattle Youth Poet Laureate series. Janae Lu will read from the collection alongside other talented poets.