Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, This & That.
A Conversation with R. F. Kuang
Sept 12
Bestselling novelist R. F. Kuang has earned countless accolades for her political Chinese fantasy trilogy “The Poppy War,” her alternate-history Oxford epic Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence, and most recently, 2023’s biting, unputdownable satire Yellowface. The latter skewered the racial politics of the publishing industry and has been optioned for a TV miniseries with horror icon Karyn Kusama (Jennifer’s Body, Yellowjackets) attached to direct. Now, Kuang is returning to the academic themes of her earlier works with her highly anticipated sixth novel Katabasis, an Inferno-esque fantasy about two rival grad students who must team up to rescue the soul of their advisor from the depths of literal Hell (so he can write them letters of recommendation, of course!). (Town Hall, 7:30 pm) JULIANNE BELL
Peter Ames Carlin with Claire Dederer
Sept 15
For much of my life, I, perhaps like you, did not “get” Bruce Springsteen. Then one day I ate an edible and watched a video of him running around the stage in his little jeans, and everything changed. Suddenly, I heard the Tom Waits growl in his voice, the Ronettes influence in his hooks, and the unabashed vulnerability in his songwriting. Now I’m the type of person who is genuinely excited to read an entire book about the making of his 1975 album, Born to Run. Music journalist and biographer Peter Ames Carlin will be joined by essayist Claire Dederer (maybe you’ve read her book Monsters: A Fan’s Dilemma?) to discuss his new book, Tonight in Jungleland: The Making of Born to Run. The book chronicles the making of the saxophone-filled classic album through a treasure trove of untold stories. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free, all ages) AUDREY VANN
Molly Olguín with Amber Flame
Sept 19
There’s little I love more than weird, fantastical, queer horror, so I was thrilled to learn about local author and educator Molly Olguín’s debut short story collection, The Sea Gives Up the Dead, which has garnered comparisons to Angela Carter and Shirley Jackson. In fact, my literary queen Carmen Maria Machado selected it as the 2023 winner for the Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction. Olguín’s genre-bending work explores themes like grief, desire, death, gender, and race through the lens of fairy tale tropes, resulting in stories about things like a Little Mermaid retelling, a lovelorn nanny who slays a dragon, and an ominous Dear Abby letter. Writer, artist, and educator Amber Flame will join Olguín for a conversation about her haunting fiction. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free, all ages) JULIANNE BELL
Mona Awad with Katie Campbell
Sept 29
Books that go viral on TikTok aren’t always worth the hype, but Mona Awad’s dark academia satire Bunny is a notable exception. Following in the footsteps of Heathers and The Secret History, the novel concerns scholarship student Samantha Mackey, who enters the MFA program at the prestigious Warren University and is equal parts repulsed and fascinated by a clique of four wealthy girls who call themselves “the Bunnies.” The gothic phantasmagoria was named the best book of 2019 by several publications, snatched up for a film adaptation by Bad Robot Productions, and declared “sooo genius” by Margaret Atwood, so it’s no surprise that Bunny is back for more. The sequel, We Love You, Bunny, picks up where the previous book left off: Samantha has published a story about her experiences at Warren to great critical acclaim and is on her book tour when the Bunnies decide to kidnap her and tell their side of the story. Reporter and KUOW Book Club founder Katie Campbell will discuss the new release with Awad, followed by an audience Q&A and signing. (Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm) JULIANNE BELL
More
Chris La Tray Presents Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home Sept 4, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
Diana Ma with Tanisha Brandon-Felder: Anti-Oppressive Universal Design for Teachers Sept 10, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, free
Bill McKibben Sept 16, Town Hall, 7:30 pm
Molly Hashimoto Presents Wildflowers of the West: An Artist’s Guide Sept 17, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm, free
A Conversation with Arundhati Roy Sept 18, Meany Hall, 7:30 pm
Jill Lepore Sept 26, Town Hall, 7:30 pm
Nilanjana Dasgupta with Paula Boggs: Change the Wallpaper: Transforming Cultural Patterns to Build More Just Communities Sept 29, Town Hall, 7 pm
Rena Priest Presents ‘Positively Uncivilized’ Sept 29, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm, free
Early Warnings
Writers in the Schools (WITS) Back-to-School Fundraiser Luncheon Oct 17 (register by Oct 3), Edgewater Hotel, 11 am–1 pm, free with registration
A Conversation with Elizabeth Gilbert Oct 20, Town Hall, 7:30 pm
Timothy Snyder Oct 26, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm
Li-Young Lee Nov 3, Rainier Arts Center, 7:30 pm
An Evening with Patti Smith Nov 9, Meany Hall, 7:30 pm
Miranda July Nov 13, Moore Theatre, 8 pm
David Sedaris Nov 16, Benaroya Hall, 7 pm
A Conversation with Padma Lakshmi Nov 18, Benaroya Hall, 7:30 pm
