Seattle, it’s been awhile since we’ve gathered together in celebration of books, authors, and all things wordy. That’s why Town Hall is thrilled
to invite you to the first chapter of something big: an annual Writers Festival that pays tribute to everything we love about the written word.
Welcome to Volume I: Humble Beginnings. September 16 and 17,
gather at Town Hall’s historic building for an extraordinary roster of fiction and non-fiction authors. Come and go as you please for book signings and tasty food, snag $10 featured titles from our friends at Third Place Books (Saturday only, while supplies last!), and surround yourself with the good company of curious readers just like yourself, here in our marvelous City of Literature.
Festival Schedule:
KEY: Forum = F | Great Hall = GH | Lobby Level = LL
5:30pm Doors Open
6:20-6:30pm Opening Invocation with Seattle’s Civic Poet Jourdan Imani Keith (GH)
6:30-7:40pm Opening Keynote with Siddhartha Mukherjee, presenting The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human (GH)
7:45-9:30pm VIP Reception (F)
8:00am Doors Open
8:55-9:00am Welcome with Festival Producer Susan Lieu (GH)
9:00-10:00am Lan Samantha Chang presents The Family Chao (GH)
10:10-10:40am Book signing with Lan Samantha Chang (F)
10:30-11:30am A.M. Homes presents The Unfolding (GH)
11:40-12:10pm Book signing with A.M. Homes (F)
12:00-1:00pm David Quammen presents Breathless: The Scientific Race to Defeat a Deadly Virus (GH)
1:10-1:40pm Book signing with David Quammen (F)
1:30-2:30pm Oscar Hokeah presents Calling for a Blanket Dance (GH)
2:40-3:10pm Book signing with Oscar Hokeah (F)
3:00-4:00pm Leila Mottley presents Nightcrawling (GH)
4:10-4:40pm Book signing with Leila Mottley (F)
4:30-5:30pm Joyce Carol Oates presents Babysitter (GH)
5:50-6:00pm Farewell Reflections with Seattle City of Literature (GH)
6:00-7:00pm Ted Chiang on “Magic and Imaginary Science in Fiction” (GH)
7:10-7:40pm Book signing with Ted Chiang (F)
8:00-9:00pm Nightcap with Sloane Crosley, presenting Cult Classic (GH)
9:10-9:40pm Book signing with Sloane Crosley (LL)
Live music provided by The Bushwick Book Club Seattle.
Speaker lineup subject to change.
Food Vendors
We are ecstatic to feature BIPOC women-owned or women-owned small businesses.
- Village Perk – This cart will be slinging barista drinks, breakfast pastries, and sandwiches for from 8am-3pm in front of the Town Hall building on 8th Ave.
- Afella Jollof – Spice Bridge restauranteur featuring Senegambian food. Chicken Yassa, Goat Dibi, Jollof Rice, Fried Plantains, Beignets, and more. Available 11am-8pm.
- Cute Dumplings – Handmade steamed buns, steamed dumplings, baked pork buns, lotus leaf-wrapped sticky rice, and fried rice. Many vegetarian options. Available 11am-3pm.
- Theary Cambodian Foods – Spice Bridge restauranteur featuring Boneless Jumbo Stuffed Chicken Wings, Khmer Lemongrass Chicken and Beef Meatball, Crispy Tofu, and Salad with Tamarind Dressing. Available 5-8pm.
Literary & Community Organizations
Nourish your bookworm self by learning about fall programming, inspire your inner writer by signing up for writing workshops, and connect with community organizations to feel the love. We humbly welcome our partners and thank them for their passionate contribute to our City of Literature: African-American Writers’ Alliance, The Bushwick Book Club Seattle, Clarion West Writers Workshop, The Elliott Bay Book Company (Friday only), Freeway Park Association (with their book carts!), Hedgebrook, Hugo House, La Sala, Northwest African American Museum, Seattle Arts & Lecture, Seattle City of Literature, Seattle Escribe, Seattle Urban Book Expo, Third Place Books.