Archives of Your Week in Readings

Wednesday July 20: Remembering Healing Celebrating

Five Seattle-area poets — Priscilla Long, Jack Remick, Holly Hughes, John Wright, and Bethany Reid — read new work about “the past, lost poets, extinct birds, lost loves, and extending and expanding the meanings of elegy.” One of the top three best uses of poetry is remembering. (The other two? Sex and jokes.) Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347 http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday July 21: You'll Grow Out Of It Reading

Inside Amy Schumer head writer Jessi Klein’s memoir addresses what it means to be a woman in the 21st century. Tonight, beloved Seattle author Lindy West will join Klein in a far-reaching conversation about femininity, the idea of being a tomboy, and whether or not it’s biologically possible for men to be funny. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://bookstore.washington.edu. $27.50. All ages. 8 p.m.

Friday July 22: Welcome to Night Vale

The horror/comedy podcast Welcome to Night Vale gets credit for being hilarious and inventive, but it’s also an impressive serial writing achievement: installment by installment, and in tonight’s live show, Welcome to Night Vale is building a mythology on the backs of American horror legends like Poe and Lovecraft. Benaroya Hall, 200 University St., 215-4747, http://seattlesymphony.org. $27.50. All ages. 8 p.m.

Saturday July 23: Rainier BAAMFest

Today’s Rainier Beach Arts and Music Fest features visual arts, crafts, dance, and music. But because I’m a book guy, let’s focus on the literary offerings, including spoken word, graphic novel-making workshops, Coast Salish storytelling, and a performance by Seattle-area spoken word dynamo Reagan Jackson. Rainier Beach Community Center and Pool, 8825 Rainier Ave S., 386-1925, http://facebook.com/BAAMFest. Free. All ages. 11 a.m.

Sunday July 24: Alice & Lucy Will Work for Bunk Beds Reading

You know who loves going to readings? Kids. This is because kids are better than adults, who waste all their time binge-watching Law & Order and reading hot takes about Pokémon Go. Seattle author Jaime Temairik debuts her new kids’ book with a reading and a literal cake walk at her neighborhood bookstore. Secret Garden Books, 2214 NW Market St., 789-5006, http://secretgardenbooks.com, free, all ages, 1 p.m.

Monday July 25: The Heavenly Table Reading

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m

Tuesday July 26: Clarion West Presents Geoff Ryman

Geoff Ryman is probably one of the most underappreciated living legends of sci-fi. Perhaps best-known for his multi-tiered Oz-centric fantasia Was, Ryman also created a hyperlinked online novel called 253 that was decades ahead of its time. This should be a rare peek inside the mind of a singular genius. Seattle Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave., 386-4636, http://spl.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday July 13: HEX Reading

Dutch author Thomas Olde Heuvelt’s horror novel HEX was a worldwide bestseller before it was even translated into English. Now it should become a bestseller in America, too; it’s got all the elements of a good horror yarn, including a witch’s curse, imperiled teens, a plague of suicides, and the fate of the known universe. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday July 14: REMEMBER ME

See our Event of the Week Column for more details. Vermillion Art Gallery and Bar, 1508 11th Ave., 709-9797, http://vermillionseattle.com. Free. All ages. 6 p.m.

Friday July 15: Represent This!

Beloved Greenwood hangout spot the Couth Buzzard presents a politically minded cabaret featuring music, stories, poetry, and comedy. I’m most looking forward to Seattle poet David Fewster, long a very funny open mic mainstay who just published his very first collection with the Couth Buzzard’s brand-new press. Couth Buzzard Books, 8310 Greenwood Ave N., buonobuzzard.com. Donation. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday July 16: Second Life Reading

SJ Watson writes the kind of twisty psychological thrillers that Hollywood swarms over like horny locusts. Before I Go to Sleep became a movie starring Nicole Kidman and his newest, Second Life, has already been optioned by Reese Withersppon, who also produced Gone Girl. Tonight, Watson will be interviewed onstage by Seattle memoirist Sonya Lea. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. All ages. 3 p.m.

Sunday July 17: Friends of the Library Pop-up Shop

You have for sure attended the semiannual Friends of the Library book sale, right? Well, lately, the Friends have been trying something new: a mini-used bookstore that travels from branch to branch, with a small selection of quality books (mostly paperbacks and kids’ books) for just a buck a piece. Magnolia Public Library, 2801 34th Ave. W., 386-4225, splbuzz.com, free, all ages, 1 p.m.

Monday July 18: The Fire Line Reading

Due to climate change, we’ve gotten used to the annual display of out-of-control wildfires and the brave women and men who fight them. Fernanda Santos’s new book recounts one of the deadliest days in the history of firefighting, describing the kind of nightmare we might see more of in the near in future. Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday July 19: The Nordic Theory of Everything Reading

For a year, Bernie Sanders talked up the Scandinavian way of life: free health care, income and gender equality, and other so-called “socialistic” government programs. In her new book, Finnish journalist Anu Partenan discusses the values that Scandinavian government is based on and whether those philosophies are compatible with everyday life in the U.S. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday July 6: Collecting the Dead Signing

Former Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office crime analyst Spencer Kope brings his debut mystery/thriller Collecting The Dead to Pioneer Square’s longest-running independent bookstore. Collecting is about an FBI agent with the power to track anybody anywhere—except for the one serial killer who previously escaped his grasp. Seattle Mystery Bookshop, 117 Cherry St., 587-5737, http://seattlemystery.com. Free. All ages. Noon.

Thursday July 7: BOOM: Changing Seattle

The big editorial brains behind the upcoming anthology Ghosts of Seattle Past present new work as part of a new art show devoted to honoring Seattle “places lost, preserved and desired during moments of rapid development and growth.” With new art from C. Davida Ingram, No Touching Ground, and Rodrigo Valenzuela. Center for Architecture and Design, 1010 Western Ave., http://seattlearchitecture.org. Free. All ages. 5 p.m.

Friday July 8: Away with Nancy Pearl

Calling librarian Nancy Pearl a “Seattle treasure” undercuts her wide-ranging appeal; she belongs to the world now. But Seattleites do have the unique honor of attending Pearl’s monthly book club at University Book Store. This month, she’s discussing novelist Amy Bloom’s magnificent immigrant novel Away. Go bask in Pearl’s heroic literacy. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. All ages. 6:30 p.m.

Saturday July 9: Intruder Release Party

It’s a big damn celebration for the 20th and final issue of the greatest cartooning newspaper in Seattle history. Intruder staff and contributors will hand out copies of their last issue, local cartoonists and small press will present an outdoor book fair, comics genius Josh Simmons will sign books, and everyone will get a little bit weepy after drinking too many beers. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 1201 Vale St., 658-0110, http://fantagraphics.com/flog/bookstore. Free. All ages. 5 p.m.

Sunday July 10: Southern Biscuits Cooking Class

Fuck brunch. Why bother waiting in a ridiculous line with your hungover friends to pay way too much money for weird bread products when you could learn how to make nature’s perfect brunch, instead? Brian Medford of Idewild Biscuits and Bakes pop-up bakery will teach a class of ten how to make sweet and savory biscuits. Book Larder, 4252 Fremont Ave N., 397-4271, http://booklarder.com, $70, all ages, 9:30 a.m.

Monday July 11: The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (with Cats!) Reading

Anna Pulley started writing haiku when her girlfriend dumped her. It quickly became an obsession. Now, her new collection The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (with Cats!) boasts a gushy blurb by Tegan and Sara calling it “an adorable and hilarious way to start the day!” and urging the reader to — count these exclamation points — “Check it out!!!!” Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday July 12: Clarion West Presents N.K. Jemisin

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Seattle Public Library, 1000 4th Ave., 386-4636, http://spl.org. Free. All ages. 6 pm.

Wednesday June 22: Grace Reading

If you’re going to attend one reading by a debut novelist this year, skip the horse-chokingly thick tour-de-force by the white-boy wunderkind from Brooklyn and attend this one instead. Narrated by a ghost—“I am dead” is the first line—Natashia Deón’s riveting Grace tells the story of black women in America’s slave trade. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday June 23: Margin Shift/Paper-son Poet Readings

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Margin Shift: 1809 E John St. All ages. Free. 7 p.m. Paper-son Poet: Couth Buzzard Books, 8310 Greenwood Ave N., http://buonobuzzard.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday June 24: Mary-Louise Parker with Sherman Alexie

Celebrity bios are often disappointments. But in talking to booksellers who’ve read advance copies of Weeds star Mary-Louise Parker’s memoir Dear Mr. You, you’ll notice that a certain relief creeps into their faces. “No,” they’ll say, “it’s actually good! It’s well-written.” Tonight, Parker will be grilled onstage by Seattle’s own Sherman Alexie. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 8 p.m.

Saturday June 25: Don’t Look Away Launch

Seattle cartoonist Seth Goodkind’s artwork has a remarkable stickiness to it; your eye can’t look away from those inky depths and finely wrought details. Tonight, he’s debuting four new minicomics including Don’t Look Away, which collects his handsome, haunting portraits of people of color killed by police officers.
Push/Pull, 5484 Shilshole Ave., 789-1710, http://pushpullseattle.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Sunday June 26: Magic and Loss Reading

Virginia Heffernan calls the internet one of “mankind’s great masterpieces.” (Is she aware that YouTube comment sections exist? Unclear.) Her new book imagines the internet as a work of art, and it discusses how our online lives are shaping human thought. Is Heffernan the Marshall McLuhan of our time, or does Reddit render her argument invalid? Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Monday June 27: Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching Reading

Mychal Denzel Smith’s new book frankly discusses race in America. It opens with the murder of Trayvon Martin and touches on topics like Black Lives Matter and the challenge of black masculinity. If you think you don’t need to read it because you’ve already read Between the World and Me, you’re part of the problem Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday June 21: Fight Club 2 and The Clasp

Elliott Bay Book Company hosts two authors who couldn’t be more aesthetically opposed. At 4 pm, Chuck Palahniuk signs his Fight Club sequel comic, the inventively titled Fight Club 2. Then at 7 pm, Sloane Crosley reads from her smart, funny, and smartly funny novel The Clasp. You’re either a Crosley person or a Palahniuk person; which is it gonna be? Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 4 p.m. and 7 p.m.

Wednesday June 8: Homegoing Reading

It’s hard to turn anyone’s head with a dust jacket blurb these days, but the rare appearance of a Ta-Nehisi Coates blurb on Yaa Gyasi’s debut novel Homegoing — calling the book an “inspiration” and citing its “so fully realized, so elegantly carved” characters — is a rare meaningful instance. It announces this book as something worth your time. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday June 9: Graphic Masters Opening Night

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 1st Ave, 654-3100, http://seattleartmuseum.com. Free. All ages. 5 pm.

Friday June 10: Writers Opening Night

For months now, Seattle artist Christine Marie Larsen has created portraits of local and historical literary figures as a weekly feature here on the Seattle Review of Books. Tonight, she’s debuting her first show of author portraits, with three of her subjects — Maged Zaher, Sarah Galvin, and Lesley Hazleton — in attendance. Plus: a Little Free Library! Essentia, 2008 1st Ave, 441-0321, http://pushpullseattle.weebly.com. Free. All ages. 6 p.m.

Saturday June 11: Used Book Sale at Third Place Books

The best bookstores are the ones that have used books mixed in with the new books. Today at all three Third Place Books locations, including the beautiful new Seward Park store, all used books in stock are 40 percent off their sticker price. Go buy a stack of books the length of your arm, guilt-free. Third Place Books locations, http://thirdplacebooks.com, 366-3333, Free. All ages. 9 a.m.

Sunday June 12: Sci-fi Bike Ride

New-to-Seattle author Adam Rakunas celebrates his new novel about an interplanetary labor union, Like a Boss, with a bike ride featuring fellow sci-fi/fantasy authors Laura Anne Gilman and Brenda Cooper. The ride starts at Husky Stadium Station at noon and continues for 2.6 miles to Café Solsticio in Fremont for a 1 pm reading. Café Solsticio, 1110 N. Northlake Way 547-0404, http://solsticiofremont.com/. Free. All ages. 1 p.m.

Monday June 13: Leveraging Female Political Power

It’s clear that women will decide the election this November, either by showing up to vote against Donald Trump or by staying home out of disgust at the electoral process. Time magazine reporter Jay Newton-Small will share everything she knows about American women and democracy—from Hillary Clinton’s dealmaking to surprising demographic information—in a talk tonight. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday June 14: Sweet Lamb of Heaven Reading

Lydia Millett’s delightfully creepy novels are full of sticky secrets and missing people and monstrous obsessions. Tonight she’s joined by Seattle’s own Stacey Levine—herself no stranger to bizarre and uncomfortable fictions. This pairing makes so much sense it’s ridiculous; these two writers will either become best friends or they’ll light each other on fire. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday June 1: Ancient Soil Reading

UW grad student Julia Kelson has done groundbreaking new work in the field of climate change. Kelson is predicting the future of global warming by investigating the past, using soil to find periods in ancient earth when carbon dioxide levels were similar to now. Are we doomed? Stay tuned. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Thursday June 2: Contagious Exchanges: Queer Writers in Conversation

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Hugo House, 1021 Columbia St., 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday June 3: Sweetbitter Reading

Stephanie Danler’s debut novel is about a young woman who moves to New York City to make it big in the restaurant world. “Eating becomes a discipline language-obsessed,” Danler writes early in Sweetbitter. “You will never simply eat food again.” It’s a novel about senses and sensation, which is to say it’s about being alive. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday June 4: The Poet Is In

Seattle’s very first Civic Poet, Claudia Castro Luna, takes her charge seriously. For the last month, she’s been on a mission with the help of Seattle Public Library to teach Seattleites how to explore their neighborhoods through poetry. This afternoon, she’s hosting a reading of poems written in previous sessions. Seattle Public Library Southwest Branch, 9010 35th Ave. S.W., 684-7455, http://spl.org. Free. All ages. 3 p.m.

Sunday June 5: King of the Worlds Reading

M. Thomas Gammarino’s new book from Seattle publisher Chin Music Press is a hyperactive science fiction road trip about an actor who loses the lead role in Titanic and then travels across time and space in the throes of a “trans-dimensional midlife crisis.” After his reading, I’ll be joining Gammarino for a talk. James Cameron will be discussed. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. 3 p.m.

Alternate Sunday June 5: The Face: A Time Code Reading

Ruth Ozeki’s A Time Code is the best of three debut books in the new series The Face, in which authors write book-length essays about their own faces. (I reviewed it a few months ago.) In her outing, Ozeki stares at her own face in the mirror for hours at a time, and records her reaction. It’s a story about meditation, vanity, gender, and aging, from one of the best writers in the Northwest. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 3 p.m.

Monday June 6: Ask the Oracle

This reading series adds an air of mystery to the literary experience. Audience members ask for advice (Should I leave my boyfriend? Should I move?) and Seattle-area authors divine the answers from their own books. Tonight’s fortune-tellers include poet Jane Wong, essayist David Schmader, and novelist Bruce Holbert. Sorrento Hotel, 900 Madison St., 622-6400, http://hotelsorrento.com. Free. 21 and over. 7 p.m.

Tuesday June 7: Vaseline Buddha Reading

Jung Young Moon is a prominent experimental South Korean author who is finally debuting a translation of one of his novels in America. Vaseline Buddha is about the events surrounding the funeral of a goldfish named Kierkegaard. Moon’s publisher compares him to Kafka or Beckett, and this is an incredibly rare stateside appearance. Seattle Asian Art Museum, 1400 E. Prospect, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday May 25: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman Reading

See the Event of the Week column. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Thursday May 26: White Sands Reading

Geoff Dyer writes nimbly about difficult concepts that are exceptionally difficult for most writers to explain; he once wrote a book about not writing a book about D.H. Lawrence. White Sands is about travel, and the idea of travel, and living in the world; I can’t explain it, but I know Dyer can. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Friday May 26: Paper: Paging Through History Reading

In both Cod and Salt, Mark Kurlansky wrote huge, well-researched books about seemingly tiny topics which expand into nuanced histories of the entire world. His newest, Paper, promises to do the same trick with paper and the written word, though it also looks forward, at the prospect (threat?) of a paperless future. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday May 28: Almost Live: The Show That Wouldn’t Die Reading

Now that we’re a world-class city with our very own giant Amazon balls, it’s hard to remember that Seattle used to have its own local low-budget Saturday Night Live. Bryan Johnston’s history of Almost Live includes interviews with nearly every cast member, making it a must-read for the three natural-born Seattleites who can still afford to live here. Third . Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 6:30 p.m.

Sunday May 29: Literary Events at Fokllife

All weekend long Folklife hosts literary events like readings from the youth-poetry saints of Pongo Publishing, Greg Vandy’s book about Woody Guthrie, and more. On Sunday alone, you can find a whole bunch of children’s storytelling events and a reading from the Jack Straw Fellows hosted by beloved local poetry advocate Kathleen Flenniken. Seattle Center, http://nwfolklife.org. Free. All ages. 11 A.M.

Monday May 30: Author: The JT LeRoy Story Screening

In the late 1990s, everyone was obsessed with JT LeRoy, a media-shy author who wrote thinly veiled novels about his own life as a drug-addicted homeless youth. Then, LeRoy was outed as a middle-aged woman named Laura Albert. Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary about LeRoy/Albert is coming to SIFF, and today I’ll be joining him for a post-screening interview. Shoreline Community College, 16101 Greenwood Ave. N., 464.5830, http://siff.net. $13. All ages. 3 p.m.

Tuesday May 31: Tribe Reading

Sebastian Junger is not just one of the dreamiest authors alive—he’s a hottie who fearlessly launches himself into dangerous situations—he’s also one of the most compassionate. His newest book, Tribe, documents the many pitfalls that befall veterans when they return to normal life in America, including suicide, PTSD, and drug Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday May 18: The Furnace

The Furnace reading series features a local writer reading a single story with audio effects from the good folks at Hollow Earth Radio. This month, Christine Texeria reads “Immanent Ghosthood,” the story of a father, a daughter, and Mortal Kombat. Chapbooks of the story will be available for sale at this live broadcast. Hollow Earth Radio, 2018 E. Union St., 617-1683, https://thefurnaceseattle.wordpress.com/. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday May 19: Where the House Was

Hugo House co-founder Frances McCue reads from a long poem about the House that will be incorporated into a documentary about the writing center’s closure, transition, and eventual reopening. She’ll be joined by Rebecca Brown, cellist Lori Goldston, and former House students Cali Kopczick and Jack Chelgren. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday May 20: Writing on the Wall

Here it finally is: the final event at the Richard Hugo House in its current incarnation is an outing of their Literary Series, in which novelists Jenny Offill, Laura van den Berg, artist Dawn Cerny, and poet Maged Zaher all produce new work on the theme “Writing on the wall.” Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. $25. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday May 21: Seward Park Third Place Books Grand Opening

See our Event of the Week column. Seward Park Third Place Books, 5041 Wilson Ave S., http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages.

Sunday May 22: Word Works

Memoirist Domingo Martinez offers a craft talk on the topic of “Fearlessness.” Fans of Martinez’s two books, The Boy Kings of Texas and My Heart Is a Drunken Compass, often ask him if he’s afraid to hurt people in his life by writing about them. Tonight, he provides a comprehensive answer. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 3 p.m.

Monday May 23: Flip a Coin at Town Hall

Upstairs at Town Hall tonight, Siddhartha Mukkherjhee, who is best known for his biography of cancer The Emperor of All Maladies, reads from his latest: The Gene: An Intimate History. Downstairs, Nathaniel Philbrick reads from Valiant Ambition: George Washington, Benedict Arnold, and the Fate of the American Revolution. Can’t decide which to attend? Flip a coin. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday May 24: Thunder Boy Jr Reading

Sherman Alexie is probably Seattle’s best-known author, and hands-down our most entertaining reader. Tonight, he debuts his very first picture book, Thunder Boy Jr, which is about the trouble with being a junior, of not even owning your own name. (Alexie’s full name is Sherman Alexie Jr., so he knows what he’s talking about. University Temple United Methodist Church, 1415 NE 43rd St., 634-3400, http://ubookstore.com. $17.99. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday May 11: Becoming the Virgin

Austin writer Taylor Jacob Pate is traveling the country to celebrate the publication of his first book of poetry, Becoming the Virgin. He’s joined tonight by Seattle poets Sarah León and Jane Wong. Any bill with Wong on it deserves your attention; she’s fast becoming one of the biggest names in Seattle poetry. The Pine Box, 1600 Melrose Ave, 588-0375, http://pineboxbar.com. Free. 21+. 8 p.m.

Thursday May 12: The Game of Love and Death

Racist jackasses recently trolled an Old Navy Twitter ad because it showed a mixed-race couple. This makes Martha Brockenbrough’s The Game of Love and Death more than just a novel about a white boy and an African-American girl who fall in love and become entwined in a cosmic game of fate; it’s now a political statement. Queen Anne Book Company, 1811 Queen Anne Ave N., 284-2427, http://qabookco.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday May 13: Working Stiffs

This reading series asks writers to share their stories of work. Not, like, their writing process, but actual jobs that pay actual money in exchange for actual dignity. Today’s readers include former Seattle Magazine editor Brangien Davis and excellent Seattle poet Quenton Baker. And, as with every Working Stiffs event: free Top Pot doughnuts! Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday May 14: Breakfast with Neruda

Pablo Neruda is so hot right now. His lost poems were recently discovered and published by Port Townsend’s Copper Canyon Press, and now Laura Moe has published Breakfast with Neruda, a young adult novel about a pair of teens who bond over the 20th century’s greatest love poet.University Book Store Mill Creek, 15311 Main St., 425-385-3530. http://ubookstore.com. Free. All ages. Noon.

Sunday May 15: Mangold, Queen, and Vogel

This event from the Institute for New Connotative Action (INCA) promises some brainy literary action for your Sunday. Seattle poet Sarah Mangold (editor of the sadly defunct Bird Dog magazine and author of Electrical Theories of Femininity)is joined by Talena Queen and Danielle Vogel, who are both out at the cutting edge of literature. INCA, 2 W. Roy St., http://incainstitute.org/. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Monday May 16: We Were Feminist Once

See our Event of the Week column. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday May 17: Boy Erased

Garrard Conley’s new memoir, Boy Erased is about the trauma of growing up gay in the south. Conley’s story is thick with prejudice, violence, and the heartbreaking psychological trauma caused by ex-gay therapy, but he still finds room in his heart for forgiveness and gratitude. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday May 4: Writing for a Cause

How do you write about politics and race and gender without being preachy? How do you bring passion to contemporary issues without overwhelming your reader? Former Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata headlines a bill of writers not afraid to tell issues-based stories, including memoirist Elissa Washuta and poet Anastacia Tolbert. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. . Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Thursday May 5: Neal Bascomb

Neal Bascomb’s new book The Hidden Fortress is a non-fiction historical thriller about the plot to sabotage the Nazi quest for the atomic bomb. Bascomb moved to Seattle late last year and is still getting to know the city; let’s be neighborly by supporting his excellent new book. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. . Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Friday May 6: Jack Straw Writers Series

The first three Fridays of May, Jack Straw Productions presents local authors who have taken part in their annual Writers Program, which trains writers how to be better communicators. Tonight’s readers include Robert Lashley and Shin Yu Pai, who are two of the most talented poets the Seattle area has to offer. Jack Straw Cultural Center, 4261 Roosevelt Way NE, 634-0919. http://www.jackstraw.org/.$5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday May 7: Epilogue/Prologue

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Sunday May 8: Mother's Day Crafting Party

Look, it’s okay that you didn’t get your mom something for Mother’s Day. But the least you can do is take her to this crafting party with Sewing Happiness author Sanae Ishida. You’ll make new memories with the woman who gave you life, and Ishida might read from her kids’ book about a ninja. It’s a win-win. Queen Anne Book Company, 1811 Queen Anne Ave N., 284-2427, http://qabookco.com. Free. All ages. 3 p.m.

Monday May 9: Todd Lockwood

Nobody paints a goddamned dragon like Todd Lockwood. The badass fantasy cover artist, who, I would like to reiterate, paints dragons for a living, now makes the leap from painting covers of fantasy novels to the writers’ chair. His debut novel, The Summer Dragon, promises “an exciting new take on the dragon-riding genre.” Sold! University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, http://www2.bookstore.washington.edu/. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday May 10: David Rolf

Not so long ago, conservatives mocked Seattle’s push for a $15 minimum wage. Now, California and New York are scrambling to follow our lead. Local SEIU president David Rolf presents The Fight for Fifteen, his account of how Seattle adopted $15, and his explanation why the rest of the country needs to catch the hell up. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday April 27: Local Voices

Seattle Arts and Lectures’ Writers in the Schools program delivers some of the best Seattle-area writers (and visiting authors) to local students who are hungry for writing education. Tonight, Seattle-area WitS all-star teachers present new work, including Rachel Kessler, Sierra Nelson, and Anastacia Tolbert. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Thursday April 28: Hannah Faith Notess and Amelia Martens

Seattle author Notess, who writes wonderful poems about the problematic experiences of avatars in video games, teams up with Kentucky poet Martens, whose new book The Spoons in the Grass Are There to Dig a Moat is a beautiful little collection of prose poems about nature and Jesus and IKEA housing for refugees. Queen Anne Book Company, 1811 Queen Anne Ave N., 284-2427, http://qabookco.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday April 29: Tod Marshall, Heather McHugh & Lucia Perillo

Three Washington poets celebrate the end of National Poetry Month at downtown’s newest literary events space. McHugh (who does not read in Seattle nearly enough for my tastes) and Perillo are both MacArthur “Genius” grant winners. Marshall is Washington state’s newest Poet Laureate, and is a tireless advocate for local poetry. Folio: The Seattle Athenaem, 324 Marion St., 402-4612, http://folioseattle.org. Free. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday April 30: Independent Bookstore Day

See our Event of the Week column for more details. Various bookstores around the Puget Sound, http://indiebookstoreday.com. Free. All ages.

Sunday May 1: Weed & Memoir

While there will be no pot sold or consumed on Hugo House’s premises for this event, organizer David Schmader wants you to, if at all possible, show up stoned. Schmader, Angela Garbes, and Tina Rowley will read original memoir pieces, and readers including Charles Smith and Michelangelo Matos will read provocative pieces from entertainingly trashy celebrity autobiographies.Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. $5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Monday May 2: Pamela Haag

Americans feel helpless when it comes to the gun epidemic in part because we’ve been bamboozled by advertising. Haag is the author of The Gunning of America, which tells the true story of how America’s gun-crazy culture was created by marketing campaigns bought and created by the gun industry. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday May 3: Black Box: A Record of the Catastrophe

Black Box: A Record of the Catastrophe is a new journal of “various timely and timeless political and philosophical propositions,” mostly devoted to the idea of revolution. Tonight, local contributors including Charles Mudede, Alejandro de Acosta, Emily Abenfroth, and Corianton Hale will read and discuss what Black Box means to them. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday April 13: Hope Jahren

Lab Girl is a memoir about sexism in the sciences — the STEM fields are still an old boys’ club — and what it’s like to follow a lifelong love of science. To Jahren, math and analytic thinking isn’t the most important part of being a scientist; having a question is what counts most. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, http://townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday April 14th: Noir at the Bar

Writers of pulp, noir, and mystery fiction get together in Seattle’s classiest bar to read new work, drink a lot, and celebrate the city’s burgeoning crime fiction scene. Readers include Robert Dugoni, Tom Kelly, Skye Moody, and Jim Thomsen; your host is prolific pulp writer Will “The Thrill” Viharo.
Sorrento Hotel, 900 Madison St., 622-6400, http://hotelsorrento.com. Free. 21 and over. 7 p.m.

Friday April 15: Hugo Literary Series

A cliché can destroy a piece of writing. Case in point: if I were to follow that first sentence with a sentence claiming that “Writers should avoid clichés like the plague,” you would, rightfully, stop reading right there. Clichés are more than just over-exhausted expressions made meaningless by repetition; they’re signifiers that a writer hasn’t put enough thought into their argument. They identify a piece of writing that has not endured any editorial scrutiny. It’s fine for a writer to insert a cliché in a first draft but by the time they get around to the third draft, that cliché had better be replaced with an original thought, stated originally. Otherwise, it’s not writing, it’s just putting words on a page.

It’s interesting, then, that Hugo House, a writing center, has for the last year been celebrating cliché in its Hugo Literary Series events. The Literary Series has always employed the writing prompt, that most classic of writing-class conventions, as its primary conceit. Three writers — a mix of local and nationally celebrated authors — and one local musician create new work based on a theme. Writers like Sherman Alexie, Nicole Hardy, and Kevin Sampsell and musician Rachel Flotard responding to vague-but-intriguing phrases like “While You Were Sleeping” create a through-line for the evening, adding a sense of discovery and play that is not unlike what you’ll find in a particularly good writing class.

But the inclusion of cliché into this year’s Literary Series has added another little kick of drama to the formula. Writers understand that clichés are taboo, and so when they’re forced to incorporate them into the work, they approach them nervously and from interesting angles. The last event’s cliché — “what goes around comes around” — inspired interesting work from musician OC Notes and poet Sierra Nelson, along with a funny, alarming essay by Heidi Julavits about her fears that her son might one day grow up to be a rapist.

This week’s Literary Series event is centered around the cliché “all’s fair in love and war.” Novelist Claire Vaye Watkins, Seattle electronic music stalwart Alex Osuch, novelist Andrew Sean Greer, and Seattle poet and slam performer Roberto Ascalon will all try to embrace the cliché without covering themselves in the stench of bad writing.

These writers should do just fine with the task. Ascalon is nimble and thoughtful and fun. Greer’s writing can be off-putting — a little too polished — but he’s never at a loss for cleverness. Osuch is a founding member of Old Growth Northwest and ran their reading series, so he’s bringing a writer’s eye to the challenge. But Watkins is the one to watch. She’s having a bit of a moment right now; her dystopian novel Gold Fame Citrus devastated readers with its weird beauty last year, and for her next trick, she published an essay titled “On Pandering: How to Write Like a Man” that pretty much burned the publishing industry to the ground. This is a writer who is physically unable to think an uninteresting thought. The clichés should fall like dominoes, or a house of cards, or toy soldiers, or, you know, something else that falls down easily.

Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. $25. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Saturday April 16: Chester Brown

Brown launched from the autobiographical comics scene of the late 1980s, but he’s gone on to embrace a very particular cause as his life’s work. In his memoir Paying for It, Brown advocated, through personal experience, the legalization of prostitution. His new book, Mary Wept Over the Feet of Jesus, studies the history of prostitution in the Bible.

Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, http://hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Sunday April 17: Eric Morse

Morse’s What is Punk? is a children’s book explaining punk music to kids, from the Sex Pistols to the Talking Heads. Told in rhyme and illustrated in photos of clay sculptures by Anny Yi, it’s probably the world’s first history of punk intended for an elementary school audience. Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Ave NE, 525-2347 http://thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. Noon.

Monday April 18: Shawn Vestal

Vestal is about as Spokane as they come. His short stories, collected in a book called Godforsaken Idaho, are about religion and drugs and desolation. His new book, a first novel titled Daredevils, revels even more in its essential Spokane-ness, throwing in Evel Knievel and a polygamy cult for good measure. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, http://elliottbaybook.com . Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday April 19: The Lost Neruda

Last year, literary archivists discovered unpublished poems by the greatest love poet of the 20th century, Pablo Neruda. Tonight, Washington publisher Copper Canyon Press celebrates the publication of those poems in a book titled Then Come Back: The Lost Neruda. Author Forrest Gander hosts an evening of bilingual readings, a panel discussion, and more. McCaw Hall, 925 E. Pike St., 709-9442,http://lectures.org . $15. All ages. 8 p.m.

Wednesday April 6: Lit Fix

The books-and-booze-and-bands reading series, founded on the revolutionary concept that readings can and should be fun, celebrates its third anniversary with a brand-new home at Chop Suey and a killer lineup: poet Michelle Peñaloza, author Anca Szilagyi, poet Anastacia Tolbert, young adult author Sean Boudoin novelist Gint Aras, and musical act The Wild. Chop Suey, 1325 Madison St, 538-0556, litfixseattle.com $5. 21+. 7 p.m. (Full disclosure: the Seattle Review of Books is a media sponsor of this edition of Lit Fix. No money was exchanged or anything like that; we're just big fans and so we gave them ad space in the Seattle Weekly to promote their reading.)

Thursday April 7: Cheap Wine & Poetry

The long-running series pairing compelling poets with $1 wine will gather one last time on Hugo House’s stage. Readers Roberto Ascalon, Sarah Galvin, Tara Hardy, and—her again!—Michelle Peñaloza will see the series off in style. Will CW&P continue? Will it move with Hugo House or find a new venue? Stay tuned. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday April 8: Hometown Heroes

Emerald City Comicon is this weekend, and if you haven’t already gotten tickets, you’re out of luck—the show is completely sold out. But there are a couple satellite events happening that you can attend, even if you don’t have tickets to the big show. First up, on Thursday night at 7 pm, Arcane Comics in Ballard is hosting their second annual All Star Comics party with local cartoonists alongside national comics pros like Jim Mahfood and Alex De Campi. And on Saturday night at 7 pm, Phoenix Comics on Broadway is hosting a party for the popular podcasters behind Jay & Miles X-plain the X-Men.

Even more interesting is Hometown Heroes, a new one-night comics show dedicated to showing off the best cartooning talent Seattle has to offer. Hometown Heroes was inspired in part by complaints from local cartoonists who feel abandoned outside Emerald City’s gates. The minicomics and alt-comics scene in Seattle has for some time now felt marginalized by ECCC’s increasing mass-media vibe, and this year many Seattle cartoonists were unable to even acquire tables at the show. On Facebook, local cartoonists grumble that ECCC has forgotten the local scene that helped make the convention such a big deal to begin with — though it must be noted that it’s not like the city has been locked out of its own convention entirely; Seattle cartoonists like Colleen Frakes and Peter Bagge are featured ECCC guests.

Still, the guest list for Hometown Heroes certainly does look like a who’s who in the Seattle comics underground: James The Stanton, Ben Horak, Katie Wheeler, Marc Palm, Josh Simmons, Noel Frankln, Bagge, Seth Goodkind, Gina Siciliano, and Max Clotfelter are all on the bill. The guest of honor is Stefano Gaudiano, a local inker perhaps best known for his work on The Walking Dead. Hometown Heroes is organized by 80% Studios, the local cartoonists behind the full-color local comics anthology Nemesis Enforcer, a new issue of which will be available at the event. Sponsors for the show include local comics stores Zanadu, Comics Dungeon, Fantagraphics, and Arcane Comics. It’s about as homegrown as it gets.

Hometown Heroes takes place at 1927 Events, an event space about ten minutes’ walk from the Washington State Convention Center. Attendance is free, and everyone who shows up gets a free comic. It’s another testament to Seattle’s cartooning community that our comics convention has become so successful that it needs a supplementary comics show just to showcase all the awesome stuff being created in Seattle right now. This is shaping up to be the hot-ticket Emerald City Comicon afterparty, a more relaxed space where the people who are more serious about comics and less interested in, say, meeting Nathan Fillion in person can gather to talk about the craft, gossip about the personalities, and check out the latest work from Seattle’s alt-comics scene. This is what community looks like.

1927 Events, 1927 3rd Ave, 979-7467, 80percentstudios.tumblr.com. Free. All ages. 6:30 p.m.

Saturday April 9: Encyclopedia Greenwoodia Launch Party

This is a party to celebrate the launch of a book about Greenwood written by students and professional writers (including, full disclosure, me). Come and raise a glass of milk to toast the publication of the book, and the unbreakable spirit of the neighborhood that book celebrates. We'll have more about the book and the party later on today, right here on the Seattle Review of Books.

Greenwood Senior Center, 525 N. 85th St., 297-0875, fearlessideas.org. Free. All ages. 2 p.m.

Alternate Saturday April 9: Mary Roach

All of Mary Roach’s books, about death and space travel and sex and eating, begin with a simple question: what happens next? She’s wildly curious and unashamedly willing to ask the most indelicate questions to track down answers. (Most people would call asking astronauts about their sex lives “rude.” Roach calls it “research.”) Because of this, Roach’s readings are absolute delights; the only thing she loves more than learning is sharing her findings with an audience. Everett Performing Arts Center, 2710 Wetmore Ave., 425-257-0875, Free. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Sunday April 10: The End Is the Beginning and Other Things About Openings

How do you invite a reader into your story without over-setting the table, telegraphing the ending, or otherwise losing the audience? Donna Miscolta—author of the novel When the de la Cruz Family Danced and the upcoming story collection Hola and Goodbye—hosts this free writing class focused intently on beginnings. Seattle Public Library, Beacon Hill Branch, 2821 Beacon Ave. S, 684-4711, spl.org. Free. All ages. 2 p.m.

Monday April 11: Sonny Liew

Singapore-based cartoonist Liew debuts his dazzling new book The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, a meta-biography of an influential elderly Singaporean cartoonist who happens to have never existed. Liew will discuss comics history, Singapore, and more onstage tonight with Seattle Review of Books co-founder Martin McClellan. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Alternate Monday April 11: Bard in a Bar: Hamlet

The Seattle Public Library continues their monthlong celebration of Shakespeare’s First Folio with the Bard in a Bar series. Tonight, Hamlet is presented via drunken crowdsourcing. Many of the world’s best ideas — Wikipedia, the Constitution — are a result of drunken crowdsourcing, so this should end well. Solo Bar, 200 Roy St., 213-0800, spl.org. Free. 21+. 8 p.m..

Tuesday April 12: Jacqueline Woodson

Seattle Arts & Lectures lives up to their mission statement of bringing big-name authors to town with Jacqueline Woodson, the National Book Award-winning author of exquisite young adult novels like Brown Girl Dreaming, Beneath a Meth Moon, and Hush. Expect a conversation about the reality in her semi-autobiographical book. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $15-60. All ages. 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday March 30: Naja Marie Aidt & Andrés Neuman

Novelist Naja Marie Aidt is from Greenland and Denmark. Short story author Andrés Neuman is from Buenos Aires. Tonight, Aidt reads from her novel about a broken toaster and Neuman shares some of the stories that reportedly made Roberto Bolaño want to weep, in an international celebration of kickass literature. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday March 31: Joyce Maynard

Joyce Maynard’s new novel, Under the Influence, is about an alcoholic mother whose irresponsibility caused her to lose custody of her child. She becomes friends with a wealthy couple who promise to help her regain control of her life and get her child back. Can she trust them, or herself? Folio: The Seattle Athenaem, 324 Marion St., 402-4612, folioseattle.org. $5. 7 p.m.

Friday April 1: Youth Speaks Seattle 2016 Grand Slam

Poetry slams aren’t for everyone, but the Youth Speaks Grand Slam is the most accessible example of the form. The enthusiasm young people bring to poetry is palpable, and these are the best young slam poets in the region. Host Hollis Wong-Wear will be joined by musical guest Mary Lambert to make things extra-special. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $10-20. All ages. 7 p.m.

Saturday April 2: Edible Book Festival

Every spring, Seattle’s edition of the international Edible Book Festival brings amateur and semi-professional chefs together to make plates of food that center around puns. (Past examples: The Silence of the Lamb Chops, A Game of Scones, and Ham of Green Gables.) Why? Who cares? At the end, you get to eat all the books. Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 17171 Bothell Way NE, 366-3333, thirdplacebooks.com. Free. All ages. 11 a.m.

Sunday April 3: The Life and Times of Galileo

The kids of Seattle Historical Arts present stories of Galileo’s life through musical interludes, storytelling, and reenactment. A trio of classical musicians will perform music by Galileo’s father, composer Vincenzo Galilei, as kids reenact moments in the seminal astronomer’s life while dressed in period costume. This one one ought to be entirely adorable. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $6-12. All ages. 1 p.m.

Monday April 4: Rob Spillman

Tin House editor Rob Spillman is one of the best-respected figures in the literary scene. But thankfully his new book, All Tomorrow’s Parties, isn’t a bookish tell-all—book gossip is not juicy gossip. Instead, it’s a memoir of growing up in West Berlin and returning home as an adult after the Berlin Wall fell. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, hugohouse.org. $10. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday April 5: Lesley Hazleton

Lesley Hazleton, delightfully, does not put up with anyone’s bullshit. If you’ve seen her read, you’ve probably seen her dismantle some lazy idea or another using just her smoky voice and easy laugh. If you follow her on Twitter, you’ve seen her talk proudly about her abortion, and against the tyranny of the zealots who somehow seized the moral high ground by claiming the name “pro-life” for themselves. (Hazleton has been involved with Amelia Bonow’s #ShoutYour Abortion movement from the very beginning.) At a reading for the whitewashed Seattle: City of Literature anthology last year, Hazleton discussed Seattle’s unspoken racist tendencies with a tenacious inquisitiveness that made some of the more delicate panelists and members of the audience turn even whiter out of mortification. She is, to put it simply, the kind of truth-teller we need more of in this town.

She’s just as cheerfully boisterous on the page, too. Hazleton writes books about the one subject that most authors would be afraid to touch — religion. Her trilogy of historical religious biographies — Jezebel, Mary, and, yes, The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad —recontextualize some of the most controversial figures in history through a blend of scholarship, first-person reportage, and literary criticism. Another book, After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam,investigates a topic that most Americans would rather ignore, or at least stereotype beyond recognition.

So after years of writing about religion and the Middle East and abortion, what’s left for Hazleton to tackle? Well, she’s staking a spot directly in some of the most contentious territory imaginable, smack in the middle between religion and atheism. Hazleton’s newest book is titled Agnostic: A Spirited Manifesto, and it’s exactly what it sounds like: a full-throated defense of a stance, as she puts it in the title of the book’s first chapter, “Beyond Either/Or.” She’s celebrating Agnostic’s release with a big launch party at Town Hall this week, and attendance is mandatory, whether or not you’re religious or an atheist

Agnostic is, like all of Hazleton’s work, meticulously researched — she spends so much time at the UW’s Suzzallo Library that they really ought to name a reading chair after her — and unafraid to take a stance, even if that stance is not taking a stance between belief and disbelief. She calls it “an exploration of the agnostic perspective, or the zones of thought that open up once you break free of deceptively neat categorizations, and that then feed back into each other in fresh and unexpected ways.”

Agnosticism has always gotten a bad rap; nobody likes a fence-sitter. But when someone as hugely intelligent, curious, and fearless as Hazleton embraces agnosticism, it should encourage even the most ardent atheists to take notice. In 2015, most people form opinions in whatever amount of time it takes to craft a tweet; Hazleton is demonstrating an inordinate amount of guts by embracing “I don’t know” as a cause. Town Hall Seattle, 1119 8th Ave., 652-4255, townhallseattle.org. $5. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday March 23: Robert Sawyer

Sawyer’s science fiction novels are about what happens when you introduce one high-concept sci-fi element to an otherwise ordinary world. He then spends the rest of the book examining the ramifications of that collision. His newest, Quantum Night, uses experimental psychology and quantum physics to explore human nature. University Book Store, 4326 University Way N.E., 634-3400, bookstore.washington.edu. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Thursday March 24: Haunted House: A Reading

Haunted House: A Reading Halloween is a long way off, but you never really need an excuse for a good scary story. Seattle writers Adrian Ryan, Sarah Galvin, Jack Bennett, and Paul Rinn tell their most frightening tales, with (presumably creepy) music by Must I Mind and hosting by the indomitable Jackie Hell. Eastern Cafe, 510 Maynard Ave S., 623-1776, fashionhotdog225.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Friday March 25: Glossophonic

Hollow Earth Radio’s glorious Magma Festival is adding a few literary events to the mix this year, including this beauty of a night, pairing “experimental, spatial sound ensemble” Fhtagn and electronic trio Netcat with readings by Seattle stalwarts Kreg Hasegawa and Lauren Ireland, along with NYC-based author Sue Landers. Hollow Earth Radio, 2018 E. Union St., 617-1683, hollowearthradio.org. Free. All ages. 8 p.m.

Saturday March 26: Maged Zaher

The Seattle-by-way-of-Egypt poet reads from his new book The Consequences of My Body. Read my review here.

Open Books, 2414 N. 45th St., 633-0811, openpoetrybooks.com. Free. All ages. 4:30 p.m.

Sunday March 27: Norwescon

Norwescon is our largest and longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention. Every year a small army of cosplayers, LARP-friendly sword dealers, novelists, and comics luminaries pack into a SeaTac hotel for a happy (and surprisingly horny) weekend of unabashed fandom. It’s a supportive, friendly environment to geek out about whatever you love. DoubleTree by Hilton, 18740 International Blvd., (425) 243-4692, norwescon.org. $30. All ages. 9 a.m.

Monday March 28: Nguyen Phan Que Mai

You don’t read enough work in translation. Translated poetry is a great way to learn about another culture without taking on crippling airfare costs. Tonight, Vietnamese poet and translator Nguyen Phan Que Mai reads from her first book to be translated to English, The Secret of Hoa Sen. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, hugohouse.org. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Tuesday March 29: Garth Greenwell

Greenwell’s debut novel, What Belongs to You, has soaked up accolades from just about every review outlet imaginable. Tonight’s reading gives you a chance to take the hype out for a test drive before investing in the book. Greenwell will be joined onstage by novelist Idra Novey and Shelf Awareness reporter Davie Wheeler. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 p.m.

Wednesday March 9: Beacon Bards

Readers at this fun, laid-back reading series in the heart of Beacon Hill include Seattle poets Aaron Counts and Matt Gano, as well as Leija Farr, the city’s first-ever Youth Poet Laureate. At just 17, Farr’s a scary-good poet; she’s already won no less a vocal fan than Sherman Alexie. The Station Coffee Shop, 2533 16th Ave S, 453-4892, beacon-arts.org. Free. All ages. 7 pm

Thursday March 10: A Craft Talk with Susan Orlean

Susan Orlean is either best known as the author of The Orchid Thief or for being played by Meryl Streep in the movie Adaptation. But she’s not just some celebrity: Orlean is one of the top reporters in the goddamned country, and an opportunity to hear her talk about her craft is a privilege. Hugo House, 1634 11th Ave, 322-7030, hugohouse.org. $5-10 adv. 21 All ages. 7 pm

Friday March 11: Carol J. Poole

Sometimes you’ve just gotta take a chance on a premise. I haven’t read Seattle author Carol Poole’s memoir, Grits, Green Beans and the Holy Ghost: Memoirs of a Girl Monk, but it’s the true story of how Poole’s family came to join a cult. A premise like that is tough to screw up. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 7 pm

Saturday March 12: Dan Clowes

Nobody can really argue that Dan Clowes is underrated—the man’s name is synonymous with high-quality literary comics—but Clowes is a rare talent in that he keeps getting better as he ages. For those reasons and more, his newest book, a time-traveling comic titled Patience, is one of the most-anticipated books (not “comics”; books) of 2016. Fantagraphics Bookstore & Gallery, 925 E Pike St, 658-0110, fantagraphics.com/flog/bookstore. Free. All ages. 6 pm.

Sunday March 13: Hannah Notess

Seattle poet Hannah Notess’s latest collection, The Multitude, has been a long time coming. Her excellent video-game-obsessed chapbook Ghost House won Floating Bridge Press’s 2013 Chapbook Award, and she’s kept a relatively low profile in the intervening years. We could use more fun, energetic, clear-headed poets; hopefully after this reading Notess won't disappear for another three years. Elliott Bay Book Company, 1521 10th Ave, 624-6600, elliottbaybook.com. Free. All ages. 3 pm

Monday March 14: The Starting Gate Release Party

When celebrated local playwright Paul Mullin announced his retirement from theater, everybody hoped it was more of a Jay-Z kind of retirement, as opposed to the Sean Connery variety. Thankfully, this debut party for his raucous memoir, The Starting Gate, indicates he’s not out of the writing game yet. St. Andrews Bar & Grill, 7406 Aurora Ave N, 523-1193. Free. 21 and over. 7 p.m. PAUL CONSTANT

Tuesday March 15: APRIL Festival Opening Night Party

If it’s March, that means it must be time for APRIL, the annual small-press literary festival that smashes drag queens, fancy clothes, and booze together into an orgasmic explosion of books and art. This year’s APRIL—the name stands for Authors, Publishers, and Readers of Independent Literature—is the fifth annual festival, and it demonstrates a few signs of maturity. For one thing, the early evening happy hour readings that used to be an integral part of the APRIL experience have disappeared this year, leaving a leaner and more focused schedule in its place.

But don’t expect a subdued affair. This is the same festival, after all, that once concluded an event with Ed Skoog reading poetry in a parking garage while the audience circled him like some sort of literary Fight Club. They ended one dark, death-obsessed reading with a joyous surprise Ezell’s fried-chicken feast. Last year, they produced a literary séance hosted by Rebecca Brown that delivered the spirits of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas to the Sorrento Hotel’s Fireside Room in a goofy, romantic celebration of literary love. APRIL is all about putting writing into uncomfortable places and seeing what happens.

On Tuesday, APRIL hosts an opening night party at the Pine Box, and as always, they’ve assembled a killer lineup to kick off the festival: Olympia poet and translator Alejandro de Acosta; Sarah Jaffe, whose coming-of-age novel Dryland was ecstatically blurbed by no less a titan than Argonauts author Maggie Nelson; APRIL writer-in-residence Jenny Zhang; and Short Run co-founder and cartoonist Kelly Froh. So right there, you have a translator who publishes essays in anarchist journals, a subversive young adult author, one of the city’s finest cartoonists, and the New York-based Zhang, whose precise essays, fiction, and poetry marks her as one of the hottest up-and-coming young names in NYC literary circles. What happens when you pack them all in a bar and get some booze in them? Who knows? You have to show up and see; that’s part of the fun.

But there’s sure to be more than just a few impressive names at this party; in five years APRIL has proven itself to be genetically incapable of putting on a boring event. Their opening parties have involved mind-bending drag performances, shiny mylar balloons, music from fun bands like Pony Time, pizza, and the occasional giddy burst of hair metal. “Expect the unexpected” is more than a shitty bumper sticker—it’s the one rule in the APRIL Festival guidebook.

The opening night party kicks off what looks to be a gratifying week of festivities including a fifth anniversary party bringing back some of APRIL’s greatest hits including Skoog, Galvin, Maged Zaher, Robert Lashley, and many more; a visual art show inspired by Zhang’s poetry; a talk by David Schmader about the depiction of writers in movies; and the climactic APRIL Book Expo at Hugo House, which, for one day, becomes the largest non-corporate bookstore in the entire state of Washington. The cherry trees are blooming, the days are getting longer, and APRIL is arriving in March. It’s time to get excited. The Pine Box, 1600 Melrose Ave, 588-0375, aprilfestival.com. Free. 21 and over. 7:30 pm.

Your Week in Readings, our weekly column highlighting one amazing event per day, is moving to Wednesdays. But we don't want to leave you without events for two days, so here's a special supplementary listing for today:

Once you get the practice down, most writers will tell you, writing is easy. It's the revising that's tough. When you understand that fact, it's really kind of surprising that aspiring authors spend so much money on how-to-write classes, when it's the revision classes that ought to be their focus.

Tonight, the Hugo House is hosting a rare revision-focused event titled Marginalia. Seattle author Adrianne Harun and Seattle screenwriter and author Ramon Isao will join novelist Dana Spiotta to discuss the act of revision — what works, what doesn't, and why it's so damned important.

These are three writers at very different places in their careers — Spiotta publishes regularly and teaches writing at Syracuse; Harun is just getting started as a novelist but has also published a short story collection; and Isao has been published in literary journals including Hobart and the Iowa Review. They presumably each have very different revising techniques and philosophies, so between the three of them, you're very likely to find someone whose idea of revision speaks to you.

It's free! Go learn.

Your Week in Readings, our weekly column highlighting one amazing event per day, is moving to Wednesdays. But we don't want to leave you without events for two days, so here's a special supplementary listing for today:

Really, who doesn't stare out at Mount Rainier every once in a while with a sense of foreboding? After all, the eruption of Mount St. Helens is recent enough — in geological terms, it's barely been a matter of seconds — that we all understand what happens when a mountain decides to blow its metaphorical and literal top.

Seattle writer Steve Olson's brand-new book, Eruption: The Untold Story of Mount St. Helens is a historical account of the biggest volcanic eruption we've seen in decades. Olson discusses the geology of the eruption, of course, but he also looks deeply at the people affected by Mount St. Helens: the 57 people who died, the economic reasons why certain people were affected more than others, the choices businesses made before and after the eruption, the history of humanity's relationship with the area.

Tonight, Olson will be in discussion with Steve Scher at Town Hall. Tickets are $5. You should go.

MONDAY Your week starts at Town Hall with science journalist Sonia Shah. Her new book Pandemic examines the possibility of infectious disease destroying human civilization by examining the many times cholera has broken out over the last two centuries. Cholera has killed hundreds of millions of human beings. Which, you know, is depressing. But important!

TUESDAY We’re starting this day off by pointing out that Timothy Egan debuts his new book, Meagher, From Irish Immigrant to Hero, at Town Hall. Egan is one of Seattle’s heavyweights, and this is sure to be a huge reading. But we also like the smaller events, and Hugo House’s second Ask the Oracle reading at the Sorrento Hotel sounds like a very fun time. Three authors read works in response to audience questions, and the whole event is disguised as a fortune-telling experience. Today’s readers are New York poet Roberto Ascalon, Seattle novelist Megan Kruse (author of the excellent Call Me Home), and Seattle poet Imani Sims. Honestly, you could go to either of these events and have a lot of fun.

WEDNESDAY Up in Third Place Books Lake Forest Park Kathryn Aalto reads from her book The Natural World of Winnie-the-Pooh, which examines the story behind A.A. Milne’s childrens’ books through drawings, photographs, and biographical details. If you’re into behind-the-scenes material, you’ll love this one.

THURSDAY Elliott Bay Book Company hosts Sri Lankan author Nayomi Munaweera, whose new novel What Lies Between Us explores “the bonds between women, the lifelong impact of trauma, and feminism's last taboo.”

FRIDAY It’s back to Elliott Bay Book Company with you for professor emeritus at the University of Washington Colleen J. McElroy, who will read from her newest book of poems, Blood Memory. McElroy really ought to get more credit as a towering figure in Seattle poetry; she’s been an involved member of the community for decades, and her poetry might just knock your (metaphorical) socks off.

SATURDAY The third Rainier Valley Lit Crawl happens tonight, rain or shine. Tonight’s Crawl runs from Spinnaker Bay Brewing to Big Chickie to The Collaboratory to Union Bar, and it features writers including Paul E. LaPier, Kathryn Burgomaster, EJ Koh, Philip Randolph, Faiza Sultan, Becca HallJed Myers, and Mary Crane. I bet you’ve never attended a poetry reading in a Peruvian-style chicken restaurant, have you? Tonight’s your big chance. It’s free. What do yo uhave to lose?

SUNDAY As with most of our weeks recently, our week ends tonight at The Monorail Reading Series at Fred Wildlife Refuge. Tonight’s poets are all reportedly pioneers in one way or another, including new-to-Seattle poet Michael Harper, Portland author and Octopus Books assistant editor Hajara Quinn, and Copper Canyon poet Natalie Shapero. Pioneering or not, this seems like a stellar lineup of local and visiting poets. Plus: booze! What’s not to love?

MONDAY Kick your week off right, with the very first “Ask the Oracle” event at the Sorrento Hotel. This is a new fortune-telling themed reading series from the Hugo House, and it’s got a great gimmick: audience members anonymously ask questions about their futures. The authors find answers to those questions in their books. Hugo House supplied a sample Q&A in the promotional materials:

Question: Should I move to a new city soon?

Answer (found by opening Richard Hugo’s Triggering Town to a random page ): “The 1944 Italy I remembered brown and gray and lifeless. Every city, every small town reeked.”

The readers/fortune tellers at this one are novelist Rebecca Makkai, screenwriter and novelist Ramon Isao, and local treasure/short story author Stacey Levine. Levine practically does divination in her readings on a regular basis anyway, so she’s an especially good choice to kick off the new format.

TUESDAY Hugo House hosts an event titled “Passing the Laurel.” It’s a reading that passes the symbolic baton from former Washington State Poet Laureate Elizabeth Austen to current Washington State Poet Laureate Tod Marshall, with former Washington State Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken hosting. That’s a lot of damn laureates.

WEDNESDAY At The Book Larder in Fremont, Jesse and Kit Schumann of fancy Seattle bakery Sea Wolf Bakers teach how to make their rye bread, which is reportedly life-changingly good. According to the Larder, class size “is limited to 10 students and [the $65 entry fee] includes a light snack, bread samples, and bread and sourdough starter to take home.”

THURSDAY Tonight, author Yann Martel reads at the central branch of the Seattle Public Library downtown. I am not a fan of Martel’s Man Booker Prizewinning novel The Life of Pi; I think it’s a book that tries way too hard to prove its cleverness to its readers. But it is beloved by many people, and if you are one of those people, you should consider coming to this reading from The High Mountains of Portugal, which is a novel told in three novellas.

FRIDAY It’s time for the Hugo Literary Series at the Hugo House. As with all the Literary Series events this year, three authors and a musician write new work in response to a cliché. Tonight’s cliché is “What goes around comes around.” Your readers are poet D. A. Powell, excellent novelist/Believer magazine co-founder Heidi Julavits, and fantastic poet Sierra Nelson. Your musician tonight — and this is very exciting — is OCnotes. Here’s a video of Notes at work:

SATURDAY Here’s a neat-sounding event for women only: Read and Bleed at Twilight Gallery in West Seattle. It’s a period-themed reading event for women. The poster promises that this event is for ““Different vagendas, one cliterati.” In the organizers’ own words, here’s what’s going on:

Who: WOMEN ONLY (Women-Identified ok)

Breastfeeding moms are welcome too.

What: A Space Devoted To Self-Care (Read and be Read To)

When: The Day Before Valentine's

Where: Twilight Gallery in West Seattle

Bring your favorite book, pillow, and blankie

Dress-code: Super Casual, as in PJs, sweats, yoga pants, fuzzy socks ... the kind of attire you wear when bleeding.

FREE WINE & CHOCOLATE.

SUNDAY Spend your Valentine’s Day with UW professor of wildlife science John Marzluff, who reads at the Everett Public Library. His book Suburdia is about why suburbia has become home to diverse animal species, and how humans are supposed to share space with wildlife in the years ahead.