Soak in creative and cozy winter vibes at Library programs in January and February. Browse zines and make your own on Saturdays at the ZAPP Zine Collection, celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Dark Shadows,” enjoy love poetry on the Central Library’s Red Floor with guest curator Amber Flame, and more.
All Library events are free and open to the public. Find more book-related events, including a variety of book and writing programs, at our Books and Authors calendar. Find information and registration through the event links below or at www.spl.org/Calendar.
Many of these events are supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Registration is not required unless noted.
ZAPP Zine Collection Winter Open Hours and Zine-Making Drop-In. Saturdays, January 24 through March 14, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 7 Zine Room. Browse one of the world’s largest collections of zines made in Seattle and beyond, and make one of your own with free zine-making supplies that we’ll have on hand. Originally part of Richard Hugo House, ZAPP (the Zine Archive & Publishing Project) is a library of over 30,000 zines, minicomics and other self-published and small press titles.
Guest Curator Amber Flame presents “Rooting for the Future.” Sunday, Jan. 25, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for the kickoff event of “We Belong Together,” a new series curated by writer and artist Amber Flame that explores the delight and connectivity in collective care. “Rooting for the Future” will discuss practical learning tools such as collective farming, micro-communities using barter and trade systems, foraging groups, and root- and medicinal knowledge sharing. Registration is required.
Family, Memory and War with Bill Thorness. Wednesday, Jan. 28, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. West Seattle Branch. Seattle author Bill Thorness considers the value and limits of memory, attitudes toward war, and our society’s inadequate understanding and support of combat veterans in his new book “All Roads Lead to Rome: Searching for the End of My Father’s War.”
Fall Back in Love with Dark Shadows. Thursday, Feb. 5, from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Celebrate the 60th anniversary of “Dark Shadows” with a live reading of an episode, a reading from Craig Hurd-McKenney’s new graphic novel, “A Curse of Dark Shadows,” and an author Q&A and book signing. With Haunted Burrow Book and HWA Seattle. Registration is required.
Miz Floes presents “Royalty Revisited.” Thursday, Feb. 19, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join multidisciplinary artist Miz Floes for an evening of spoken word fused with theater. Miss Barbara and Miss Rosa Lee reminisce about the neighborhood of their youth while seeking to restore the once-thriving community of their memories. Can they restore the neighborhood and change the narrative? Registration is required.
“Meet Cute at the Library” with Amber Flame. Sunday, Feb. 22, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Central Library Level 4 (the Red Floor), Room 1. The second event in guest curator Amber Flame’s series was inspired by “The Stranger’s” cheap date suggestion to find a book of love poems and read them together on the Central Library’s Red Floor. At our re-creation, local performers will share poems and short stories that celebrate all kinds of love, and participate in a panel on writing the heart. Registration is required.
Michiko Aoyama discusses “Hot Chocolate on Thursday.” Wednesday, Feb. 25, from 7 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. The bestselling author of “What You Are Looking For Is in the Library” will discuss her new Japanese cozy novel, a tapestry of slice-of-life moments that open and close with a woman ordering her regular hot chocolate at the mysterious Marble Cafe. Registration is required.
KUOW Book Talks with Author Coll Thrush. Thursday, Feb. 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join KUOW’s Katie Campbell in conversation with Indigenous Studies Professor Coll Thrush to explore the stories behind his new book, “Wrecked: Unsettling Histories from the Graveyard of the Pacific.” “Wrecked” is a haunting and deeply researched look at the Northwest Coast, where more than 2,000 shipwrecks reveal powerful histories of place, people, and survival. With Third Place Books. KUOW Live Events are sponsored by Phinney Ridge Painting and Microsoft. Registration is required.