The Seattle Public Library’s May and June calendar is blooming with author and community programs. Find more book-related events, including a variety of book and writing programs, in our Books and Authors calendar.
All Library events are free and open to the public. 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.
SIFF Movie screening: “Reservation Redemption” & “Talliyah.” Saturday, May 9, 2026, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) for a screening of “Reservation Redemption,” and the short film, “Talliyah.” Registration is required. Tracy Rector, a filmmaker, curator, and the founder and co-director of 4th World Media Lab, will facilitate a Q&A following the film. Registration is required.
Laurie Frankel and Nancy Pearl discuss “Enormous Wings.” Wednesday, May 13, from 7 p.m. to 8:10 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Local literary luminaries Frankel and Pearl will discuss Frankel’s new book. “Enormous Wings,” an urgent novel about motherhood and family, sex and love and friendship, and how those bedrocks can still change, and then change everything. Registration is required.
Natalie Porter discusses “Girl Gangs, Zines, and Power Slides.” Thursday, May 14, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Skateboarding librarian and author Porter shows how a once-equitable sport became re-branded as a boys-only pursuit in the 1980s and 1990s, and emphasizing the importance of validating stories that have been buried, dismissed, or ignored. Registration is required.
ZAPP Zine Collection Open Hours. Saturdays, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., May 16 through June 27. Central Library, Level 7 Zine Room. Explore the ZAPP Zine Collection of over 30,000 zines, minicomics, and other small press periodicals.
“Living with Conviction” Community Conversation. Sunday, May 17, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. In conjunction with the Level 8 Gallery exhibit, “Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State,” join us for this special event featuring panelists living with court-imposed debt. The program supports Living with Conviction’s commitment to educating and breaking down the barriers between people with criminal histories and those without.
KUOW Book Talk with Sonora Jha. Thursday, May 21, from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Acclaimed Seattle author Sonora Jha will discuss her latest novel, “Intemperance” with KUOW host Katie Campbell. “Intemperance” is a sweeping and intimate story inspired by an ancient Indian ritual and the complexities of aging, love, and self-possession in a modern world. Registration is required.
Neena Viel discusses “I’ll Watch Your Baby.” Tuesday, May 26, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 4 – Room 1. In conversation with Sadie “Mother Horror” Hartmann, Neena Viel will discuss “I’ll Watch Your Baby,” a suffocating and sharp narrative horror novel for fans of Victor LaValle and “The Reformatory.” Registration is required.
One Book, One Coast: Scott Kurashige Discusses “American Peril.” Saturday, May 30, from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. As part of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, Kurashige will discuss his new book, “American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism,” about the long history of anti-Asian violence in America and how we can learn to build lasting solidarity. Registration is required.
Film screening of “Since I Been Down.” Sunday, May 31, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium. Join us for a screening of “Since I Been Down,” a documentary follows the effort of Kimonti Carter and other incarcerated individuals as they create a model of education that is transforming their lives, their communities, our prisons, and our own humanity. The event will include a moderated discussion with filmmaker Dr. Gilda Sheppard, Kimonti Carter, and Tonya Wilson, also featured in the film.
One Book, One Coast: George Takei Watch Party. Sunday, May 31, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Library, Greenwood Branch, Southwest Branch, online. As the culmination of the One Book, One Coast shared reading initiative, join us for a watch party at several Library locations or online of a livestream event with George Takei, actor, activist, and author of “They Called Us Enemy.” He will be in conversation with LA County Librarian and Director, Dr. Skye Patrick and Long Beach Public Library Director Cathy de Leon. Registration required only for the online program.
Zine-making Workshop with Densho. Saturday, June 6, from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Library, Level 4, Room 1. Densho holds archives of “Gidra,” a zine created in 1969 by Asian American students at UCLA to reflect an identity influenced by the Black Power movement. This program will include a talk about Gidra’s liberatory concepts and their focus on cross-community solidarity, labor movements, fights against displacement and gentrification, and centering the voices of communities of color. Participants will have an opportunity to create their own zine, with a workshop designed for teens and adults. Registration is required.
Living with Conviction: Sentenced to Debt for Life in Washington State Exhibit. On display at the Green Lake Branch gallery and the Central Library Level 8 gallery during open hours through July 26. In partnership with formerly incarcerated individuals, this exhibit confronts how Washington courts have been sentencing people not only to prison but also to a lifetime of debt.