Consider the rest of your summer booked!
Today, we announced that the 2026 selection for our citywide book group Seattle Reads is Sara Nović’s wonderful novel “True Biz.” “True Biz” is Nović’s second book, a New York Times bestseller about a seismic year at the River Valley School for the Deaf.
With a fast-paced storyline, unforgettable characters, and rich exploration of themes related to Deaf culture, social justice, civil rights, and autonomy, it’s an excellent pick for Seattle Reads.
As a quick reminder, Seattle Reads is the original “one book, one city” program, encouraging Seattle’s residents to deepen their engagement in literature by reading and discussing the same book. Founded in 1998, it’s since been replicated around the world. This is the first time a book by a deaf author has been chosen for Seattle Reads. And you can meet Nović when she visits Seattle in late September (more on that later).
Find copies of “True Biz”
You can find copies of “True Biz” in several ways. Starting on Friday, August 15, the Library will have unlimited copies of the “True Biz” e-book available. Later in August, the Library will have more copies of the print book available, as well as a limited number of print copies of both “True Biz” available for informal borrowing at library locations and at community sites. A discussion guide will be available in late August at www.spl.org/SeattleReads.
Informal copies of Nović’s latest book, a memoir called “Mother Tongue,” will also be available and it is also a Peak Pick!
Attend a program with Sara Nović
Nović will visit Seattle on Friday, Sept. 25 and Saturday, Sept. 26 to discuss “True Biz” at four public programs, with American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and CART live captioning at all programs. Registration is required at all programs.
- Friday, September 25, 11 a.m.: Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. N.W., Seattle
- Friday, September 25, 7 p.m.: Hugo House’s Lapis Theater, 1634 11th Ave., Seattle
- Saturday, September 26, 11 a.m.: Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St., Seattle
- Saturday, September 26, 3 p.m.: Central Library, Level 1 Microsoft Auditorium, 1000 Fourth Ave., Seattle
Seattle Reads 2026 is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and Wallace. Free and reduced access is supported by 4Culture. Deaf Spotlight is a presenting program partner.
“True Biz”: “Tender, beautiful, and radiantly outraged”
In “True Biz” readers are plunged into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where you’ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the headmistress, who is fighting to keep her school open and her marriage intact. As a series of crises threaten to unravel each of them, Charlie, Austin, and February find that their lives are inextricable from one another – and changed forever.
The book weaves information about Deaf history and culture throughout the book with the help of illustrations by Brittney Castle. The book’s title, “True Biz,” refers to an ASL expression that has no literal translation but loosely means “seriously” or “real talk.”
Published in 2022, “True Biz” was a New York Times bestseller and a Reese’s Book Club Pick. It was named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Washington Post, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist. A New York Times review called “True Biz” “tender, beautiful and radiantly outraged.”
Sara Nović is the author of the New York Times bestseller “True Biz” and “Girl at War,” both of which won the American Library Association’s Alex Award. Her latest book is “Mother Tongue: A Memoir.” Nović is an activist and an instructor of deaf studies and creative writing, and lives in Pennsylvania with her family.