The Seattle Public Library presents: Jack Straw Writers’ Annual Showcase at Seattle Public Library-Central Library – Seattle, WA

Presenters may include: Presenters may include: Curator Kathleen Alcalá, Hillary Behrman, Mateo Bracken, Asha Dore, Makayla Danielle Gay, Bill Hollands, Sigrun Susan Lane, Jenny Harrington Lill, Nhatt Nichols, Monique Ouk, Jason Prokowiew, Mia Tong, Connor Watkins-Xu

ACCESSIBILITY: Masking is encouraged at this event, at the request of the presenters. Assistive listening technology is available in the auditorium. The Library can provide accommodations for people with disabilities at Library events. Please contact LEAP at least seven days before the event to request accommodations.

Registration is requested but not required.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The Jack Straw Writers Program, now in its twenty-ninth year, has included more than 300 Pacific Northwest writers who represent a diverse range of literary genres. The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce local writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work in live readings, in an anthology, on the web, and on the radio; and to build community among writers. Each year an invited curator selects the participating writers from a large pool of applicants, based on artistic excellence, diversity of literary genres and experiences, and creating a cohesive group of writers. Writers receive training in vocal presentation, performance, and microphone technique to prepare them for studio recording and live readings. Their recorded readings and interviews with the curator are then used to produce features on our web site, for radio broadcast, and for podcasts, which are available for streaming or download at www.jackstraw.org.

ABOUT THE CURATOR:

Kathleen Alcalá is the author of six books. Her work has received the Western States Book Award, the Governor’s Writers Award, and a Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Book Award. A Jack Straw Writing Fellow in 2001 and 2012, she received her second Artist Trust Fellowship in 2008, and was recognized by Con Tinta at the Associated Writing Programs Conference in 2014. She has been designated an Island Treasure in the Arts on Bainbridge Island.

Kathleen’s most recent book is The Deepest Roots: Finding Food and Community on a Pacific Northwest Island, by the University of Washington Press. Through numerous interviews, she explores our relationship with food and the land.

Kathleen has a B.A. in Linguistics from Stanford University, an M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Washington, and an MFA from the University of New Orleans. Kathleen has a great affinity for the story-telling techniques of magic realism and science fiction, and has been both a student and instructor in the Clarion West Science Fiction Workshop. A descendant of the Ópata of Sonora, she lives and works on Suquamish territory, for which she is thankful.

Kathleen taught at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts on Whidbey Island from 2008 to 2016. Her novel, Treasures in Heaven, about the feminist movement in 19th Century Mexico, is republished by Raven Chronicles Press in the Spring of 2025. Her science fiction novel, Why Stars Burn, will be published by Rosarium Publishing in the fall of 2025.

Presented in partnership with Jack Straw Cultural Center. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Thanks to media sponsor The Seattle Times.