Want more? Here’s everything we recommend this month: Music, Visual Art, Literature, Performance, Film, Food, and This & That.
Apr 5
Nonfiction for No Reason is back, baby. After an almost year-long hiatus, this local reading series is opening up their season at the ANTiPODE Art Gallery. Founded and curated by Stranger contributor Katie Lee Ellison, NFNR is a rare place to connect to the local literary scene, and hear “writers you love, and the ones you will soon.” This month, you can see Seattle poet laureate Dujie Tahat, experimental poet Sullivan Forderhase, speculative fiction writer Naomi Day, public historian Tamiko Nimura, and essayist Aileen McGraw. It’s a comeback worth catching. (ANTiPODE, 7 pm, all ages) HANNAH MURPHY WINTER
Apr 7
IMHO, George Saunders is one of the greatest short story writers alive today. His work is often a blend of a disconcerting fabulism and satire that is as sharp as it is subtle. Stories move through shifting perspectives and fractured points of view; common themes include consumerism, morality, and the struggles of ordinary people within absurd or dystopian settings. You can’t go wrong with any of his collections—start with Tenth of December, Pastoralia, and CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, in that order. His more recent novels, Lincoln in the Bardo and this year’s Vigil, don’t stick in my mind in quite the same way as his shorter works do, but Saunders is still one of the most distinct and empathetic voices of his generation. Plus, he seems like one of those large-aura types who’d make you feel better just by being in the same room. (Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm, all ages) EMILY NOKES
Lore and Luster Romance and Fantasy Con
Apr 18–19
The world is a flaming trash heap right now, so it’s not surprising that more and more people are turning to the escapist comforts of romance, fantasy, and the rapidly rising hybrid “romantasy.” This Tacoma event gives readers a chance to live out their fae dreams and meet like-minded fans, featuring over 80 authors and vendors, plus signings, panels, and workshops. There’s also a cosplay contest with prizes and a Romantasy Ball, so it’s a perfect excuse to wear the flounciest ball gown you can find. (The Tacoma Armory, times vary) JULIANNE BELL
Marcus Kliewer with Sadie Hartmann
Apr 24
Last fall, I binge-read Marcus Kliewer’s debut horror novel We Used to Live Here, which follows a queer woman who is fixing up a strange, remote house with her girlfriend and encounters some eerily persistent guests who refuse to leave. Even the novel’s origin story is irresistible: Kliewer began writing it in installments on Reddit’s r/nosleep, and it sold film rights to Netflix and was acquired for publication before the novel was even completed. Now, Kliewer is back with his highly anticipated follow-up, The Caretaker, a gothic tale about a young woman who accepts a mysterious three-day caretaking gig from Craigslist to make extra cash and ends up having to perform strange rites in order to save all of humanity. No big deal! Kliewer will discuss the book with Sadie Hartmann, aka Mother Horror, at this talk cosponsored by the Horror Writers Association. (Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free) JULIANNE BELL
Apr 24
In her debut memoir, Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A ’90s Rock Memoir, bassist Melissa Auf der Maur chronicles her life in and out of the spotlight, from taking tickets at local venues to playing giant shows with her bands, Hole and the Smashing Pumpkins. (Auf der Maur first joined Hole in 1994 for their Live Through This World Tour, just months after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and former Hole bassist Kristen Pfaff.) Approaching her memories with rare but necessary nuance, Auf der Maur writes about Courtney Love in a way I wish everyone would—as an artistic genius, complicated person, and American icon. She will stop by Seattle to promote the new book, which she describes as “part coming-of-age autobiography, part travel diary, part psychedelic scrapbook.” (The Wyncote NW Forum, 7:30 pm, all ages) AUDREY VANN
More
Ashley McGirt with Marcus Harrison Green Apr 1, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free
Teenage Dream by Logan Rylie Release Party Apr 3, Beguiled Books, 6:30 pm
Minh Nguyen with Charles Mudede Apr 5, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free
V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke with Moira Macdonald Apr 6, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Lily Brooks-Dalton Apr 6, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free
The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew Release Party Apr 7, Beguiled Books, 6:30–8:30 pm
One Book, One Coast: Frank Abe Apr 8, Seattle Central Library, 7 pm, free
Moira Macdonald with Thomas Kohnstamm Apr 8, Third Place Books Ravenna, 7 pm
Silent Reading Party (Over Dinner) Apr 8, Hotel Sorrento, 6:30–8:30 pm, 21+
Emma Straub Apr 9, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Gabor Maté Apr 13, McCaw Hall, 7:30 pm
Rainbow Rowell: Cherry Baby Apr 13, Third Place Books Lake Forest Park, 7 pm
Salon of Shame Apr 14, Theatre Off Jackson, 8 pm
Maria Semple with Ken Jennings Apr 18, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Patrick Radden Keefe Apr 22, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Lori Matsukawa with Mimi Gan Apr 23, Town Hall Seattle, 7:30 pm
Molly Olguin Apr 23, Seattle Central Library, 6:30 pm, free
David Szalay Apr 27, Elliott Bay Book Company, 7 pm, free
Silent Reading Party (Over Dinner) Apr 29, Hotel Sorrento, 6:30–8:30 pm, 21+
Find all these listings and more on our sister site, EverOut Seattle!
