Celebrate 20 years of Seattle Reads with Yaa Gyasi and SPL

It's hard to imagine there's anyone left in the city who hasn't read Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing — a tribute to the book's immense resonance (and popularity) and to the power of sponsor Seattle Public Library's Seattle Reads program.

Seattle Reads is turning twenty, which is pretty stunning: that's two decades of bringing this city of diverse opinions together between two paper covers (maybe metaphorically, for the e-readers and book-listeners among you). We should probably bake them a cake, but wouldn't you know, they already planned a two-day celebration on May 16 and 17. And the whole city's invited!

The centerpiece is a set of readings and in-conversation events between Yaa Gyasi and (at separate venues) Lola E. Peters and Vivian Phillips, 2015-2017 chair of the Seattle Arts Commission. Other events feature photographs by Al Smith — his work is currently on display at MOHAI, but the Library has a few surprises up their sleeve — and a showcase of work from the African-American Writers Alliance. Get specifics on our sponsorship page, then mark your calendar (and pick up a copy of Homegoing at your local branch).

Sponsors like The Seattle Public Library ensure that every day, the Seattle Review of Books carries you the best in book news, book reviews, and all things bookish. We'd love to welcome you to our community of sponsors. Find out more about sponsoring or reserve one of the last dates in June and July here. (Looking for something later in the year? Let's talk.)