Last week, I gave a talk at Ignite Seattle about the state of Seattle's literary scene, Amazon, and the future of literature. Here it is:

The submissions form for the next Ignite Seattle is now open; you can submit at any point between now and January 8th. I would recommend it. I'm not going to lie: the Ignite format, with its ever-advancing slideshow and its no-notes rule, is very intimidating. Public speaking doesn't freak me out, but the Ignite was downright scary. But the staff is super-friendly and supportive, and they supply all kinds of useful personalized advice and coaching for speakers. Honestly, they could charge for the quality of teaching they provide. If you ever wanted to communicate a message to a room full of 900 attentive folks, this is your best opportunity. Go apply now.