Sept. 26
REBEKAH CRANE
Acclaimed young adult author Rebekah Crane will be making her way to Auntie's to speak about her newest book, Postcards for a Songbird. This book follows a teen who's had to deal with a lot of people in her life leaving, leading to issues connecting and creating relationships with others. The young adult novel is rich with deep and thought-provoking themes. Crane is a former high school teacher, and through this found a passion for writing about young adults. Postcards for a Songbird is the next novel in her contemporary series along with The Upside of Falling Down and The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland. The Spokane event includes a reading from Crane and discussion. Auntie's Bookstore, free, 7 pm (RILEY UTLEY)
Sept. 28
INDELIBLE IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS: WRITINGS FROM THE ME TOO MOVEMENT
Following the viral spread of the #MeToo movement, Indelible in the Hippocampus: Writings from the Me Too Movement puts the voices of black, Latinx, Asian, queer and trans writers into one book to showcase the people who have said "me too," and to reflect on their lives. Through essays, fiction and poetry, the book tells the stories of strong women who want to shine a light on "normalized sexual harassment and abuse that'd been ubiquitous for women for generations." At this event, local favorites like Sharma Shields, Kate Lebo (above) and Ellen Welcker together read passages from the collection and have a discussion about the "collective impact of female voices." Auntie's Bookstore, free, 7 pm (RU)
Oct. 4
BOB WOODWARD
Journalist Bob Woodward has been making presidents nervous ever since his reporting with Carl Bernstein blew the Watergate scandal open back in the early '70s. He hasn't let up since, writing tome after tome on various administrations and government institutions that are always full of surprising revelations. The Pulitzer winner's most recent book, Fear: Trump In The White House, isn't quite the history-making document All The President's Men was, but it's a fun read full of current and former White House workers dishing on each other. Woodward comes as the featured speaker of Whitworth's President's Leadership Forum. Spokane Convention Center, $50, noon (DAN NAILEN)
Oct. 22
JULIE KIBLER
Bestselling author Julie Kibler is coming to Spokane to discuss her newest book, Home for Erring and Outcast Girls. The novel is set in the turn of the 20th century in Texas at a home for girls who've been cast out by society, typically because they were prostitutes, addicts or unwed mothers. The story follows two mothers in the home but is pieced together 100 years later by a university librarian who feels an incredible connection to the two women. Kibler is widely celebrated and known for her previous bestselling and critically acclaimed novel Calling Me Home. Auntie's Bookstore, free, 7 pm (RU)
Oct. 24
NICHOLAS CARR
Gonzaga's Visiting Writers Series is bringing acclaimed technology author Nicholas Carr to Spokane, and the timing for his discussion on "technology and the humanities" couldn't be better. His book The Shallows: What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2011, and helped expose how various new technologies have changed how our brains function as they've been introduced. Technology hasn't slowed down since, and neither has Carr — he's since written books on the increase in automation and critiquing Silicon Valley's ideas about a "techno-utopianism." Gonzaga University Hemmingson Center, free, 7 pm (DN)
Oct. 24
SPOKANE IS READING: MADELINE MILLER
There's still plenty of time to read the 2019 selection for Spokane's community reading initiative, Spokane is Reading. This fall, bestselling author Madeline Miller comes to give two talks about her 2018 novel Circe, retelling the tale of Greek god Helios' unwanted daughter. An outcast amongst the gods and goddesses, Circe is sent to live in exile on a remote island, where she hones her magical abilities, tames wild beasts and holds her own against the mortal men and gods who come ashore. Greek mythology fans may recognize Circe's name from a brief mention in Homer's epic The Odyssey. Miller reads in Spokane Valley and at the Spokane Public Library's downtown branch. Spokane Valley Event Center, 1 pm and Spokane Public Library Downtown, 7 pm; free (CHEY SCOTT)
Oct. 25
BEDTIME STORIES: MAN IN THE MOON
Each year, statewide arts and humanities nonprofit Humanities Washington hosts two special late-night storytimes for adults in the form of its annual fundraiser, Bedtime Stories. This year's Spokane event brings together three noteworthy local authors — Sharma Shields, Jess Walter and Ben Goldfarb — to reveal original short stories penned around a specified theme; this year it's "Man in the Moon," a fitting nod to Apollo 11's recent 50th anniversary. In addition to a three-course dinner, attendees also witness the presentation of this year's Humanities Washington Award to the Salish School of Spokane. The Spokane Club, $150, 5:30 pm (CS)
Oct. 25
VIET THANH NGUYEN
The Idaho Humanities Council has been bringing noteworthy speakers to Coeur d'Alene since 2004, and this year's featured guest is an awesome choice. Author Viet Thanh Nguyen won the Pulitzer Prize for his debut novel The Sympathizer. While it's a work of fiction, the book is rooted in Nguyen's own experience of moving to America with his family as refugees of the Vietnam War, then growing up in a culture in which that war was always reflected via the lens of the American perspective. In The Sympathizer, Nguyen offers the Vietnamese perspective in a way that is riveting and revealing. His speech in Idaho will focus on "refugee stories and American greatness." The Coeur d'Alene Resort, $65, 7 pm (DN)
Nov. 7
HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR SPEECH
In 1938, Eva Geiringer's family fled Austria when the Nazis invaded, ultimately landing in Holland as neighbors of Anne Frank's family. Both families eventually were sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where Eva and Anne became stepsisters. Eva survived the ordeal and later moved to England where she got married and raised a family of her own. Now Eva Schloss, she's dedicated decades to making sure people don't forget what happened during the Holocaust, and she'll speak in Spokane, hosted by Jewish Spokane: Chabad of Spokane. Spokane Convention Center, $25; $180/VIP, 7 pm (DN)
Nov. 11
DAVID SEDARIS
If you've never taken the time to check out humorist David Sedaris in person, I'll warn you against starting now because it's an addictive night out. The author, essayist and radio personality always delivers a howlingly funny series of readings, takes questions from the audience and turns them into more laughs, and manages to make a guy on stage reading his own writing one of the most entertaining evenings you can imagine. Sedaris's most recent book, Calypso, delves into middle age and mortality in ways many of us can certainly relate to, even if we can't make our own morbid thoughts quite so endearing. Bing Crosby Theater, $46-$51, 7:30 pm (DN)
Nov. 12-15
EVERYBODY READS: LUIS ALBERTO URREA
For nearly 20 years the Lewis-Clark Valley and Palouse-area libraries have joined up to host Everybody Reads, in which the communities read a book together and welcome the author for several discussions in the areas' libraries, schools or other meeting spots. This year's guest is author Luis Alberto Urrea, and talks focus on his novel The House of Broken Angels, in which a sprawling Mexican-American family comes together for a memorial service of Big Angel's 100-year-old mother. A Pulitzer finalist for his nonfiction work, Urrea has a way with language that should make meeting him during his visit a treat. Various locations in Lewiston, Clarkston, Moscow and Pullman (visit everybody-reads.org), free (DN)
Nov. 14
TIFFANY MIDGE
The poet laureate of Moscow, Idaho, and a noteworthy Native voice among Pacific Northwest writers, Tiffany Midge swings through Spokane for a reading and discussion of her new book Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese's. Via a combination of humor, social commentary and deeply personal meditations, Midge uses her sort-of memoir to address pop culture, feminism, politics and race in ways that should make for a fascinating live event. Auntie's Bookstore, free, 7 pm (DN) ♦
