Here you'll find the full schedule of programming for the 2020 Mayor's Book Club, with activities for all ages!
Listen to Mayor's Book Club authors read from and discuss their books in this series of Zoom-based panels. Free and open to the public, but please register on Eventbrite (see links below).

Monday, September 28
Reading & Roundtable: Great Texas Novels
Local authors Nancy Wayson Dinan, Myra Hargrave McIlvain, and Scott Semegran read from and discuss their latest novels, all set in Texas. Each author will read from their latest novels and discuss flood, isolation, the idea of “home,” and other challenges that come with writing a novel set in Texas.

Monday, October 5
Reading & Roundtable: Amanda Eyre Ward & Deb Olin Unferth
Join novelists Amanda Eyre Ward and Deb Olin Unferth as they read from and discuss their most recent books Barn 8 and The Jetsetters.

Wednesday, October 14
Reading & Roundtable: Rock n' Roll Fiction & Memoir
The Go-Go’s bassist Kathy Valentine and novelist Elissa R. Sloan read from and discuss their latest books about the lives behind the live music industry.

Tuesday, October 20
Reading & Roundtable: Relationships & No Fun Truly Bad Dates
Local authors Rebekah Manley and Sajni Patel read from and discuss their latest books about relationships, swiping-right, and no fun, truly bad dates.

Wednesday, October 28
Reading & Roundtable: Crime, Mystery & the Birth of American CSI
Local authors Kate Winkler Dawson, Laura Griffin, and Richard Z. Santos read from and discuss their latest books about crime, mystery, and the Birth of American CSI.
This Zoom-based creative writing workshop series will run for six weeks, with each week highlighting one Mayor's Book Club poetry book. Badgerdog teaching artist and accomplished poet Steven Espada Dawson will guide workshop participants in reading and discussing poems from the week's book before prompting participants to write poems of their own. Participants will have the opportunity to share their work at the end. The workshop will conclude with a visit and Q&A with the poet.
This workshop is free and open to the public. Please register through Eventbrite in order to participate. Once registered, you will receive an email from The Library Foundation with a unique Zoom link and more information about your specific workshop.
All workshops will take place on Thursdays from 7:00-8:30PM.

September 24th
YOUR NEW FEELING IS THE ARTIFACT OF A BYGONE ERA by Chad Bennett
Shirley Temple tap dancing at the Kiwanis Club, Stevie Nicks glaring at Lindsey Buckingham during a live version of “Silver Springs,” Frank Ocean lyrics staking new territory on the page: this is a taste of the cultural landscape sampled in Your New Feeling is the Artifact of a Bygone Era. Chad Bennett casually combines icons of the way we live now—GIFs, smartphones, YouTube—with a classical lover’s lament. The result is certainly a deeply personal account of loss, but more critically, a dismantling of an American history of queerness. “This is our sorrow. Once it seemed theirs, but now it’s ours. They still inhabit it, yet we say it’s ours.” All at once cerebral, physical, personal, and communal, Your New Feeling Is the Artifact of a Bygone Era constructs a future worth celebrating.

October 1st
VIOLENCE/JOY/CHAOS by Jane Marshall Aman
This debut full-length hybrid collection of essays and poetry explores the moments of joy and chaotic hilarity that mingle with the experiences of trauma and trauma recovery. Jane Marshall Fleming writes with boldness and shows the beauty in every moment amidst violent chaos, embracing joy just as much as darkness. Moving from a backdrop of a small Virginia town and eventually finding herself in the freedom and wilderness of the desert, readers will follow the author on her journey mapping her skin, sharing in her joys, grief, pain, loss, discovering love and self-growth, night-blooming like a desert flower.

October 8th
I SCREAM SOCIAL ANTHOLOGY VOLUME II edited by Claire Bowman, Schandra Madha, and Annar Veröld
An anthology drawn from the feminist reading series of the same name, the I Scream Social Anthology Vol. 2 features poetry, prose, and drama by 34 visionary women & nonbinary writers that have been featured artists on the series stage.

October 15th
LISTEN TO THE TREES by Sean Petrie
In these pages, you’ll find a trail mix of life — photos, poetry, and people — all celebrating the unique beauty of West Seattle. It started with poems at a street fair, written for ages 5 to 85. We added vibrant now-and-then photos, sprinkled in local commentary. The result is a visual and poetic treat: A coffee-table love letter to an always evolving, old-growth neighborhood.

October 22nd
REVISITING THE ELEGY IN THE BLACK LIVES MATTER ERA edited by Sequoia Maner, Emily Ruth Rutter, and darlene anita scott
Revisiting the Elegy in the Black Lives Matter Era is an edited collection of critical essays and poetry that investigates contemporary elegy within the black diaspora. Scores of contemporary writers have turned to elegiac poetry and prose in order to militate against the white supremacist logic that has led to recent deaths of unarmed black men, women, and children. This volume combines scholarly and creative understandings of the elegy in order to discern how mourning feeds our political awareness in this dystopian time as writers attempt to see, hear, and say something in relation to the bodies of the dead as well as to living readers. Moreover, this book provides a model for how to productively interweave theoretical and deeply personal accounts to encourage discussions about art and activism that transgress disciplinary boundaries, as well as lines of race, gender, class, and nation.

October 29th
THE NIGHTGOWN AND OTHER POEMS by Taisia Kitaiskaia
Ripe with mythic awareness and dark, fairytale-turned-feminist humor, Taisia Kitaiskaia’s debut poetry collection catalogs magical beasts, language, and the mysteries of our world with wide, witchy eyes.
In these one-off Book Crush Workshops, students will read an excerpt from the book and discuss elements of fiction, storytelling, and what it means to “read like a writer.” Badgerdog teaching artists will lead students through a writing prompt and activity. Students will have the opportunity to share their work at the end. The workshop will conclude with a visit from the author, so be prepared to ask questions and soak in their wisdom! No prior knowledge or reading is required to attend.
Mini-Book Crush workshops are free and open to students 12-18 years old. Please register through Eventbrite in order to participate. Once registered, you will receive an email from The Library Foundation with a unique Zoom link and more information about your specific workshop.
All workshops will take place on Saturdays from 1:00-2:30PM.

September 19
RUNNING by Natalia Sylvester
Running, the first work of YA fiction by Austin author Natalia Sylvester, stars the Cuban-American teenage daughter of a politician. When Mari’s father decides to run for president, Mari must confront issues of privacy, advocacy, and her own sense of justice. A novel about waking up and standing up, and what happens when you stop seeing your dad as your hero--while the whole country is watching.

September 26
ALL THESE MONSTERS by Amy Tintera
From New York Times best-selling author Amy Tintera, a high-stakes sci-fi adventure about a teen girl who will do anything to escape her troubled home—even if that means joining a dangerous monster-fighting squad.

October 3
HOOD by Jenny Elder-Moke
Marien and Robin Hood's daughter must join the Merry Men to save her parents. Author Jenny Elder Moke reimagines the world of Robin Hood in lush, historical detail and imbues her story with more breathless action than has ever come out of Sherwood Forest before.

October 10
THE INSOMNIACS by Marit Weisenberg
Marit Weisenberg's The Insomniacs is “a deeply beautiful story of yearning, heartache, trauma, and love” (Jennifer Niven) about two teens who discover the secrets of their neighborhood after everyone else turns out the lights.

October 17
WAR AND SPEECH by Don Zolidis
Mean Girls meets the debate team in this fish-out-of-water story about a teen girl determined to sabotage the elitist speech team at her new school.

October 24
CHECK, PLEASE! BOOK 2: STICKS AND STONES by Ngozi Ukazu
A collection of the second half of the mega-popular webcomic series of the same name, Check, Please!: Sticks and Scones is the last in Ngozi Ukazu's hilarious and stirring two-volume coming-of-age story about hockey, bros, and trying to find yourself during the best four years of your life.
In these one-off Book Crush Workshops, students will read an excerpt from the book and discuss elements of fiction, storytelling, and what it means to “read like a writer.” Badgerdog teaching artists will lead students through a writing prompt and activity. Students will have the opportunity to share their work at the end. The workshop will conclude with a visit from the author, so be prepared to ask questions and soak in their wisdom! No prior knowledge or reading is required to attend.
Mini-Book Crush workshops are free and open to students 8-12 years old. Please register through Eventbrite in order to participate. Once registered, you will receive an email from The Library Foundation with a unique Zoom link and more information about your specific workshop.
All workshops will take place on Saturdays from 10:00AM-11:30AM.

September 19
HOMER'S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE by PJ Hoover
Greek god Hermes has a story that needs a storyteller, and with a trick of immortal magic, he sends Homer and his best friend Dory back to the end of the Trojan War. They meet up with the Greek hero Odysseus along with an entire crew of smelly sailors and set off on a journey filled with scary monsters, angry gods, and a very hungry cyclops.

September 26
THE CAMPAIGN by Leila Sales
Veep meets Parks and Recreation in this hilarious illustrated middle-grade political comedy about a 12-year-old who runs her babysitter’s campaign for mayor.

October 3
A WISH IN THE DARK by Christina Soontornvat
Set in a Thai-inspired fantasy world, Christina Soontornvat’s twist on Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables is a dazzling, fast-paced adventure that explores the difference between law and justice — and asks whether one child can shine a light in the dark.

October 10
BENBEE AND THE TEACHER GRIEFER by K. A. Holt
A funny, clever novel-in-verse series about Ben Bennet—who failed the Language Arts section of the Florida State test—and three classmates who get stuck in a summer school class. But these kids aren’t dumb—they’re divergent thinkers.

October 17
TWINS by Varian Johnson
Twins Maureen and Francine are growing apart and there's nothing Maureen can do to stop it. Are sisters really forever? Or will middle school change things for good?

October 24
THE TOTAL ECLIPSE OF NESTOR LOPEZ by Adrianna Cuevas
In this magical middle-grade debut novel from Adrianna Cuevas, a Cuban American boy must use his secret ability to communicate with animals to save the inhabitants of his town when they are threatened by a tule vieja, a witch that transforms into animals.
Each Monday, starting September 28th, we'll release a new behind-the-scenes video with a Mayor's Book Club picture book author, reading from and discussing their book. See below for the full schedule.
Monday, September 28th: Chris Barton and FIRE TRUCK VS DRAGON and ALL OF A SUDDEN AND FOREVER: HELP AND HEALING AFTER THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING
Monday, October 5th: Lindsay Leslie and DUSK EXPLORERS
Monday, October 12th: Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey and THE OLD TRUCK
Monday, October 19th: Liz Garton Scanlon and THANK YOU, GARDEN
Monday, October 26th: Kat Kronenberg and THINK BIG
Monday, November 2nd: Don Tate and WILLIAM STILL AND HIS FREEDOM STORIES