Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

Town Hall Seattle
  • 5.0 (5)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

The Arts & Culture series enriches our community with imagination and creativity. Whether reinventing the classics for a new audience or presenting an innovative new art form, these events are aimed at expanding horizons. From poetry to music to storytelling, this series leaves our audiences inspired, encouraged, and seeing the world with new eyes.

  1. 4d ago

    356. Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen with Jon Mooallem: The Art of the Picture Book

    Renowned picture book creators, Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen, want people of all ages to understand and appreciate children's stories and how this art form enriches our individual lives and our culture. Speaking on the process of creating their latest collaboration, a board book series called Now I See, Barnett and Klassen have insights into what makes a great children's book using elements you can find both on and off the page. This multi-award winning, New York Times bestselling duo operates differently than a lot of children's book creators. Typically, an author and illustrator don't directly collaborate, and yet these two find success in close conversations with each other. Using their unique perspectives, Barnett and Klassen also write a newsletter for adults, Looking at Picture Books, which examines the picture book as a respected art form. Their Now I See board book collection applies that lens by celebrating the spare beauty and wonder of the changing seasons from the point of view of a child. A tree that has full green leaves in Now I See Summer sheds them in Now I See Fall. The snowy sky of Now I See Winter gives way to the rainy sky in Now I See Spring. And of course, the perfect hat changes with each season, too. Barnett and Klassen want to uplift the picture book as an art form, showing everyone of every age what goes into the making of great children's literature. They'll discuss the importance and value of picture books — and how they work. Kids are, of course, welcome, but the primary audience for these events is adults keen to learn more about picture books. Mac Barnett, the 2025-2026 National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, is a New York Times-bestselling author of stories for children. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages and has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide. Some of his books include The First Cat in Space graphic novel series, illustrated by Shawn Harris, Twenty Questions, illustrated by Christian Robinson, and Santa's First Christmas, illustrated by Sydney Smith. Jon Klassen is the New York Times-bestselling author and illustrator of numerous books, who was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2018 for his contributions to children's literature. His recent books include the Your Places board book series and The Skull, a #1 New York Times bestseller that earned six starred reviews and a piece in the New York Times Book Review in which Ransom Riggs refers to Jon as both "the dean of deadpan" and a "national treasure." Jon Mooallem is the author of three books, Wild Ones, This is Chance! and the essay collection Serious Face. He lives on Bainbridge Island. Buy the Book Make Believe: On Telling Stories to Children (Hardcover) Elliott Bay Book Company

  2. Jul 23

    355. Melissa Auf der Maur with Gillian Gaar: Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir

    Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir presents an intimate look behind the scenes of an iconic era through the ever-reflective lens of musician Melissa Auf der Maur. In this debut memoir, Auf der Maur chronicles her journey through alternative music — from staffing ticket windows at local venues to navigating era-defining triumphs and turmoil under global spotlights. A bohemian upbringing in Montreal and an early connection to music led her to put down roots in the local scene, working as a cassette DJ and showing up for bands like Nirvana, Jane's Addiction, Pavement, and Sonic Youth. A serendipitous sequence sets the stage for the next big step — a thrown beer bottle at a show, a long-shot fan letter to a PO Box, and before you know it Auf der Maur's band Tinker is opening for The Smashing Pumpkins and Billy Corgan is passing along a personal recommendation to Courtney Love. In a whirlwind of life-changing moments, Auf der Maur joins Hole for their 1994 Live Through This world tour just after the deaths of Kurt Cobain and Hole's previous bassist Kristen Pfaff. Auf der Maur is swiftly flung into the eye of a hurricane, becoming part of a band plowing through grief by way of art on a brutally global stage. Auf der Maur offers a backstage view to the raw reality of this tour, her relationship with Courtney Love in the wake of tragedy, and what kept Hole from spinning out of control. And the show goes on from there – messy and unwieldy, but bringing compassionate nuance to the nostalgia of the '90s alternative era and Auf der Maur's personal journey to the other side of it. Part rock memoir, part travel diary, part psychedelic scrapbook – Even the Good Girls Will Cry stacks rockstar stories of the last analog decade alongside the intensely intimate musings of an artist who lived through the chaos. Melissa Auf der Maur is an artist, producer, and musician known for her time as the bassist of the bands Hole and The Smashing Pumpkins. She is the co-founder and director of Basilica Hudson, a nonprofit multidisciplinary art center known for music festivals, film screenings, artist-in-residence programs, and community involvement. Her other projects include the solo albums Auf der Maur and Out of Our Minds, as well as photography collections shown by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and featured in publications including Spin, Elle, and Nylon. Gillian G. Gaar is an award-winning journalist and author of over 20 books. She was a senior editor at the legendary Northwest music publication The Rocket for fourteen years. She served as project consultant on Nirvana's 4 box set With the Lights Out and as editorial assistant on Krist Novoselic's memoir Of Grunge and Government: Let's Fix This Broken Democracy! Her books include She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll, Entertain Us: The Rise of Nirvana, Return of the King: Elvis Presley's Great Comeback, and World Domination: The Sub Pop Records Story.  Buy the Book Even the Good Girls Will Cry: A '90s Rock Memoir Third Place Books

  3. Jul 20

    354. Lori Matsukawa with Mimi Gan: Being There: Memoir of an Asian American Journalist

    News anchor Lori Matsukawa is an award-winning journalist, author, and speaker who spent nearly 40 years at KING TV in Seattle. A trusted voice in Northwest media, she reveals how her childhood in multi-racial Hawai'i and traveling the world as Miss Teenage America led to a career she couldn't imagine. Despite discrimination and disappointment along the way, Matsukawa became the role model she wished she'd had. She helped change what viewers saw on the newscasts that entered their homes. Matsukawa pursued her career at a time when society expected little from a person like her: a female of color from a working-class family who attended Hawai'i public schools. Yet, an astonishing series of events — highlighted by a year representing her country as Miss Teenage America during her senior year in high school — propelled her to keep breaking down stereotypes. Today, she continues to promote civic engagement and share stories to inspire the next generation of journalists. Lori Matsukawa is an award-winning broadcast journalist with more than 40 years in the industry. She retired after 36 years as an anchor and reporter at KING TV in Seattle. Matsukawa received two Northwest Regional Emmy Awards, one in 2017 for her series "Prisoners in Their Own Land" and another in 2018 for "Shane Sato: Portraits of Courage."  She is a co-founder of the Seattle Chapter of the Asian American Journalists Association and the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Washington. Matsukawa is also the author of Brave Mrs. Sato (2023), a contributor to Intersections: A Journalistic History of Asian Pacific America (2025), and Being There: Memoir of an Asian American Journalist, published in April 2026. Mimi Gan is a multiple Emmy Award–winning former KING 5 colleague of Lori's and a longtime reporter and host. She is now the founder of Mi2 Media, where she produces short‑form social‑impact documentaries. Mimi was recently recognized as one of Seattle Magazine's Most Influential People: Equity, received the Stanford University Asian American Alumni Award, and currently serves as a trustee for the Wing Luke Museum and Seattle Children's Theatre. Buy the Book Being There: Memoir of an Asian American Journalist Elliott Bay Book Company

  4. Jul 16

    353. Straight Talk on Wills, Trusts, and Your Legacy: With Steven Schindler and Wendy Norman

    Join Wendy Norman, End‑of‑Life Planning Consultant, and Steven Schindler, Estate Attorney, for a grounded, practical conversation about the essentials of legacy planning — something every adult needs, no matter their age or stage of life. Together, they'll break down what a Will actually does, when a Trust might be the better tool, and what really happens — financially and procedurally — if someone dies without either. You'll also learn how a Durable Power of Attorney works while you're alive, why its authority ends the moment you die (and what takes over afterward), and how the absence of planning can leave families facing court processes they never expected. Finally, Wendy and Steven will explore the part of planning that often gets overlooked: documenting and communicating your wishes. How you want your assets handled. Who do you want to receive what? Which charities or community organizations do you want to support? When you share these decisions ahead of time, you give your loved ones clarity, confidence, and one of the kindest gifts possible — peace of mind. Wendy Norman has been researching and engaging with end-of-life issues for over 15 years. Wendy's interest was sparked by her mother's diagnosis of early-onset Alzheimer's in 2006. This is when she learned how important it is to have a plan before becoming ill, especially when cognitive decline is involved. Wanting to help others understand the value of pre-planning, Wendy became an end-of-life planning consultant in 2017. In 2019, she left a 25-year career in marketing and program management to invest her time and energy toward end-of-life planning, education and awareness. In 2020, she helped create and lead a team of volunteers to launch an education and awareness program called End of Life Ready hosted by End of Life Washington. Building on that experience, Known Wishes was created to broaden and deepen end-of-life education. Steven J. Schindler is an estate attorney who helps individuals and families design comprehensive strategies to achieve their family, business, and charitable goals. His practice includes estate, will, trust, and tax planning and administration; planned charitable giving; nonjudicial dispute resolution; and the preparation of gift and estate tax returns. Known for his ability to tailor solutions to each client's unique circumstances, Steven guides clients through everything from optimizing tax advantages to developing meaningful charitable giving plans to navigating sensitive family dynamics with clarity and care. As an active member of the community, Steven serves as treasurer of the King County Cultural Development Authority (4Culture). He has also held leadership roles as president of the Estate Planning Council of Seattle, president of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Section of the King County Bar Association, and served as a board member at End‑of‑Life Washington. Presented by Town Hall Seattle and Known Wishes.

  5. Jul 14

    352. Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life With Alex Mayyasi, Kenny Malone, Daryl Fairweather, and Jack Corbett

    Join the team behind the popular podcast Planet Money and celebrate the publication of their new book, Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life. Book author and longtime contributor Alex Mayyasi, Planet Money host Kenny Malone, and visual host Jack Corbett will bring Planet Money's signature brand of storytelling to the stage and discuss some highlights from the new book, including unlikely origin stories, revealing truths about human behavior, and insightful suggestions for navigating chaotic times drawn from the latest ideas in economics. Daryl Fairweather, Chief Economist at Redfin, will be the special guest this evening. Come prepared to engage with the silly and the sublime and ask some questions of your favorite Planet Money hosts and reporters. Alex Mayyasi is a longtime contributor to Planet Money. Previously he was the founding editor of Gastro Obscura, which earned two James Beard Awards, and published a bestselling travel book, and was also a writer and editor at Priceonomics. His writing on business and economics has appeared in publications such as Smithsonian, the Washington Post, and The Atlantic. Mayyasi also consults for the University of Chicago economics department. He's the co-author of You Are Under Arrest for Masterminding the Egyptian Revolution (a Memoir). Kenny Malone is a cohost for NPR's Planet Money podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for WNYC's Only Human podcast. Before that, he was a reporter for Miami's WLRN. And before that, he was a reporter for his friend T.C.'s homemade newspaper, Neighborhood News. Malone's stories have investigated everything from abuse in Florida's assisted living facilities to health hackers building their own pancreas to the origins of seemingly made-up holidays like National Raisin Day. Or National Golf Day. Or National Splurge Day. His work has won the National Edward R. Murrow Award for Use of Sound, the National Headliner Award, the Scripps Howard Award, and the Bronze Third Coast Festival Award. He studied mathematics at Xavier University in Cincinnati and proudly hails from Meadville, PA, where the zipper was invented. Daryl Fairweather is the chief economist of Redfin and author of Hate the Game: Economic Cheat Codes for Life, Love, and Work. Her insights have been featured on 60 Minutes, CBS Evening News, as well as in the New York Times and Washington Post. Prior to joining Redfin she was a senior economist at Amazon working on problems related to employee engagement and managing a team of analysts. Jack Corbett is the visual host of Planet Money's TikTok account. Corbett shot NPR's first TikTok about the stock market circuit breaker. His reporting style became a perfect fit for the pandemic and the new short-form world order it has left in its wake. Since then, Planet Money TikTok's unique style and sensibility have garnered a devoted, loyal fanbase of young and diverse audiences. Almost four years later, the channel has amassed a large, devoted following of almost 800,000. His TikToks have received almost 15 million likes. In 2023, Corbett's work on Planet Money's TikTok won an Edward R. Murrow award and he's also been recognized by the White House Press Photographers Association. Corbett studied experimental cinema at Ohio State University and started at NPR in 2019 as an intern on the Music team. In his first few weeks, Corbett pitched a documentary to Jazz Night in America, which went on to premiere as part of the Sundance Film Festival in 2021. Corbett lives, breathes and makes bread in The City of Angels, Los Angeles, California. Buy the Book Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life Elliott Bay Book Company

  6. Jul 13

    351. Maria Semple with Ken Jennings: An Existential Meet Cute

    Have you ever reinvented yourself — even unintentionally? Bestselling author Maria Semple's latest novel, Go Gentle, tells the story of one woman's midlife transformation. Adora Hazzard, a Stoic philosopher and divorcée living in New York City, believes that she has it all figured out. She's a working mom of a teenage daughter, she's relishing her freedom, and she regularly meets with a group of like-minded women she refers to her "coven" — a group she assembled herself and is working to expand. Adora's carefully curated life is going as planned until a chance meeting with a handsome stranger. She begins subverting people's expectations — perhaps most of all her own. Soon, her normally orderly existence is upended by adventure and risk: black-market art deals, secret rendezvous, and international intrigue. If that isn't enough, secrets from her past return to visit her in the present. Go Gentle's narrative raises that age-old question: In the battle between the mind and the heart, which one will win? Maria Semple is the bestselling author of Today Will Be Different, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and This One Is Mine. Her novels have been translated into forty languages. Before writing fiction, Maria wrote for TV. She lives in New York. Ken Jennings is still the Jeopardy! record-holder for his 74-game streak on the beloved quiz show back in 2004. In 2020, he was named Jeopardy!'s "Greatest of All Time" and began hosting the show following the death of longtime host Alex Trebek later that year. Ken is the author of 14 books, most recently The Complete Kennections. Buy the Book Go Gentle: A Novel Elliott Bay Book Company

  7. Jul 12

    350. Terry Tempest Williams: The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary

    In a world so fraught with chaos and uncertainty, where can we find connection and hope? Author Terry Tempest Williams invites readers to learn about what she calls "The Glorians." In her latest work, The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary, Williams explains that Glorians are not distant deities, but instead ordinary, often overlooked presences — animals, plants, memories, moments — that reveal our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness with the natural world. The Glorians can be as small as an ant or as commonplace as the night sky. Williams offers both personal and societal insight in her assertion that Glorians have much to teach and remind us about consciousness, connection, and courage. In pages that explore subjects like climate change, finding wonder in the unexpected, and turning to deep reflection and intention, The Glorians invites us to imagine a better and more beautiful future in a time of uncertainty. Terry Tempest Williams is the award-winning author of seventeen books of creative nonfiction, including the environmental classic, Refuge – An Unnatural History of Family and Place. Among her other books are Leap, Finding Beauty in a Broken World, When Women Were Birds, The Hour of Land – A Personal Topography of America's National Parks, and Erosion – Essays of Undoing. Her work has been translated and anthologized worldwide. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Letters and is currently the writer-in-residence at the Harvard Divinity School. She divides her time between Cambridge, Massachusetts and Castle Valley, Utah. Buy the Book The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary Elliott Bay Book Company

  8. Jul 11

    349. Lindy West: Adult Braces: A Memoir

    In her new memoir, Adult Braces, Lindy West brings readers along on an uproarious cross-country road trip as she unpacks her last few tumultuous years, rediscovers herself, and reinvents her marriage. Through Shrill—the book and then the Hulu series—Lindy West became an inspiration. To this day, she is stopped on the street and hailed as a beacon of empowerment by women who felt badly for not conforming to a narrow set of societal norms—thin, straight, compliant. But behind the scenes, Lindy never felt like she was the self-actualized woman fans made her out to be. When she found herself in the throes of a deep depression, with her marriage and sense of self-worth hanging in the balance, she knew she needed to make a change. In Adult Braces, Lindy shares the story of her rock bottom and of the journey she took to claw her way out of it. With her trademark candor and sense of humor, she examines her post-Shrill emotional implosion, her shifting feelings about traditional marriage, and her search for her long-lost self. She also tracks the highs and lows of her journey, from eye-opening natural wonders and kitschy roadside attractions to lackluster tourist traps and campground epiphanies. The result is an engaging and laugh-out-loud narrative of becoming as Lindy transforms from a passenger into the active navigator of her own life. Lindy West is the author of three books: the New York Times bestselling memoir Shrill as well as the essay collections The Witches Are Coming and Shit, Actually. Lindy is a former contributing opinion writer for the New York Times and her work has appeared in This American Life, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, GQ, Vulture, Jezebel, and others. She is the co-host of the comedy podcast Text Me Back and the author of the e-mail newsletter Butt News. Lindy was a writer and executive producer on Shrill, the Hulu comedy adapted from her memoir, and she co-wrote and produced the independent feature film Thin Skin. She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in rural Washington state. Buy the Book Adult Braces: Driving Myself Sane Elliott Bay Book Company

See All (100)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

The Arts & Culture series enriches our community with imagination and creativity. Whether reinventing the classics for a new audience or presenting an innovative new art form, these events are aimed at expanding horizons. From poetry to music to storytelling, this series leaves our audiences inspired, encouraged, and seeing the world with new eyes.

Information

  • Creator
    Town Hall Seattle
  • Years Active
    2017 - 2026
  • Episodes
    100
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2017 Town Hall Association. All Rights Reserved.
  • Show Website
    Town Hall Seattle Arts & Culture Series

You Might Also Like