What’s better than a good book? A good book written by your neighbor (or former neighbor). Brew up a batch of your favorite cup of tea or coffee and get ready to meet your next read, because we’re talking about locally written books in Seattle.
Fiction
- “Hollow Kingdom” by Kira Jane Buxton | Release date: Aug. 6, 2019 | A zombie apocalypse tale narrated by a snarky crow? That’s so Seattle.
- “Middle Passage” by Charles R. Johnson | Release date: Jan. 1, 1990 | UW’s professor emeritus wrote this modern classic about a free Black man in the 1830s who jumps aboard a slave ship to find the members of a long-lost tribe.
- “Patricia Wants to Cuddle” by Samantha Allen | Release date: June 28, 2022 | We just have four words for you: lesbian Sasquatch horror comedy. Book club’s going to be lit.
- “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson | Release date: Sept. 12, 1994 | This award-winning novel intertwines a suspenseful murder case on a Puget Sound island with the complexities of post-World War II trauma.
- “Remarkably Bright Creatures” by Shelby Van Pelt | Release date: May 3, 2023 | Told from the perspective of an octopus, the imaginative novel was inspired by a real-life Seattle Aquarium animal.
- “Stories of Your Life and Others” by Ted Chiang | Release date: July 5, 2002 | Former Microsoft worker Chiang rose to fame when a sci-fi novella from this collection became the hit flick “Arrival.”
For the family
- “Book Crush: For Kids and Teens” by Nancy Pearl | Release date: March 1, 2007 | There may be no better way to get the kiddos excited about reading than with sage advice from this legendary local librarian.
- “Brendan Buckley’s Universe and Everything In It” by Sundee T. Frazier | Release date: Jan. 1, 2007 | All ages will be delighted by this charming + thought-provoking story centered on a science-loving 10-year-old discovering his roots.
- “I Am Not a Penguin: A Pangolin’s Lament” by Liz Wong | Release date: Jan. 19, 2021 | A pangolin with an identity crisis attempts to lay down the facts for his animal friends in this uproarious tale.
- “The Dinosaur Tooth Fairy” by Martha Brokenbrough | Release date: June 25, 2013 | You’ll giggle about a tooth fairy from the Mesazoic era who abandons her museum home to chase after a little girl’s pearly whites.
- “When You Trap a Tiger” by Tae Keller | Release date: May 2, 2023 | The award-winning middle grade novel involves magical tigers from Korean folk tales and a family’s secret history.
- “Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea” by Ben Clanton | Release date: Oct. 4, 2016 | Kids will be charmed by the friendship between a narwhal and a no-nonsense jellyfish, which has become a series of endearing tales.
Expand your worldview
- “Jackson Street After Hours” by Paul de Barros | The former music editor for the Seattle Times gives a comprehensive history of the Central District’s lively jazz scene that stars the likes of Quincy Jones, Little Richard, and others.
- “Like a Mother” by Angela Garbes | Release date: May 29, 2018 | Angela drew on her own experiences to explore pregnancy and motherhood, busting a few myths along the way.
- “So You Want to Talk About Race” by Ijeomo Olou | Release date: Jan. 16, 2018 | Embrace some uncomfortable conversations guided by longtime journalist Ijeomo, recently named as one of Seattle’s most influential people .
- “The Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown | Release date: June 4, 2013 | Roars + oars abound in this story of the UW rowing crew that won Olympic gold in Nazi Germany.
- “Ten Tomatoes That Changes the World” by William Alexander | Release date: June 7, 2022 | Bainbridge’s nonfiction writer tells a veggie tale that squeezes in conquistadors, mega-greenhouses, and the Mafia.
- “Beyond Guilt Trips” by Anu Taranath | Release date: June 7, 2019 | Is it possible to be mindful and be a tourist when there’s so much global inequality? A UW professor unpacks the issue.
Part of a series
- “Parable of the Sower” by Octavia E. Butler | Release date: Oct. 1, 1993 | The gripping first book of the “Earthseed” series is an excellent intro to the late, iconic sci-fi author who once lived in Lake Forest Park.
- “The Boneshaker” by Cherie Priest | Release date: June 1, 2009 | Steampunk fans will dig this adventure set in Seattle’s early Klondike rush days — it’s one of five books in the “Clockwork Century” series.
- “The Duke and I: The Bridgertons Book 1" by Julia Quinn | Release date: Jan. 5, 2000 | Yes, that Bridgerton — the one that got Netflix watchers all hot + bothered — was a romance novel first, and a darn good one.
- “The Glittering Court” by Richelle Mead | Release date: April 5, 2016 | You may know Richelle from her megahit “Vampire Academy,” but her epic, interwoven fantasy of countesses, palaces, and wild forests shouldn’t be overlooked.
Personal stories
- “Heart Radical: A Search for Language, Love, and Belonging” by Anne Liu Kellor | Release date: Sept. 7, 2021 | Anne — a Hugo House writing teacher — recounts the years she spent in China reconnecting with her heritage.
- “I’m in Seattle, Where Are You?” by Mortada Gzar | Release date: April 1, 2021 | Mortada opens up about his life as a gay artist in Iraq and the unlikely love affair with an American soldier that brought him to the US.
- “Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman” by Lindy West | Release date: May 17, 2016 | One of Seattle’s sharpest voices takes on fat shaming, gender politics + Internet trolls in this hilarious, no-holds barred memoir.
- “The Good Rain” by Timothy Egan | Release date: Jan. 1, 1990 | Seattle’s New York Times correspondent mines his own journeys to delve into the fisheries, logging towns + untamed landscapes that form the PNW’s spirit..
- “Red Paint” by Sasha LaPointe | Release date: March 8, 2022 | The Coast Salish poet influenced by PNW punk rock explores themes of ancestral connections in a candid memoir.
- “Nothing Good Can Come From This” by Kristi Coulter | Release date: Aug. 7, 2018 | In this book of essays, the Seattle author discusses new sobriety with heart and humor.
Need more recommendations? Stop by Ada’s Technical Books and Cafe
, Elliott Bay Book Company
, Third Place Books
, or Twice Sold Tales
to get expert advice from Seattle’s local booksellers.