Tonight at HomeStreet Bank (WSB sponsor), local author Betsy Bell read from, and signed copies, of her new book “Open Borders.” She describes it as “a personal story of love, loss and anti-war activism … a fascinating trip back to the 80s when Seattle realized we were a target in the case of a nuclear war. I was part of the big wake-up call to prevent such a thing. My husband and daughter and I joined a group of people who traveled into the USSR to deliver a letter of peace at the height of the Cold War.” You can find out more about the author at her website.

(WSB photo)

ORIGINAL REPORT, 3:15 PM SUNDAY: The Barnes & Noble bookstore chain has struggled for years and is currently reported to be in a “strategic review”. Rumors of its Westwood Village store closing have arrived in our inbox now and then. This time, it’s no rumor. After Lynne e-mailed us to report hearing via social media that the store is closing in January, we went there to ask. The on-duty store manager confirmed to us that the company headquarters has indeed informed them the store will be closing in January. No further comment; we’ll follow up with company HQ and the firm that manages Westwood Village, Madison Marquette, tomorrow. The 26,000-square-foot store opened in October 2005. While Westwood Village has more than half a dozen retail spaces listed publicly as “for lease” right now, so far as we can find, this is not (yet) among them. The next-closest B&N is at Pacific Place downtown.

ADDED 3:09 PM MONDAY: We asked B&N corporate media relations for comment on why the store is closing and what would happen to its employees. They’re not commenting on either of those questions and said this statement is “all they have”:

“We will be closing our Westwood Village, Seattle location in January. It has been our pleasure serving this community over the years, and we will continue to serve our valued customers at our stores at South Center (Tukwila) and Downtown Seattle.”

-Jim Lampassi, VP of Real Estate Development at Barnes & Noble

(WSB photo, September 2017)

Congratulations to Lyanda Lynn Haupt! The West Seattle-based author has just won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for nonfiction for “Mozart’s Starling.” She also was honored with the award in 2002 for “Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds.” The 2018 awards were announced last night at the Central Library downtown; they are given for “the strength of a book’s literary merit, lasting importance and overall quality” and eligibility requires either being born in Washington or having lived here at least three years. The full winners’ list:

2018 WSBA WINNERS: BOOKS FOR ADULTS CATEGORIES

Fiction

· “This Is How It Always Is” by Laurie Frankel, of Seattle (Flatiron Books)

Nonfiction

· “Mozart’s Starling” by Lyanda Lynn Haupt, of Seattle (Little, Brown & Company)

Biography/Memoir

· “The Spider and the Fly” by Claudia Rowe, of Seattle (Dey Street/ HarperCollins)

Poetry

· “Water & Salt” by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, of Redmond (Red Hen Press)

2018 WSBA WINNERS: BOOKS FOR YOUTH CATEGORIES

Picture Book

· “Shawn Loves Sharks” by Curtis Manley, of Bellevue, illustrated by Tracy Subisak, of Portland (Roaring Book Press)

Books for Young Readers (ages 6 to 8)

· “Zoey and Sassafras: Dragons and Marshmallows” by Asia Citro, of Issaquah (Innovation Press)

Books for Middle Readers (ages 9 to 12)

· “The Many Reflections of Miss Jane Deming” by J. Anderson Coats, of Everett (Atheneum Books for Young Readers)

Books for Young Adult Readers (ages 13 to 18)

· “The Arsonist” by Stephanie Oakes, of Spokane (Dial Books)

Also part of the honors, West Seattle-residing state Poet Laureate Claudia Castro Luna, as a contributor to “WA 129,” a collection of 129 poems by poets living in Washington, put together by her predecessor Tod Marshall.

As we’ve chronicled over the years, West Seattle is rich in writing talent. The latest local author to publish a book invites you to its launch party in The Junction Wednesday night.

Admiral resident Shepherd Siegel, Ph.D., says his book “Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture” has been a work in progress for decades. He began journaling in his teen years, keeping notes of things he’d seen in books, intuitive notions, and other observations. Eventually that led to the central theme of his book, the notion that all humans need to be in touch with their own playfulness – that we can create a happier and more peaceful existence by rediscovering in ourselves the sense of playfulness we had as children.

Kirkus Reviews describes “Disruptive Play” as “philosophically provocative and original.” Throughout the book, the author makes the case for people rediscovering a sense of play by discovering the tricksters in our midst, those playful spirits who try to keep the powerful off-balance, not for the sake of gaining power, but to, as Dr. Siegel puts it, find a sense of love and wonder in the world. His examples stretch back into ancient times, but include contemporary examples from Robin Williams to Bugs Bunny. The trickster, he says, fools the powerful into seeing that their seriousness serves no one. Out of that example, he thinks people can find a way to discover a non-competitive cooperative play that can enrich their lives. Play, Siegel notes, is common to all species, yet somehow humans manage to set it aside as they become older.
“Disruptive Play” puts up a timeline across human history that shows how people have been socialized into putting aside a childlike sense of play in order to adopt more adult roles. The timeline also puts forth an alternate view showing artists and entertainers, especially musicians, who have set aside the roles foisted onto them and have become the tricksters of their various artistic forms.

Siegel has lived in West Seattle for more than 25 years (and, disclosure, your WSB co-publishers have known him since we were all new arrivals in the early ’90s). From 1996-2012, he worked at Seattle Public Schools headquarters as manager of the district’s Career and Technical Education program. His launch party for “Disruptive Play” starts at 6 pm Wednesday (September 26th) at ArtsWest in The Junction (4711 California SW).

Are you a West Seattle author with a book on the way? Let us know so we can let your neighbors know too!

Tomorrow night, the monthly WordsWest Literary Series event at C & P Coffee Company (WSB sponsor) has a special start time and a special theme – it’s the annual summer-reading event with a focus on kids, starting at 6 pm, featuring authors Suzanne Selfors and Dana Simpson. Here’s the announcement:

Kick off school’s end and the start of summer reading season with acclaimed authors Suzanne Selfors and Dana Simpson in a magical evening for kids and the adults they bring with them.

Suzanne Selfors is a national best-selling author who writes for kids of all ages. She’s received five Junior Library Guild awards and earned starred reviews from Kirkus, School Library Journal, Library Media Connection and Publisher’s Weekly. The Sasquatch Escape won the WA State Book Award and was an Amazon Best Children’s Book. Suzanne’s most recent books are Wedgie and Gizmo vs. the Toof (2018) from Harper Collins/Katherine Tegan Publishers and Spirit Riding Free: Lucky and the Mustangs of Miradero (2017) from DreamWorks/Little Brown. The animated series, Spirit Riding Free, is on Netflix. Though her books can be found all over the world, Suzanne lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest where she hopes it is her destiny to write stories forever after.

Dana Claire Simpson, a native of Gig Harbor, first caught the eyes of devoted comics readers with the internet strip Ozy and Millie. After winning the 2009 Comic Strip Superstar contest, she developed the strip Phoebe and Her Unicorn (originally known as Heavenly Nostrils), which is now syndicated in over 200 newspapers worldwide. There are five book collections: Phoebe and Her Unicorn, Unicorn on a Roll, Unicorn vs. Goblins, Razzle Dazzle Unicorn, and Unicorn Crossing, and a graphic novel, The Magic Storm. Simpson’s books have appeared on the New York Times bestseller list, and have won the Washington State Book Award and the Pacific Northwest Book Award. She lives with her husband and her cat in Santa Barbara, California.

The Favorite Poem Project, a vital part of WordsWest’s monthly literary events, invites a community member to share a favorite poem and information about his or her organization. On June 20, we welcome the Summer Reading Table and a favorite poem read by Jenny Cole from indie bookstore Page 2 Books.

WordsWest is curated by West Seattle writers Katy E. Ellis, Susan Rich, and Harold Taw, and this season’s intern/co-curator is Joannie Stangeland. Grant funding from Seattle Office of Arts and Culture and Poets & Writers, Inc. allows WordsWest to pay featured writers for their time and talent.

No admission charge, though – everybody’s welcome!

This Friday brings 2018’s first Southwest Seattle Historical Society-presented author appearance in the “Words, Writers, West Seattle” series. But you will not find it at the longtime location (Barnes & Noble) – starting this month, the first-Friday events are moving to the library. This time, architectural historian David Hansen talks about his book “Battle Ready,” 5-7 pm Friday (January 5th) at Southwest Library (9010 35th SW). It’s a “scholarly study of the Puget Sound forts” 1894 to 1925, describing “designs, innovations, frustrations over implementation plans, and the experience of serving in the fortifications during their period of greatest importance.” (Read more in our calendar listing.) The format remains a free drop-in event; watch for updates on topics and locations for the months ahead.

The Seattle Public Library says it’s going system-wide as of today with the Peak Picks program, which it’s been testing at eight locations (none in West Seattle). This is meant to increase availability of in-demand titles (bestsellers and more) – no holds, no renewals after the two-week checkout period, first-come first-served. If you don’t already know, West Seattle’s library branches are in Admiral (2306 42nd SW), Delridge (5423 Delridge Way SW), High Point (3411 SW Raymond), and Westwood (the Southwest branch at 9010 35th SW).