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Meet the 2025 Literary Lions!
This distinguished group of authors, including several from the Pacific Northwest, will be celebrated at the 2025 Literary Lions Gala on March 15th. Join us for an incredible night of literacy and legacy as we honor these exceptional voices. The authors' latest works will be available for purchase during the Gala—don’t miss this opportunity to meet the writers and have your books signed! Gala tickets will be available for purchase starting January 15th.

New York Times bestselling author Susan Orlean has been called “a national treasure” by the Washington Post and “a latter-day Tocqueville” by the New York Times. Her deeply moving explorations of American stories both familiar and obscure have earned her a reputation as one of America’s most distinctive journalistic voices. A staff writer for The New Yorker for over thirty years and a former contributing editor at Rolling Stone�����Ի���Vogue, she has been praised as “an exceptional essayist” (Publishers Weekly) and a writer who “approaches her subjects with intense curiosity and fairness” (Bookmarks).

is the author of Spirit Run (Catapult, 2020). He was born in the desert and raised in the weeds.

’s debut novel, Hollow Kingdom, was a finalist for the Thurber Prize for American Humor, the Audie Awards, and the Washington State Book Awards, and was named a best book of 2019 by NPR, Book Riot, and Good Housekeeping. She is also the author of Feral Creatures and Tartufo, which will be released in January 2025.

is the author of THE NAME OF THIS BAND IS R.E.M., the New York Times-bestselling Bruce Springsteen biography BRUCE and an array of other books about music and musicians. Raised in Seattle, he graduated from Garfield High School in 1981 and from Lewis & Clark College in Portland in 1985. He has been a free-lance writer and a senior writer at People magazine and was the TV critic for The Oregonian newspaper in Portland. His next book TONIGHT IN JUNGLELAND, about the making of Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run album, will be published in August. He lives in Seattle.

is a queer Chinese American author-illustrator who creates picture books and comics for kids and teens. Although her education is in engineering and economics, her heart has always been in storytelling–especially empowering, diverse stories she would have loved as a kid! Her work has been featured in the Wing Luke Museum, Buzzfeed, and Upworthy. Clients include Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Bloomsbury, Hachette, and Lerner. You can find Michelle petting the neighborhood cats, cozying up with a book, or hunting for cryptids in spooky games. Visit Michelle at www.michellejingchan.com or on social media @michellieart.

is the author of Ocean’s Godori, which was part of Hillman Grad’s inaugural slate of titles. She has an MFA in flute performance from CalArts, and is a former film critic, former bookseller at Elliott Bay Book Company, and current associate editor for Shelf Awareness. She is a Kyūdō practitioner and has worked for several arts nonprofits in Seattle, including ArtsWest, Seattle Music Partners, and Bushwick Book Club. Her sequel to Ocean’s Godori, Teo’s Durumi, is forthcoming August 2025.

is an award-winning food journalist and author of three cookbooks on Chinese home cooking. Known for her potsticker classes, she has taught hundreds of students over the years. She is the past chair of the James Beard Foundation’s Book Awards Committee and serves on the board of directors for the Ballard Food Bank. When she’s not wearing her culinary hat, she makes a living as a marketing professional in the tech industry. Chou lives with her family in Seattle.

is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into 30 languages and sold more than 15 million copies in print. Praised for her “brilliantly etched characters, polished writing, and unexpected flashes of sharp humor that are pure Dodd” (Booklist), her award-winning books have landed on numerous Best of the Year lists and, much to her mother's delight, Dodd was once a clue in the Los Angeles Times crossword puzzle. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

, author and biologist, is a Guggenheim Fellow, a Switzer Environmental Fellow, and winner of the John Burroughs Medal. His many books include Close to ��һ�Թ���, Buzz, Feathers, and the children’s favorite Star and the Maestro. Thor’s work has been translated into a dozen languages and earned many accolades, including the Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science and three Pacific Northwest Book Awards. He co-hosted the PBS Nature series American Spring Live, and has been a guest on programs ranging from Fresh Air to Science Friday, and WIRED Currents. Hanson lives with his family on an island in the Pacific Northwest.

(she/her) is a memoirist, creative nonfiction writer, and abolitionist scholar, whose works centers the experiences of Black women. Her memoir Mainline Mama will debut in February 2025 from Amistad Press. She is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of Washington in the Public Health Department.

is an artist, writer, and adventurer who is equally likely to disappear into the backcountry or a research library. Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, Atlas Obscura, Adventure Journal, and others, and she received the 2021 Washington Artist Trust Arts Innovator Award. Her debut graphic memoir, Feeding Ghosts, was a finalist for the Kirkus Prize in nonfiction and longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, and is a current finalist for the Pacific Northwest Book Award.

is the author of the novels Supersonic and Lake City and the memoir Do Travel Writers Go to Hell? Born and raised in Seattle, he still lives in the same house he grew up in—now with his wife and two children. Thomas is a Sundance Fellow and has run his own video and animation studio for over a decade.

is the author of the middle grade graphic novels Measuring Up and Unhappy Camper and the picture book Chloe’s Lunar New Year from HarperCollins. When she isn’t writing, she explores new recipes and crafts and goes on writing retreats with her husband and dog in their campervan. She graduated from Hamline’s MFA in Writing for Children and YA. She’s passionate about libraries and serves on the ��һ�Թ��� System Foundation Board. She was on the Advisory Committee for SCBWI-WWA.

, a Vietnamese-American author, playwright, and performer, is the creator of her theatrical solo show "140 LBS: How Beauty Killed My Mother," which received critical acclaim from LA Times, NPR, and American Theatre. Her debut memoir, The Manicurist’s Daughter (Celadon), is an Apple Book Pick of the Month and Must Listen of the Month, and has received accolades from The New York Times, NPR Books, Elle Magazine, and The Washington Post. The co-founder of Socola Chocolatier, she is a proud alumnus of Harvard, Yale, and Hedgebrook.

became a writer after his fifth-grade teacher told him it was his destiny. Since then, he’s read too many books (if there is such a thing) and explored worlds far outside the reaches of his own. Anthony holds a BA in psychology and two diplomas (one in public relations, the other in publishing), which allow him to write the day away while simultaneously psychoanalyzing his friends. Anthony lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples. His debut novel, Skater Boy, was named a 2024 Kids’ Indie Next Pick by the American Booksellers Association.

is the author of several humorous books, including Excuse Me While I Disappear and The Murderess. She also hosts a podcast about the Ruth Judd Story, a true crime novel inspired by historical events.

is the New York Times Bestselling author of four novels: A Wild and Heavenly Place, Winter Sisters, I Always Loved You, and My Name is Mary Sutter. A former Registered Nurse specializing in Critical Care and Bone Marrow Transplant, she also holds a B.A. in Russian and an M.F.A. in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Recognition includes the James Jones First Novel Fellowship, the Michael Shaara Prize for Civil War Fiction, numerous all-city reads, the 2015 Iowa All State Read, and in 2019, placed as finalist for the Washington State Book Awards.

is the award-winning author of several books for youth including the New York Times bestsellers Ghost Boys and Black Brother, Black Brother. She is also the author of Paradise on Fire, Towers Falling, and the celebrated Louisiana Girls’ Trilogy: Ninth Ward, Sugar, and Bayou Magic.

is an author, instructor, photographer, writer, partner and mother of three children. She is the co-creator and host of James Beard Award-nominated outdoor-cooking-adventure series, Kitchen Unnecessary and author of four books. She is also a nature therapy guide and eco-spiritual guide with the foundation of her work and purpose to help people root themselves within the natural world. You’ll often find Ashley in the woods admiring all the mushrooms, cooking over an open fire, knee-deep in the river with a fly rod in hand or curled up in a cozy chair reading.

are a husband-and-wife team out of Seattle, Washington. Eva is the frontwoman and songwriter of the acclaimed rock band, The Black Tones, which has opened for Mavis Staples, Death Cab for Cutie, and Weezer. A popular DJ on KEXP, Eva currently hosts the Early on KEXP show. Jake is a staff writer at American Songwriter Magazine. His work has appeared in Vanity Fair, Interview Magazine, Spin, and many more. He is also the author of Northwest Know-How: Beer as well as Muggsy Bogues: The Godfather of Smallball.