Presenters may include: Curator Michael Schmeltzer, Helen Anderson, Ally Ang, Carrie Beyer, Julie Feng, Jessica Gigot, Danielle Hayden, Erin Langner, Jory Mickelson, Emily Parzybok, Vincent Rendoni, Ruth Schemmel, and Katharine Strange.

The event is presented in partnership with Jack Straw Cultural Center. This event is supported by The Seattle Public Library Foundation and author series sponsors the Gary and Connie Kunis Foundation. Thanks to media sponsor The Seattle Times. This event will be recorded, captioned and then posted on SPL's YouTube channel after the event.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

The Jack Straw Writers Program, now in its twenty-sixth year, has included more than 300 Pacific Northwest writers who represent a diverse range of literary genres. The purpose of the Jack Straw Writers Program is to introduce local writers to the medium of recorded audio; to develop their presentation skills for both live and recorded readings; to encourage the creation of new literary work; to present the writers and their work in live readings, in an anthology, on the web, and on the radio; and to build community among writers. Each year an invited curator selects the participating writers from a large pool of applicants, based on artistic excellence, diversity of literary genres and experiences, and creating a cohesive group of writers. Writers receive training in vocal presentation, performance, and microphone technique to prepare them for studio recording and live readings. Their recorded readings and interviews with the curator are then used to produce features on our web site, for radio broadcast, and for podcasts, which are available for streaming or download at www.jackstraw.org.

ABOUT THE CURATOR:Michael Schmeltzer is a biracial author originally from Japan. He currently lives in Seattle where he serves as Editor-in-Chief of Floating Bridge Press. His poetry book Empire of Surrender (2022) is the winner of the 2021 Wandering Aengus Book Award. Along with Meghan McClure, he is the co-author of the nonfiction book A Single Throat Opens, a lyric exploration of addiction and family. His debut full-length Blood Song was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award in Poetry, the Julie Suk Award, and the Coil Book Award. His honors include a 2019 Jack Straw Fellowship, the Gulf Stream Award for Poetry, and Blue Earth Review’s Flash Fiction Prize. He has been a finalist for the Four Way Books Intro and Levis Prizes, the Zone 3 Press First Book Prize, the John Ciardi Prize for Poetry from BkMk Press, the OSU Press/The Journal Award in Poetry, and most recently the Jake Adam York Prize.