Spotlight: Lucky Seven

An upstart group of local published writers is working to enrich Seattle's literary landscape

The first thing you should know about the Seattle 7 is that there are nine of them. The name, short for local writing group Seattle7Writers, nods to the 1970s group of anti–Vietnam War rabble-rousers also known as the Seattle Liberation Front, which, as the nine members of the Seattle 7 will tell you with glee, included Jeff Dowd, on whom the Coen brothers based their character The Dude in The Big Lebowski.

But we digress.

Coincidentally, digressions are customary for this enthusiastic writers group, which, like any writing group worth its salt, allows conversational tangents to flow as freely as the wine. But unlike most writing groups toiling away in dining rooms all over the city, this one has a distinguishing feature: All of its members are published authors—some several times over—and five have published novels this year. All are ensconced in various stages of their next books.

The group began in 2006, when writers and new friends Garth Stein (The Art of Racing in the Rain) and Jennie Shortridge (When She Flew) met for coffee to discuss issues pertinent to published authors—how better to promote their books, good and bad cover art, whether their editors are driving them nuts, etc. The meeting became monthly, and grew larger as they invited more local writers to talk shop. The original seven were Stein, Shortridge, Kit Bakke, Stephanie Kallos, Heather Barbieri, Randy Sue Coburn and Mary Guterson. The loose collective expanded to 10 (with Erica Bauermeister, Carol Cassella, and Maria Semple), then lost one (Barbieri is on sabbatical from the group), and has solidified into a nine-person steering committee (or as Stein jokes, “the tribal council”). They decided the Seattle 7 moniker had a nice enough ring that they wanted to keep it. “It sounds a little subversive,” winks Bakke (Miss Alcott’s E-mail), who, by the way, was a member of the Weather Underground and whose FBI file is 400 pages long.

On an evening in early fall, at a meeting held in the dining room of Shortridge’s Queen Anne bungalow, the Seattle 7 address the group’s beginnings. “The original purpose was to drink coffee and kvetch,” explains Coburn (who, in addition to several novels, cowrote the screenplay for Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle). Carol Cassella, an anesthesiologist whose book Oxygen traces an operating-room disaster and its ramifications, adds, “Everybody thinks once you’re published, the sun comes out and shines on everything you do.” Her comment instigates knowing laughter from the assembly—everyone chiming in with how isolating writing can be, and the camaraderie the group provides.

But beyond solidarity, the Seattle 7 dynamic has inspired something more. “We first got together to talk about how to market ourselves,” says Shortridge, “But we couldn’t stop talking about how to help other people get access to literature and help with education and literacy.” Adds Kallos (Sing Them Home), “Given our own success, we all feel compelled to pay it forward.” Accordingly, the Seattle 7 are working on a slew of initiatives intended to help enrich the local literary community and in particular, to foster a love of reading in youth. Maria Semple (This One Is Mine) notes, “We want to keep books alive with youth—they’re texting, but they aren’t reading.” Cassella adds a sentiment that is echoed around the table: “We’re all a little worried about the future of books and reading.”

Plans include incorporating book drives into author appearances (encouraging audiences to bring a few titles to donate to organizations in need of books, instead of, say, canned goods). The group animatedly brainstorms potential beneficiaries—NW Children’s Fund, Powerful Schools, 826 Seattle—organizations that serve kids being of particular interest. Also on the agenda is generating a list of charity auctions to which the Seattle 7 will donate book group appearances and/or book bags full of their novels. At this meeting there is a lot of excitement about the book bags, which diverges into a general hubbub about a logo, the menu at the hypothetical launch party and ideas for 2011 initiatives. “That’s when we’ll travel around in a van, with our logo on it,” Coburn deadpans.

Despite the wine and the laughing and the digressions (or perhaps because of them), the Seattle 7 are actually getting things done. With a couple of events completed last month, where they discussed both writing and their organizational mission (a subset of four served as a panel at Wordstock in Portland, and all nine appeared together at the Seattle Bookfest in Columbia City), they have several more in the works, including one at Fremont Books on October 29 (check online at seattle7writers.org for details). They’re developing ways for writers outside the tribal council to get involved, and strategies for working with writers and audiences beyond King County. “The power in numbers is amazing,” comments Kallos. Especially when seven equals nine.

---

RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY SEATTLE7WRITERS:

Kit Bakke
Miss Alcott’s E-mail: Yours for Reforms of All Kinds, 2006

Erica Bauermeister
The School of Essential Ingredients, 2009

Carol Cassella
Oxygen, 2008

Randy Sue Coburn
A Better View of Paradise, 2009

Mary Guterson
Gone to the Dogs, 2009

Stephanie Kallos
Sing Them Home, 2009

Maria Semple
This One Is Mine, 2008

Jennie Shortridge
When She Flew, 2009

Garth Stein
The Art of Racing in the Rain, 2008