Please join us for an evening of revelry and literary flourishing at Seattle Arts & Lectures’ annual fundraiser, The SAL Gala: Words Bloom. Together, we’ll raise $750,000 so we can continue cultivating transformative experiences through story and language with readers and writers of all generations!
Funds raised from The SAL Gala support SAL’s Youth Programs (Writers in the Schools, the Youth Poetry Fellowship, and Spotlight Author Visits), helps bring the most dynamic and inspiring writers of our time to local and virtual stages, and ensures accessible programming for all.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
Seattle Convention Center | Summit Building
900 Pine Street, Seattle
5:30 | Reception & Check-in
- Blind Date with a Book
- Libre Libations
- Complimentary Photo Studio
7:00 | Dinner & Program
- Welcome & Thanks
- State of SAL with Rebecca Hoogs
- Keynote with Tessa Hulls, author of Feeding Ghosts
- Youth Poetry Reading with Adisa Grant
- Live Auction
- Raise the Paddle
- Dessert Dash
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- with Sasha Summer Cousineau, Auctioneer/Emcee
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
We are offering tickets on a tiered level. We ask that you purchase a ticket at the level in alignment with your financial capacity. The fair market value of the goods and services provided at each ticket level is $125 per ticket, which covers venue and meal costs. All additional costs are a charitable contribution to help support more accessible events and are tax deductible by law. As we work to make our organization and fundraising practices more equitable, we are experimenting with new ways to reach our community and gather support for the programs you know and love. Thank you for your support!
SPONSOR THE 2026 SAL GALA
As a SAL Gala sponsor, your company will enjoy visibility with SAL’s 45,000 patrons — including 400+ business and philanthropic leaders at our fundraiser. Sponsorships provide the unique opportunity to connect with SAL’s community, in one of the top literary cities in the world, and to show your support of the literary arts and youth writing.
For more information about sponsorships opportunities, contact Corporate & Foundations Relations Manager, Inez Maubane Jones, at imjones@lectures.org.
WITH HEARTFELT THANKS TO …
- Our 2026 SAL Words Bloom Committee
- Brooke Williams, Co-Chair
- Dana Bettinger, Co-Chair
- Debra D. Dahlen
- Gracie Doyle
- Sunny Hong
- Susan Long-Walsh
- Anne-Phyfe Palmer
- Jane Park
- Heather Pogue
- Naria Santa Lucia
- Chris Schluep
- Padmaja Vrudhula
- Megan Watts
- Board of Directors
- Kiran Griffith, President
- Leigh Toner, Vice President
- Sean Coury, Treasurer
- Karen Maeda Allman, Secretary
- Lauri Conner | Debra D. Dahlen | Jim Duncan | Sunny Hong | Mo Katibeh
- Susan Long-Walsh | Kelli Martin | Jamie Miller| Nisha Nariya
- Cambrie Nelson | Eric Gerard Parsons | Naria Santa Lucia | Karen Schartman
- Sheehan Sullivan | Megan Watts | Brooke Williams | Padmaja Vrudhula
