The sold-out pre-screening of ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ took place last week at Cinerama to benefit 826 Seattle - the local chapter of Dave Eggers’ national chain of non-profit writing and tutoring centers - and raised approximately $47,000 in the process. The money will go towards operating expenses for the center, which served approximately 2,000 youth last year with its variety of free programs, including after-school tutoring, writing workshops and field trips. And with the writing center operating in Greenwood’s finest Space Travel Supply Company, the money raised is equivalent to about ten months of rent. more ›

WILD THING: Although it is time for the playoffs, we aren't referring to Mitch Williams or Charlie Sheen's character from Major League. The Wild Things is the novel version of Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are,for which Dave Eggers wrote the screenplay. The Spike Jonze movie is in theaters October 16 but Eggers will be speaking about the book today. more ›

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel's swoonworthy indie darling (500) Days of Summer has its final SIFF screening today at the Egyptian at 4:30 p.m. We tell you this not because the film needs our promotional help, but because you need to get there early to ensure you get a seat--at yesterday's screening, they were turning people away. Looks like there's still a few tix available, and at the matinee price ($8) no less. If you'd like something still indie, but non-SIFF-related, there's a free screening tonight of the Dave Eggers-penned pregnant couple road movie Away We Go at the Uptown at 7 p.m. You can still pick up a pass at the Downtown Diesel store. more ›

Saturday, May 9th, the Northwest Film Forum teams up with 826 Seattle to present a special screening of Away We Go, the latest film by Sam Mendes. The movie will be in theaters June 5th, but this sneak-peek will be at the Harvard Exit with Dave Eggers (who wrote the screenplay along with his author wife Vendela Vida) on-hand for a post-film Q&A. Away We Go is your basic coming-of-age road-trip thing, except this time around the people coming of age are a mid-30s couple (John Krasinksi and Maya Rudolph) expecting their first child. So their misadventure-laden journey is not just about finding themselves, it's also about finding the best place for their family. What is the meaning of home? And so on and so forth. more ›

co-horts Leon Wieseltier and Dale Peck--they accuse of writing literary criticism that "was wholly negative. And, it eventually became clear, indiscriminately so." more ›

Towards the very end of last night's People Talking and Singing, as the clock ticked past 10:00 and John Roderick announced he'd play another song and take a few requests from the audience, our butts chimed in: "Hey, this is starting to go on a little long." more ›

True confessions time: We've never set foot in 826 Seattle. We think we might have seen the building once, at night, while driving somewhere else. more ›

The third annual 826 Seattle benefit People Talking and Singing will fill the seats at Town Hall next Thursday. Comedian Patton Oswalt had to cancel, but the event still features host John Roderick of the Long Winters, Dave Eggers, comedians Todd Barry and Eugene Mirman, New Yorker music critic (and current blogosphere gadfly) Sasha Frere-Jones, local songstress Rosie Thomas, and Geologic of the Blue Scholars. more ›

Bumbershoot 2005 hosted the inaugural People Talking and Singing show, where 2,800 festival attendees packed McCaw Hall to see Dave Eggers, Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket), Mike Doughty, Sarah Vowell, and Death Cab for Cutie, all the while raising $18K for 826 Seattle, the youth writing center in Greenwood. Last year's event, also at Bumbershoot, was hosted by Daily Show Resident Expert™ John Hodgman and singer Jonathan Coulton. Eggers, Handler, Gibbard, and Vowell were back for more, along with Decemberist Colin Meloy, Smoosh, and Stephin Merritt. All together, the benefit raised another $10K. more ›

Here at Seattlest HQ, also known as "Library Dorks R Us," we've laid bare our woes of overburdened library hold queues (and overdue quotas) in the past. When 5 books, many over 300 pages, come due at the same time, what is an SPL whore to do? Well, it looks like we're in for another beating; here's what is in our queue, in order of likelihood to arrive: more ›

The announcement on Dec. 29 that San Diego-based Advanced Marketing Services is seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection could have big effects for Seattle's tiny book publishing world. more ›

To have been at McCaw Hall Friday night, is to have been truly blessed. It was a night filled with smiles, laughter and bottomless admiration – not only for the performers, but also for the people behind the scenes for whom this night was meant to benefit. It was a night which, at one point, brought a couple tears to our eyes. But we’re sensitive like that. more ›

So, there's that big, crowded festival-thingy going on this weekend and we could recommend a bunch of stuff to hit there, but ah, we're far too lazy to do that. Here's the schedule - make yourself happy. No one's looking. more ›

Things are getting dire at work with regards to the World Cup. Seattlest isn't sure how many two-hour lunches it's proper to take over the course of a month, but we're quite sure we passed that number long ago. Today (deep breath) is an off day. A vacation, holiday, break, pause, a rest from leisure. There are no games today. The second round is over, and the semi-finals don't start until Friday. more ›

Back in our freelance days, Seattlest was happy to get 50 cents a word. So imagine the triple cherries that flashed before our eyes when we learned that down in PDX you can get 250 writers for three measly bucks! more ›

Somehow, when we weren't looking, Seattle fell behind Cape Canaveral, Florida and Houston, Texas as a destination for those who wish to boldly go where no man has gone before. But, now that the Greenwood Space Travel Supply Co. is open for business, that's all gonna change. more ›

1) Mercir (EMP Sky Church) - We started the day with some electro indie rock. With moody vocals, usually more atmospheric than lyrical, this three piece uses guitars, keyboards and a latop computer to create a rich wall of sound. more ›

Okay, okay, we know that this year’s Bumbershoot lineup will leave you wondering what year it is, since we wouldn’t really call most of the acts especially current or relevant, but there are some things worth checking out. more ›

Well, literary immortality, anyway. A gaggle of authors (some Seattlest-approved, some not-so-approved)- including Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Dave Eggers, John Grisham, Lemony Snicket, Michael Chabon, and Jonathan Lethem- will be auctioning the chance to have the winning bidder's name included in their next work. Clearly, a win would be somewhat conditional- if you want to use a friend's name, you have to get permission, for instance- but they seem pretty accommodating. That said, if your name is Amanda Huggnkiss or Mike Hunt, you had probably better skip this one. more ›

Spin writer Chuck Klosterman is to Nick Hornby as Augusten Burroughs is to David Sedaris. more ›

826 Seattle, the nonprofit writing and tutoring center affiliated with McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers, will open this fall at 8414 Greenwood Avenue North. more ›

Buy a book & give a warm welcome to the latest incarnation of Dave Eggers’s non-profit writing/tutoring organization, 826 Seattle. more ›