EMMA PATTEE
author of critically acclaimed bestseller Tilt

An “epic odyssey” (NPR) about the disappointments and desires we all carry, and what each of us will do for the people we love.

DONNA BARBA HIGUERA
New York Times bestselling author of middle-grade and picturebooks that reinvent history, folklore and life experience.

Emma Pattee is a climate journalist and a fiction writer. She has written about the climate crisis for The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, and more. In 2021, she coined the term “Climate Shadow” to describe an individual’s potential impact on climate change.

Her debut novel, Tilt, is a national bestseller, a New York Times Book Review’s Editors’ choice, and was named a best book of the year by TIME, NPR, Vogue, Bustle, Amazon, and Scientific American. Emma lives in Oregon with her two children.

Selected short fiction from Emma Pattee

• No More Bodies of Water, Alaska Quarterly Review
• The Last Word, New Orleans Review
• In This Skin, Bellevue Literary Review (audio, read by Erin Cherry)
• Men Learn to Swim in the Deep End, The Citron Review
• The Hard Years, Carve Magazine

Donna Barba Higuera’s books include The Unlikely Aventuras of Ramón and El Cucuy, Lupe Wong Won’t Dance, El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!, The Last Cuentista, Alebrijes, and Firesnake and have won awards including: the Newbery medal, both Pura Belpré medal and honor, Washington State Book Award, PNBA best book of the year award, and the Sid Fleischman award for best children’s humor book of the year. 

Golden Apple
Educator Award

WCLS began the Golden Apple Educator Award in 2007 to honor the dedication of local teachers and school staff who connect students with library resources that further their growth and learning.

Speed Puzzling Championship

WCLS hosts the Speed Puzzling Championship! Teams of up to 4 people will compete to see who can finish a copy of the same 300-piece puzzle the fastest in under 1 hour.