Creative Colloquy Crawl
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2026
6:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Tacoma's annual literary crawl returns!
Wander through downtown venues and experience an evening of live readings, storytelling and performances from local writers, poets and creatives. It’s an evening to choose your own adventure with each stop offering a fresh lineup and new atmosphere mixing literature with Tacoma's nightlife for a one-of-a-kind community celebration of story.
6:30 P.M.
Women Who Write Together | MANUSCRIPT
Women Who Write Together is just what the name says…a diverse group of women who gather to write about topics that impact and showcase women’s perspectives, the motto, “When one woman shares her story, another woman feels less alone.” The pieces the group writes are tender, funny, badass, and the resulting discussions are rich and spirit-filling. (all ages)
Voices of the Diaspora | THE GRAND CINEMA
What stays with us when we leave a homeland, or grow up generations removed from one? Six poets with Vietnamese, Latine/x, Persian, Balkan, Tigrayan, and Palestinian roots explore identity, cultural memory, and the longing for connection and home. From the rhythms of Persian mystic traditions to the invisible borders of refugee life and poetry as an act of resistance, these voices reckon with displacement and generational loss while making room for healing, solidarity, collective liberation, and new definitions of what constitutes home. Presented by Speak Out Seattle. Featured readers include Chi Oanh, S. Salazar, Raanah Amjadi, Dario Cvencek, BeeLyn Naihiwet, and Giovanna Khoury. (all ages)
Wishcraft: A Little Magic, A Lot of Hope | PUGET SOUND PIZZA
Get creative, get reflective, and leave a little more hope in the world. Join Beverly Gilbert of Where Sound Meets Soul for an affirmation card-making activity that invites your inner child to take the lead. Then, add your voice to Jennifer Preston's ARISE, an interactive public art project inviting community members to write or draw their hopes for the world, our community, and one another on waterproof paper feathers. Together, these messages will become two magnificent wings made from the hopes of our community.
That’s So Gay | THE MIX
Queer stories deserve the spotlight, and we're bringing some to the stage! Join Jamie Fiano, Rachel Wiley, and Jessie Fouts at The Mix for an evening celebrating queer voices. Expect bold perspectives, unapologetic storytelling, and a whole lot of queer joy. Come raise a glass, find your people, and celebrate the power of a story well told.
7:30 P.M.
a show about nothing | PUGET SOUND PIZZA
NOTHING matters! Nothing MATTERS! An invitation to explore the unbearable lightness of nothing. Featured readers include Nick Stokes, Jenni Prange Boran and Heather Momyer. (21+)
Radio Theatre Live | THE GRAND CINEMA
Obscure Studios presents a world premiere of its next audio drama podcast, Belgrave, a supernatural workplace comedy set in a small Pacific Northwest town that's harboring more than its share of secrets. Be the first to hear members of the cast read excerpts from the show's first season, complete with music and sound effects. (all ages)
South Side Stories | MANUSCRIPT
Three Tacoma writers take us on an exploration of place. Animals escape from the Detroit Zoo and wreak havoc in Livonia, Michigan, in James Keith Smith's 'Fence.' In Ed Komenda's writing, the South Side of Chicago is its own grit-infused character, and John Paolilla leads us through his younger years in NYC and Western Mass with pocket-change aplomb. (all ages)
Making Monsters, Breaking Molds: a women in horror reading | THE MIX
Step into the darker corners of storytelling with Pacific Northwest horror writers Kari Treese, Nicole McCarthy, and Tamara Kaye Sellman. Through dark tales, feminist perspectives, and delightfully unsettling fiction, these writers explore the strange, the speculative, and the monstrous while challenging conventions and rewriting the rules of horror.
8:30 P.M.
ON AIR: Conversations with Frank Herbert | PUGET SOUND PIZZA
Join Sasha Victor and Michael Haeflinger in an improvised conversation with Tacoma's Frank Herbert, author of Dune, on the theme of the Mythology of Futurism. Audience members will be invited to join the chat throughout the night by reading excerpts from Dune. (21+)
Noreen and the Unnatural Man | THE MIX
A true crime deep dive into the 1948 Spanaway murder of Noreen McNicholas and the decade-long saga to get justice against the backdrop of the so-called Lavender Scare, with Jack Cameron.
Fabulists, Fables, & Futures: a UW Tacoma Faculty Reading | MANUSCRIPT
Inspired by our students, inspired by the grit and beauty of Tacoma, looking to instill creative expression in our future -- four creative writing faculty come together to share their words, the stories that haunt their quiet moments, and (sometimes accidentally) bare parts of their souls. Please join this mixed genre reading to celebrate not only what pulls us along in "the work," but the influences that shape conversation in UW Tacoma's upcoming Arts Major! (all ages)
9:30 P.M.
AFTER-PARTY | DOYLE’S PUBLIC HOUSE’S THE SNUG
Meet up when it’s all said and done to connect and conspire with fellow “crawlers” at Doyl'e’s. Some snacks will be available in the Snug (while supplies last - venue is 21+)