Graphic Novelist & Children’s Book Writer

Josh Tuininga

author of

We Are Not Strangers

in conversation with series host

Michael N. McGregor

author of The Last Grand Tour

& An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life

6 p.m., Thurs., September 10

Cascadia Art Museum, 190 Sunset Ave, Edmonds, WA 98020

(To order tickets through the Cascadia website, click here)

The Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation Series returns for a third year with graphic novelist and children’s book writer Josh Tuininga as our first featured author of the new season.

More than a just a writer or illustrator, Tuininga is also an artist and designer who makes his home in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in North Bend, Washington. After publishing two children’s books – Why Blue? (2014) and Dream On (2019), Tuininga exploded onto the graphic novel scene in 2023 with We Are Not Strangers, winner of the Best YA Non-Fiction Novel prize at the Excellence in Graphic Literature Awards and finalist for a Washington State Book Award.

Inspired by Tuininga’s grandfather’s experiences, the book tells – and shows – the story of a Jewish immigrant trying to help his Japanese American neighbors in Seattle’s multicultural Central District when the government forces them into relocation camps during World War II. Bestselling author-lllustrator Kazu Kibuishi calls it “a powerful book about advocating for friends and neighbors during times of great division.”

In February 2027, Abrams Fanfare will publish Tuininga’s second graphic book, Serious Damage: A Graffiti Story: A Graphic Memoir, a YA coming-of-age look at how art and graffiti helped Tuininga recover after a devastating injury.

After studying fine art at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Tuininga founded an art and design agency, where he continues to work as its creative director. His creative work has been published in Communication Arts magazine and HOW design magazine, and he was received the Communication Arts Award for excellence in illustration. He’s also the recipient of a 4Culture Heritage Grant and the 2023 Pop Culture Classroom Best YA Nonfiction Award.

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Purchase or pre-order Josh Tuininga’s books online at the Edmonds Bookshop.

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About the Cascadia Writers-in-Conversation Series

Every other month, host Michael N. McGregor brings one Northwest writer in front of an enthusiastic audience for a brief reading, a discussion of the author’s work, and a question-and-answer session with engaged literature lovers.

The series showcases the wealth of writing talent in the Pacific Northwest by featuring writers from different genres at different stages of their careers who may have been overlooked rather than those readers already know.

Writers who appear in the series are also featured on WritingtheNorthwest.com.

The series offers a unique chance to hear talented writers speak in-depth about what it means to be an author in the Northwest and why and how they create their works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. The conversations take place in one of Cascadia’s beautiful galleries, with Northwest art lining the walls.

Cascadia Art Museum is the only museum dedicated to artists and their works from the Pacific Northwest. Focused on visual art and design from 1860 to 1970, it is committed to the belief that recognizing previously neglected artists who made significant contributions to the region’s cultural identity gives us a fuller and more comprehensive understanding of Northwest art history. The Writers-in-Conversation series signals the museum’s desire to highlight underappreciated Northwest artists in literature as well. The series is co-sponsored by the Edmonds Bookshop.

Michael N. McGregor is Seattle-based author whose book Pure Act: The Uncommon Life of Robert Lax was a finalist for a Washington State Book Award. After living his early life in Seattle, he spent 17 years as an award-winning professor of creative writing at Portland State University, where he helped found the MFA in Creative Writing program. A former member of the Advisory Committee for the Oregon Book Awards and Fellowships, he holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and an MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University in New York. His first novel, The Last Grand Tour, and his first memoir, An Island to Myself: The Place of Solitude in an Active Life, were published in 2025.

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