Comma Community Journalism Lab

10/10/2026

Journalist and author Claudia Rowe joins the Northwest Passages Book Club Oct. 15 to discuss “Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of the American Foster Care System.”

Rowe takes readers inside the foster care system, following six kids through the courtrooms, group homes, detention halls and adoption fairs that framed their young lives.

“Wards of the State” was a finalist for both the 2026 Washington State Book Award and 2025 National Book Award. Previously Rowe won the Washington State Book Award for memoir in 2018 for her true-crime book, “The Spider and the Fly.”

On Oct. 15, Rowe will be in conversation with Spokesman-Review reporter Elena Perry at the Montvale Event Center.

Ticket link in comments

10/02/2026

10/02/2026

Spokane book tour event on October 28. Details and tickets here: https://www.spokesman.com/northwest-passages/events/michael-connelly-the-hollow/

10/01/2026

Bohemian artist. Nomadic cultural anthropologist. Visionary project manager. The most productive creative director in recent Disney history.

This is just a little preview of the Joe Rohde pixie dust that permeated the air at Gonzaga University on Wednesday of last week. Watch the full event replay at The Spokesman-Review's
YouTube channel!

Video shot and directed by Brian Plonka.

10/01/2026

“So now we’re fighting an uphill battle against our own strategic planners.” Legendary Disney imagineer Joe Rohde explains why he brought a Bengal tiger to a meeting with Disney CEO Michael Eisner while designing the Animal Kingdom theme park.

The author of “Floating Mountains” recreated the infamous incident — what happened and didn’t happen — with readers of the Northwest Passages Book Club in Spokane.

10/01/2026

Tickets for Saturday are officially sold out! The Spokesman-Review will be streaming the event live on YouTube for anyone unable to attend in person.

See you there!

09/27/2026

The world of Percy Jackson is growing even bigger: authors Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh are visiting Spokane Oct. 3 to share their new “Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone.”

The Northwest Passages Book Club will host Riordan and Oh in conversation with author Margaret Owen at Ferris High School.

The world of Percy Jackson is growing a little bigger, and co-authors Rick Riordan and Annabelle Oh are stopping in Spokane to share about their brand-new book, “Camp Half-Blood: The Wild Zone.”

09/25/2026

Author and Disney Imagineer Joe Rohde stopped by Spokane to talk about his new book "Floating Mountains: The Art of Imagining the Impossible" as part of the Northwest Passages Book Club event Wednesday night on the Gonzaga campus. Rohde talked about creating a cultural touchstone as a resort in Hawaii, the making of Animal Kingdom and the real story about how he brought a live Bengal tiger to a meeting with Michael Eisner, Disney CEO. Photos/Erik Etherton for Comma Community Journalism Lab.