{"id":68512,"global_id":"townhallseattle.org?id=68512","global_id_lineage":["townhallseattle.org?id=68512"],"author":"5","status":"publish","date":"2026-02-17 14:15:05","date_utc":"2026-02-17 22:15:05","modified":"2026-02-17 14:17:46","modified_utc":"2026-02-17 22:17:46","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/event\/george-saunders\/","rest_url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/events\/68512","title":"A Conversation with George Saunders","description":"<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"285027:0\">An electric novel from the #1\u00a0<em>New York Times<\/em>\u00a0bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of\u00a0<em>Lincoln in the Bardo<\/em>, taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of his life, as he is ferried from this world into the next.<\/p>\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"285027:0\">Not for the first time, Jill \u201cDoll\u201d Blaine finds herself hurtling toward earth, reconstituting as she falls, right down to her favorite black pumps.\u00a0She plummets towards her newest charge, yet another soul she must usher into the afterlife, and lands headfirst in the circular drive of his ornate mansion.<\/p>\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"285027:0\">She has performed this sacred duty three hundred and forty-three times since her own death. Her charges, as a rule, have been greatly comforted in their final moments. But this charge, she soon discovers, isn\u2019t like the others: the powerful K.J. Boone will not be consoled, because he has nothing to regret. He lived a big, bold life, and the world is better for it. Isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"285027:0\"><em>Vigil\u00a0<\/em>transports us, careening, through the wild final evening of an epic, complicated life. Crowds of people and animals \u2014 worldly and otherworldly, alive and dead \u2014 arrive, clamoring for a reckoning.\u00a0Birds swarm the dying man\u2019s room, a black calf grazes on the loveseat, a man from a distant drought-ravaged village materializes, two oil-business cronies from decades past show up with chilling plans for Boone\u2019s post-death future.<\/p>\n<p data-aura-rendered-by=\"285027:0\">With the acuity and explosive imagination we\u2019ve come to expect, George Saunders takes on the gravest issues of our time \u2014 the menace of corporate greed, the toll of capitalism, the environmental perils of progress \u2014 and, in the process, spins a tale that encompasses life and death, good and evil, and the thorny question of absolution.<\/p>","excerpt":"","slug":"george-saunders","image":{"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders.jpg","id":68513,"extension":"jpg","width":800,"height":400,"filesize":128780,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":300,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9617,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-300x150.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9004,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":384,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":29860,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-768x384.jpg"},"et-pb-post-main-image":{"width":400,"height":250,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":16258,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-400x250.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-image":{"width":400,"height":284,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":18644,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-400x284.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":{"width":510,"height":382,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":28243,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-510x382.jpg"},"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":{"width":400,"height":400,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":32867,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-400x400.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":{"width":480,"height":240,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":15666,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders-480x240.jpg"}}},"all_day":false,"start_date":"2026-04-07 19:30:00","start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"04","day":"07","hour":"19","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"end_date":"2026-04-07 19:30:00","end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"04","day":"07","hour":"19","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"utc_start_date":"2026-04-08 02:30:00","utc_start_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"04","day":"08","hour":"02","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"utc_end_date":"2026-04-08 02:30:00","utc_end_date_details":{"year":"2026","month":"04","day":"08","hour":"02","minutes":"30","seconds":"00"},"timezone":"America\/Los_Angeles","timezone_abbr":"PDT","cost":"$7 \u2013 $90","cost_details":{"currency_symbol":"$","currency_code":"USD\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=","currency_position":"prefix","values":["7","90"]},"website":"","show_map":false,"show_map_link":true,"hide_from_listings":false,"sticky":false,"featured":false,"categories":[{"name":"Rentals","slug":"rental-partner-events","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":57,"taxonomy":"tribe_events_cat","description":"","parent":0,"count":465,"filter":"raw","id":57,"urls":{"self":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories\/57","collection":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-json\/tribe\/events\/v1\/categories"}}],"tags":[],"venue":{"id":62007,"author":"2","status":"publish","date":"2023-12-20 07:18:59","date_utc":"2023-12-20 15:18:59","modified":"2023-12-20 07:18:59","modified_utc":"2023-12-20 15:18:59","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/venue\/the-great-hall\/","venue":"The Great Hall","slug":"the-great-hall","image":{"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","id":63111,"extension":"jpg","width":1868,"height":934,"filesize":59051,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":300,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":5384,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-300x150.jpg"},"large":{"width":1024,"height":512,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":27540,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1024x512.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":3737,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":384,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":18575,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-768x384.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":1536,"height":768,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":47743,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1536x768.jpg"},"et-pb-post-main-image":{"width":400,"height":250,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9538,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x250.jpg"},"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":{"width":1080,"height":675,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":35109,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1080x675.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-image":{"width":400,"height":284,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":10197,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x284.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":{"width":510,"height":382,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":15036,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-510x382.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":{"width":1080,"height":540,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":29867,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1080x540.jpg"},"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":{"width":400,"height":516,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":14191,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x516.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":{"width":1280,"height":640,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":36944,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1280x640.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":{"width":980,"height":490,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":26303,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-980x490.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":{"width":480,"height":240,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9690,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-480x240.jpg"}}},"address":"1119 Eighth Avenue (enter on Eighth Avenue)","city":"Seattle","country":"United States","zip":"98101","json_ld":{"@type":"Place","name":"The Great Hall","description":"","image":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/venue\/the-great-hall\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1119 Eighth Avenue (enter on Eighth Avenue)","addressLocality":"Seattle","postalCode":"98101","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"show_map":true,"show_map_link":true,"global_id":"townhallseattle.org?id=62007","global_id_lineage":["townhallseattle.org?id=62007"]},"organizer":[{"id":62919,"author":"2","status":"publish","date":"2024-01-25 16:02:54","date_utc":"2024-01-26 00:02:54","modified":"2025-01-30 11:43:02","modified_utc":"2025-01-30 19:43:02","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/organizer\/seattle-arts-lectures\/","organizer":"Seattle Arts &#038; Lectures","slug":"seattle-arts-lectures","image":{"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","id":63111,"extension":"jpg","width":1868,"height":934,"filesize":59051,"sizes":{"medium":{"width":300,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":5384,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-300x150.jpg"},"large":{"width":1024,"height":512,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":27540,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1024x512.jpg"},"thumbnail":{"width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":3737,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-150x150.jpg"},"medium_large":{"width":768,"height":384,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":18575,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-768x384.jpg"},"1536x1536":{"width":1536,"height":768,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":47743,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1536x768.jpg"},"et-pb-post-main-image":{"width":400,"height":250,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9538,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x250.jpg"},"et-pb-post-main-image-fullwidth":{"width":1080,"height":675,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":35109,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1080x675.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-image":{"width":400,"height":284,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":10197,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x284.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-module-image":{"width":510,"height":382,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":15036,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-510x382.jpg"},"et-pb-portfolio-image-single":{"width":1080,"height":540,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":29867,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1080x540.jpg"},"et-pb-gallery-module-image-portrait":{"width":400,"height":516,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":14191,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-400x516.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--desktop":{"width":1280,"height":640,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":36944,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-1280x640.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--tablet":{"width":980,"height":490,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":26303,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-980x490.jpg"},"et-pb-image--responsive--phone":{"width":480,"height":240,"mime-type":"image\/jpeg","filesize":9690,"url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin-480x240.jpg"}}},"website":"https:\/\/lectures.org\/","email":"boxoffice@lectures.org","json_ld":{"@type":"Person","name":"Seattle Arts &#038; Lectures","description":"","image":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","url":"https:\/\/lectures.org\/","telephone":"","email":"&#98;&#111;&#120;of&#102;ic&#101;&#64;&#108;&#101;&#99;&#116;ure&#115;.or&#103;","sameAs":"https:\/\/lectures.org\/"},"global_id":"townhallseattle.org?id=62919","global_id_lineage":["townhallseattle.org?id=62919"]}],"custom_fields":{"_ecp_custom_27":{"label":"Event Format","value":"In-Person|Livestream"}},"json_ld":{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org","@type":"Event","name":"A Conversation with George Saunders","description":"&lt;p&gt;An electric novel from the #1\u00a0New York Times\u00a0bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author of\u00a0Lincoln in the Bardo, taking place at the bedside of an oil company CEO, in the twilight hours of [&hellip;]&lt;\/p&gt;\\n","image":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/george-saunders.jpg","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/event\/george-saunders\/","eventAttendanceMode":"https:\/\/schema.org\/OfflineEventAttendanceMode","eventStatus":"https:\/\/schema.org\/EventScheduled","startDate":"2026-04-07T19:30:00-07:00","endDate":"2026-04-07T19:30:00-07:00","location":{"@type":"Place","name":"The Great Hall","description":"","image":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/venue\/the-great-hall\/","address":{"@type":"PostalAddress","streetAddress":"1119 Eighth Avenue (enter on Eighth Avenue)","addressLocality":"Seattle","postalCode":"98101","addressCountry":"United States"},"telephone":"","sameAs":""},"organizer":{"@type":"Person","name":"Seattle Arts &#038; Lectures","description":"","image":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Default_blog_tile_thin.jpg","url":"https:\/\/lectures.org\/","telephone":"","email":"&#98;o&#120;&#111;&#102;&#102;ice&#64;&#108;e&#99;&#116;&#117;r&#101;&#115;&#46;org","sameAs":"https:\/\/lectures.org\/"},"offers":{"@type":"Offer","price":"$7 \u2013 $90","priceCurrency":"USD\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=","url":"https:\/\/townhallseattle.org\/event\/george-saunders\/","category":"primary","availability":"inStock","validFrom":"2026-02-17T00:00:00+00:00"},"performer":"Organization"},"is_virtual":false,"virtual_url":null,"virtual_video_source":""}