Four renowned writer-activists converge on the nxÊ·yxÊ·yetkÊ· stage to discuss their work and the Hanford Nucl ear Site's troubled impact on our region. A month-long exhibit of archival materials about Hanford will also be available for perusal. Auntie's Bookstore and Latah Books will be on hand to assist with book sales.\n
About the panelists:
\nTrisha Pritikin \;is the author of awar d-winning The Hanford Plaintiffs: Voices from the Fight for Atomic Jus tice\, published in 2020 by University Press of Kansas (UPK) and rele ased in Japanese by Akashi Shoten\, Tokyo. Trisha was born and raised in R ichland\, where her father worked as a Hanford engineer. She has spent mor e than thirty years seeking accountability for cancers\, birth defects\, a nd radiogenic disease in those who\, like her\, grew up in the shadow of H anford\, the Nevada Test Site\, and other Manhattan Project and Cold War a tomic weapons production and testing sites throughout the US and globally. Her new novel\, an atomic age hero&rsquo\;s journey entitled Then Cam e the Summer Snow\, was recently released by Moonshine Cove Press. &n bsp\;
\nAn Austin\, TX transplant and lifetime environmental advocat e\, Kay Smith-Blum has resided in Seattle for more than f our decades. The recent upheaval over leaking nuclear waste tanks at the H anford site in Washington state compelled her to write a Hanford story in a way that would educate and entertain readers\, resulting in her debut no vel\, \;Tang les. A companion short story to \;Tangles \;is featured i n the 2024 anthology\, \;Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Dari ng Women\, which Smith-Blum co-edited. Smith-Blum works out her write r&rsquo\;s block in her sons&rsquo\; gardens and the nearest lap pool. To learn more\, please visit \;KaySmith-Blum. com.
\nKaren Dorn Steele is an environmental jo urnalist known for breaking the story of nuclear experiments causing poten tial public health damage at the Hanford Nuclear Site. \;During her te nure with the \;Spokesman Review\, she broke the story about the Green Run test\, in which the U.S. government released radioactive gas es in 1949 over areas surrounding the Hanford Site. \;Subsequently\, s he covered the Hanford \;Downwinder \;Litigation\, in which reside nts living around the Hanford Site from the 1940s through the 1960s sued t he federal government for the health complications\, such as cancer\, that they suffered from as a result to the exposure to radiation from Hanford. In 2018\, Dorn Steele was awarded the Watershed Hero Award from the Cente r for Environmental Law and Policy. \;
\nHaving grown up in East ern Washington\, James Patrick Thomas began advocating fo r nuclear disarmament in 1981 as a member of the Bethlehem Peace Pilgrimag e\, a 6700-mile walk across the U.S. and nine other countries. Upon his re turn from Bethlehem in late 1983\, he spent the next quarter century inves tigating radioactive pollution from the production and testing of nuclear weapons\, mostly focused on the Hanford Site. This included advocating for Hanford downwinders. He has twice visited Hiroshima and Nagasaki. \;J im has a master&rsquo\;s in religious studies from Gonzaga University. His new memoir Atomic Pilgrim: How Walking Thousands of Miles for Peace Led to Uncovering Some of America's Darkest Nuclear Secrets \;is available from Latah Books. \;
\nAbout th e moderator:
\nDr. Ann Le Bar is a History Professo r and Director of EWU's History Program. Her research interests include ea rly modern European history\, cultural/intellectual history\, German histo ry\, and teaching tough subjects through archival sources.
\nAunties Bookstore and Latah Books will be on-site selling their books.
\nBy attending library programs\, you are agreeing to potentially appear in ph otos/videos taken at our locations that may be used in promotional materia ls including social media.
\nWe strive to make events welcoming for people of all abilities. To request accommodations (i.e. hearing assistanc e\, ASL requests\, or other ADA inquiries)\, email sday@spokanelibrary.org .
\nFor all event information inquiries\, email telref@spokanelibrar y.org or call 509-444-5300.
\nhttps://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/ 14138404 URL;VALUE=URI:https://spokanelibrary.libnet.info/event/14138404 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR