Construction of our new home on Capitol Hill is roaring toward completion, but before we finalize everything, we want to get your input on one of the most important parts of our new home: the classrooms. In honor of Richard…
In our 280-character world, good conversation can be hard to find. What luck then that I found myself in a room with a group of people looking to go a little deeper than a sound bite. We were gathered at…
If you’ve picked up the latest issue of Poets & Writers, you might have seen the familiar sight of our ramshackle old home resurrected on its glossy pages. For the May/June issue, Lora Shinn spoke with Executive Director Tree Swenson…
I can’t tell you how often people tell me, “I wish my city had a place like Hugo House.” Often, they’re out-of-towners attending a Hugo House event or sitting in on a class. Again and again, they leave wishing that…
Set to open summer 2018 on the corner of 11th Avenue and E Olive, the new Hugo House will have ample room for us to continue to dream and grow. More space to serve more readers and writers Six classrooms…
Hugo House has received a Building for the Arts grant of $1.032 million from Washington state—a significant portion of the funds needed to purchase our new space and turn it into a home for writers. Thank you to everyone who…
I recently heard a story about the author Sonya Lea. For those not familiar with Sonya, she published a memoir, Wondering Who You Are, with Tin House; it chronicles her experience with her husband’s amnesia and how they built a…
You might have seen a recent piece in Crosscut about this legislative snag: The Washington State Legislature has yet to pass the $4 billion capital budget. Hugo House is recommended for $1.034 million in that budget—a key part of our…
Kelly Link, who kicked off this year’s Word Works series earlier this month, once said in an interview, “I’d be flattered if someone said that my work is ‘too weird’ for them. I value the uncompliment.” At Hugo House, we…
One of the most important qualities we want in our new space is that it feel like a gathering space. We want people to come and talk about writing and writers and words. Our vision is to open the literary…
A few months ago, our executive director, Tree Swenson, wrote to you — teachers, students, friends, and supporters of Hugo House — to urge you to contact your state legislators to voice your support for full funding of the Building…
“We love Hugo House!” the two woman told me in unison. I was at a book publication party and had been introduced to them as the director of Hugo House. “That’s great!” I replied. “Do you take classes there?” “No,…