"A Darker Domain" is a psychological thriller that ties together a kidnapping, a botched payoff and a national miner's strike from 25 years ago. McDermid, author of 25 crime novels, grew up in a Scottish mining community, read English at Oxford and has worked as a journalist. She has won the Gold Dagger Award for Best Crime Novel and the LA Times Book of the Year Award.

Caring for orphaned animals at her zoo in the tropical country of Belize, Sharon Matola became one of Central America's greatest wildlife defenders when powerful outside forces conspired with the local government to build a dam that would flood the nesting ground of the only scarlet macaws in Belize. Barcott chronicles Matola's crusade to stop a multinational corporation in its tracks.

On Nov. 4, community college instructor Mike Hickey was elected the new Seattle Poet Populist. Hickey was nominated by the It's About Time Writers Reading Series. This event featured special guest Jack Hirschman, Poet Laureate of San Francisco, former Seattle Poet Populist Cody Walker and several of this year's candidates, including Judith Roche and Ruth Yarrow. Program founder and Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata gave an introduction.

On Nov. 4, community college instructor Mike Hickey was elected the new Seattle Poet Populist. Hickey was nominated by the It's About Time Writers Reading Series. This event featured special guest Jack Hirschman, Poet Laureate of San Francisco, former Seattle Poet Populist Cody Walker and several of this year's candidates, including Judith Roche and Ruth Yarrow. Program founder and Seattle City Councilmember Nick Licata gave an introduction.

In "Land of Marvels," a thriller set in 1914, Unsworth brings to life the schemes and double-dealings of Western nations grappling for a foothold in Mesopotamia (now Iraq) in the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. Barry Unsworth won the Booker Prize for "Sacred Hunger," was a Booker finalist for "Pascali's Island" and "Morality Play," and was long-listed for the Booker Prize for "The Ruby in Her Navel."

In her new memoir, the author returns to Iran and her childhood and presents a moving portrait of a family's life, a life lived in thrall to Nafisi's powerful mother, and the mesmerizing fictions she created about herself, her past, and the family's life. Azar Nafisi is the author of the international bestseller, "Reading Lolita in Tehran," and a visiting professor at Johns Hopkins University.

A special election will be held on Feb. 3 to elect a new Elections Director. Candidates participating in this debate are Bill Anderson, Christopher Clifford, Sherril Huff, David Irons, Julie Kempf, and Pam Roach. The debate was moderated by Ross Reynolds, Senior Host and Program Director at KUOW, and co-presented by the CityClub.

Mo Yan's novels include "Red Sorghum" and "Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out" (which won the 2007 Man Asian Literary Prize). He is also the author of short stories and essays.

Sam Lim, founder of Scholarship Junkies, discussed the vast resources available and how to use these tools to maximize scholarship potential.

A representative from Kaplan discussed how to prepare for the SAT or ACT.