Rebecca Chace with Tree Swenson — 'Talking to the Wolf'

Third Place Books welcomes Rebecca Chace to our Ravenna store for a conversation about her new book , the story of three women—a failed rockstar, a successful scientist, and a ghost—as they process and explore their close but complicated decades-long friendship.

"Evocative, rich, and simply bursting with rage and love. A gorgeous novel."-Lauren Groff, bestselling author of Fates and Furies

For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!

This event is free to attend. Registration is recommended in advance.

Please note: While RSVP helps us anticipate attendance, your RSVP may not guarantee a seat. Seating is first-come, first-served, and all events at our Ravenna neighborhood store are free and open to the public. Only standing room may be available for events with high interest.

We are happy to accommodate any accessibility concerns. Please contact us at [email protected] or call our Ravenna store at (206) 525-2347.

Four women. Thirty-five years. A lyrical and unsettling look at female friendship across time.

A failed rockstar, an awarded scientist, a work-obsessed misanthrope, and a ghost, whose untimely death ruptured the once-solid quartet, steel themselves for their thirty-fifth high school reunion dinner. Set during a surprise snowstorm in New York City the day of the reunion, Talking to the Wolf is a lyrical exploration of female friendship, friend breakups, and reconciliations across decades.

Like a Meg Wolitzer novel shot by filmmaker Nicole Holofcener and blessed by Virginia Woolf, Talking to the Wolf pole-vaults over the Bechdel Test.

Rebecca Chace is the author of five books: Talking to the Wolf (novel); Leaving Rock Harbor (novel); Capture the Flag (novel); Chautauqua Summer (memoir); June Sparrow and The Million Dollar Penny (for children). Her third play, “Obit,” will premier September 2026 at Theater for the New City (NYC). A regular contributor to The New York Times, her essays appear in The Yale Review, New England Review, LA Review of Books, and other publications. Fellowships include Civitella Ranieri, MacDowell, Yaddo, Dora Maar House, American Academy of Rome (Visiting Artist), and many others. She is a Faculty Associate at Bard College Institute for Writing and Thinking. Substack: ”Hey Friend, You Broke My Heart” @rebeccachace ; Insta:rebeccachace1

Tree Swenson co-founded Copper Canyon Press, an independent press in Port Townsend dedicated to publishing poetry, where she spent twenty years as publisher building the press’s national reputation. She served as president and executive director of the Academy of American Poets in New York for ten years after directing programs and making grants at the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Returning west in 2012, Tree helped the writers center Hugo House build a new structure that will welcome writers and readers to this Seattle literary landmark for years to come.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Third Place Books Ravenna, 6504 20th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

Get App