Join us for a presentation by Mike Curato, author of the graphic novel Flamer which received several honors including the 2020 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ Young Adult, the 2021 Massachusetts Book Award for Young Adult, and was listed as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2020. Flamer also has the distinction of being one of the top 10 banned books of 2024, and Mike has become a fierce advocate of free speech.
The highly acclaimed young adult book is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel in which Curato addresses his own adolescent struggles with being gay and bullied. Curato said he wrote the book to validate his own life and help other kids like him. Mike’s debut adult graphic novel, Gaysians, released in June of 2025 to critical acclaim. His presentation will be followed by a book signing.
This event is part of Wheaton’s Fall of Freedom programming.
Please join us for the opening of our latest gallery exhibition, Ctrl+Delete.
The exhibition explores the persistent threat of censorship in the United States, from historical book bans used to control knowledge and suppress marginalized voices to today’s escalating restrictions—including the removal of books and art from public spaces as well as the June Supreme Court decision (Mahmoud v. Taylor) requiring schools to provide opportunities to opt out of listening learning about books that include LGBTQ+ characters. By tracing these acts of erasure across time, the show reveals how censorship has shaped, and continues to shape, what stories are told and who gets to tell them.
Alongside overt bans and challenges, the exhibition also addresses the quieter but equally insidious forces of self-censorship within art and educational institutions, where fear of controversy, loss of funding, or political pressure can limit which narratives are made visible. Central to the exhibition is the Ultra Violet Archive, an interactive library which resists silencing by preserving cultural memory and amplifying suppressed voices. Projects like the Minecraft Uncensored Library—a digital platform where banned texts are freely accessible—demonstrate how artists, activists, and technologists are developing inventive strategies to fight suppression.
As part of the exhibition, we will hold a community reading of Frederick Douglass’s work during National Banned Books Week in October. The exhibition also features a dedicated space where visitors can share their own experiences with censorship creating an archive that underscores the ongoing relevance of these struggles. Opportunities to engage will create a space for shared reflection, underscoring the enduring power of words to inspire freedom, dialogue, and change.
Gallery Hours: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m., Thursdays 1:00 p.m.—8:00 p.m.
Please note: the galleries will be closed November 26-December 1 for Thanksgiving break.
The poet, Donna Stonecipher, is a translator, living in Berlin. She is the author of six books of poetry, most recently The Ruins of Nostalgia. This particular book is a series of prose poems remarking on her different nostalgic views on Seattle, her hometown. And juxtaposing that to what nostalgia might mean to Berlin. Germany has a complicated history. And Berlin, in particular, where rebuilding has to account for its very recent history as a divided city.
Seniors graduating with a degree in Creative Writing and Literature showcase original works of poetry, fiction and dramatic writing. The 2025 Senior Creative Writing Majors’ Reading features readings by: Quinn Antle, Sam Ferland, Emma Keamy, Gaby Reiser, Julia Thompson, Anson Wang, Emily Zielinski.
Poets and co-hosts of the podcast The Ritter read from their work, discuss their decision to enroll the podcast in a VC Accelerator, and how they’ve been translating their academic training into a marketable foundation for running their podcast. A brief Q&A session will be included in this event.
Diana Khoi Nguyen is a first-generation Vietnamese-American poet whose book, Ghost Of, is an elegy for her brother, and she explores the difficulties felt by parents from this culture. A brief Q&A will follow this evening event.
Writer, teacher, and tattoo artist, Phuc Tran, reads from his humorous and introspective memoir, “Sigh, Gone. A Misfit’s Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In”, about his family’s escape from Vietnam, displacement in America, and his struggle to fit in during high school. A brief Q&A will follow this lunchtime event.
Writer Kim Adrian reads from her memoir “The Twenty-Seventh Letter of the Alphabet” and discusses growing up with the confusion and chaos of mental illness and generational trauma. A brief Q&A will follow this lunchtime event.
African American author, columnist, and public speaker Deesha Philyaw will read from her debut short story collection, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies, which won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize, and was a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award in fiction.
This event will also be available virtually via Zoom, register here.