Save the date! We are thrilled to announce that KCLS Foundation's 2025 Literary Lions Gala will be held on Saturday, March 15th at the Bellevue Library.

We are looking forward to welcoming you to this 'night of literacy and legacy' as we raise vital funds for our libraries while honoring local authors and celebrating the art and power of storytelling.

Yes, it's true. After several years, the Literary Lions Gala is heading back to the Bellevue Library! Join us for a festive evening of live music, mingling with 20 Literary Lions, Makerspace activities, signature cocktails and mocktails, hearty hors d'oeuvres, and much more.

Pacific Northwest native and National PBS host, Jay Martin Jr. will serve as gala emcee. With over 15 years of professional theatre and media experience, Jay is known to regional audiences as host for PBS's KCTS 9 Presents series, anchor for the PBS regional news for Crosscut Now, and his six seasons of The Drive Project podcast. Jay regularly shares stories that speak of passion, purpose, and possibility to a wide reach of diverse audiences. He has also appeared multiple times on KING 5’s talk show New Day Northwest, and KOMO 4’s Arc Seattle Morning Show. Jay is a passionate storyteller and ardent advocate for our libraires. 

Susan Orlean, journalist, television writer, and New York Times bestselling author will serve as our 2025 Literary Lions Gala keynote. Author of several books, Orlean is best known for The Orchid Thief and The Library Book.  She has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1992, and has contributed articles to many magazines including Vogue, Rolling Stone, Esquire, and Outside. In 2021, Orlean joined the writing team of HBO's comedy series How To with John Wilson. The Library Book weaves Orlean's life-long love of books and reading with the fascinating history of libraries and the sometimes-eccentric characters who run them, presenting readers with a mesmerizing and uniquely compelling story. With her signature wit, insight, compassion and talent for deep research, Orlean investigates the legendary Los Angeles Public Library fire to showcase the larger, crucial role that libraries play in our lives, and reveals how these buildings provide much more than just books and are needed now more than ever.

Tickets go on sale in January. Stay tuned for much more information to come!