Annual Series Supports Cuyahoga County Public Library
The William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series, presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and its academic partner, Case Western Reserve University, will return to the Maltz Performing Arts Center (1855 Ansel Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106) for its 2025-2026 season.
Series subscription packages are on sale now for benefactors and returning subscribers. Subscription packages that include all six shows go on sale to the general public on August 14 at writerscenterstage.org or by calling 216.368.6062. All proceeds from Writers Center Stage benefit the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation in support of the Cuyahoga County Public Library.
Ian McEwan
Friday, September 26, 2025
7:30 PM
A critically acclaimed British author known for psychologically complex novels, McEwan has been nominated for the Booker Prize six times to date and won the Booker Prize in 1998 for Amsterdam, a dark satire on friendship and ethics. His 2001 novel, Atonement, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was adapted into an Oscar-winning film. In addition to novels, McEwan has written screenplays, children’s books, and political essays. He has received numerous honors and is considered one of the most important contemporary British novelists. His new book, What We Can Know, will be published on September 18, 2025. All attendees receive a complimentary copy of What We Can Know.
Malcolm Gladwell
Tuesday, October 28, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Malcolm Gladwell is the author of six New York Times bestsellers, including The Tipping Point, Blink, Outliers, What the Dog Saw, David and Goliath, and Revenge of the Tipping Point. He is the co-founder of Pushkin Industries, the audio company behind the popular podcasts Revisionist History and Broken Record. A leading voice in contemporary thought, Gladwell has been named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People and one of Foreign Policy’s Top Global Thinkers. All attendees will receive a complimentary paperback copy of Revenge of the Tipping Point.
Liz Moore
Monday, November 3, 2025
7:30 p.m.
Liz Moore is the author of the novels The Words of Every Song, Heft, The Unseen World and Long Bright River. Her most recent novel, The God of the Woods, was a New York Times bestseller and was selected by Barack Obama for inclusion on his Summer Reading List. A limited-series adaptation of the New York Times Bestseller Long Bright River was co-created, executive produced and co-written for television by Moore and premiered on Peacock in 2025. She is noted by major media outlets such as NPR, The New York Times, The New Yorker and The Washington Post as a standout in literary mystery and suspense. Moore is Director of the MFA program in Creative Writing at Temple University in Philadelphia.
R.F. Kuang
Thursday, March 5, 2026
7:30 p.m.
R.F. (Rebecca) Kuang is widely recognized as one of the most exciting and thought-provoking authors in contemporary literature, best known for her critically acclaimed and bestselling fantasy and literary fiction including The Poppy War trilogy, Babel, and Yellowface. Her latest novel, Katabasis, a dark academia fantasy, arrives on August 26, 2025.
Patrick Radden Keefe
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
7:30 p.m.
Keefe is an award-winning American journalist and author who is currently a staff writer at The New Yorker. His notable books include Chatter, Say Nothing, The Snakehead, Empire of Pain, and Rogues. In addition to The New Yorker, he has also written extensively for The New York Times Magazine and Slate. He combines investigative journalism with the narrative drive of a novelist and is regarded as one of the foremost nonfiction writers of his generation. His new book, London Falling, arrives April 7, 2026.
N.K. Jemisin
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
7:30 p.m.
N. K. (Nora) Jemisin is a New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of speculative fiction. She made history by winning the Hugo Award for Best Novel three years in a row for her Broken Earth trilogy, becoming the first author ever to do so. The Fifth Season, the trilogy’s first book, was named one of the New York Times’ 100 Best Books of the 21st Century. Her novels, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and The City We Became, are celebrated for their exploration of oppression, identity, and transformation.
About the William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series
The 2025-2026 William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series is presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and its academic partner, Case Western Reserve University and introduces new and established authors and books to the community to inspire learning, conversation and a sense of fellowship. Funds raised by this series help support Cuyahoga County Public Library, one of the nation’s best and busiest library systems.
About the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation
The Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation exists to support the Library’s mission and to raise financial resources and awareness of the Library’s critical role in the community.
About Cuyahoga County Public Library
Cuyahoga County Public Library has 27 branches that serve 47 communities. Its mission is to empower individuals and communities by providing opportunities for all to read, learn, create and connect.
Photo of R.F. Kuang by Mike Styler
