Richard Hugo House Receives $180,000 Grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to Help Support Literary Community

SEATTLE -- At Richard Hugo House, a rambling three-story Victorian on Capitol Hill, Seattle's literary community is celebrating a $180,000, three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that will help local writers develop their work and connect to communities.

"Stories are such a powerful and natural part of our everyday culture that sometimes literature is taken for granted. We are fortunate to have so many wonderful and aspiring writers in our area. Since you never know where the next great story will come from, we hope to encourage, teach, and showcase everyone," explains Frances McCue, executive director of Hugo House.

It's an approach that works. Since opening in 1997, Hugo House has drawn more than 27,000 people to its classes, workshops, events and performances, or simply to read and write.
On the quiet second floor, writers find the resources and sanctuary in the Writers Library and Writers Room to put words on paper. The main floor houses a theater, cafe with a perfect-for-readings stage, conference room, and gallery space, while the basement contains the Zine Archive Project, an extensive library of independently-produced magazines and the headquarters for teen-produced periodicals.

Throughout the year, Hugo House works to involve writers and the wider community in projects ranging from an annual play competition, to after-school youth writing workshops, to a monthly program that sends writers to work with inmates at Monroe Reformatory. Writers hone their craft and find community in the Inquiry Through Writing classes taught by award-winning writers and teachers like Rebecca Brown. "The supportive atmosphere," says writer Linda Lamb, "and the opportunity to study with outstanding teachers and students inspired me to complete my Guatemalan memoir."

A space for emerging writers to read their works, Hugo House encourages proposals for literary programming from anyone. "Hugo House has been immensely supportive of the diverse voices within our community," notes Los Norteños member Olga Sanchez. "It has opened its arms to welcome writers from all walks of life and experiences, with respect and admiration for their unique contributions."
This openness draws many individuals and groups to Hugo House. Says Trisha Ready, a writer and founder of a job skills and writer's training program for homeless youth, "It's a place where you can do surprising and wonderful things that you didn't know you were going to do when you walked in the door."

Or, as Matt Briggs, author of The Remains of River Names, puts so vividly, "Hugo House provides a roof over the heads of Seattle writers. Without it they'd be huddling in the drizzle."