Orca Books Co-op

08/23/2026

Broadcast News screens at the Capitol Theater on August 28

Join Lana Schwartz, author of Set Piece, for a screening of James L. Brooks's 1987 classic. Lana will intro the movie and there will be a post-film discussion about romantic comedies following the showing.

Lana will be signing copies of her book thanks to our friends at Orca Books Co-op!

Lana's romance novella Set Piece was published by 831 Stories in May 2025. It received praise from Bustle, TheSkimm, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, and more, and was referred to as "brisk and delightfully contemporary" by Publisher's Weekly.

08/21/2026

it may be 85 degrees today but we are dreaming of cooler times by revamping our horror section with a bunch of new titles check em oooouuttt

08/06/2026

Come to this reading of “Like Songs About Airports” by the late communist woman smoker, Leijia Hanrahan. This reading of Hanrahan’s poems will be held outside of Orca Books at 5:30pm on Friday, August 21.

Leijia Hanrahan was a writer, researcher and translator who lived in New York City. She was born in 1987 and died in 2022. Throughout her life, Leijia was involved in anti capitalist thinking and struggle across several continents. Leijia’s friends have published this collection of her poetry as a way to remember and share her brilliance.

These poems are about soccer, the Andes, climate anxiety, New York, and life in late capitalism more broadly. “Be a communist, she would insist, without the illusion that communism, or any other political project, can guarantee our happiness,” Leijia’s mother, Nancy Hanrahan shared. “For in the end, what will matter is how we face the world, and each other, after the barricades”.

07/29/2026

Our annual member meeting is on the calendar! Books & Cats as usual... but also... a Raffle! Foodz on the Grill! Transparent business information about your town's cooperative bookstore including the financials and the economic impacts of changing times! An opportunity to ask the staff questions without us evading! Member-only aka no h8ers!

The store will be open usual with potluck happening at 6pm (u know the drill, bring us a veggie to grill), and then we'll be turning off the open sign for our annual presentation. Help us meet quorum by having a hot dog and sticking around!! See u there :o)

07/26/2026

07/12/2026

What a great day! We are still smiling thinking about how much fun we had at the Creatures of the PNW chalk art celebration. Hosted by our wonderful friends at Orca Books Co-op, the afternoon was a beautiful showcase of community spirit and Pacific Northwest wildlife.

This event wouldn’t have been possible without our fantastic community partners who joined us to share their passion and knowledge. A massive thank you to:

- Western Wildlife Outreach & Wolf Haven for bringing vital awareness to our region's incredible wildlife!
- WET Science Center for engaging our minds with wastewater education!
- South Sound Reading Foundation for keeping our young readers inspired with free books!

We also celebrated some big wins. Three lucky raffle winners walked away with massive prize packages featuring gift cards and beautiful items generously donated by our beloved local downtown shops and restaurants!

Thank you to everyone who came out to draw, learn, play, and support downtown Olympia. We are so proud to be part of a community that creates together! 🎨

06/21/2026

Upcoming this Wednesday! Walter Riley, Jesse Strauss and Alma Busby-Williams in conversation on their upcoming release, Civil Rights & Structural Attacks published by the AK Press. 6/24 this Wednesday at 6pm. Hope to see you there!

05/29/2026

august to august available now!

04/05/2026

Peter Stark, author of Orca fave Astoria, will be joining us Saturday May 2nd to talk about his new book The Lost Cities of El Norte, out on April 14th. Join us in the store at 4:00 for an author talk and book signing! More details on our website’s event page along with a preorder link. We’ll see you there!!

04/04/2026

Not only do we have copies of STONE BUTCH BLUES but we also have free SAVE LIBRARY WORKERS signs for ya'll to pick up. to show your solidarity. We know Feinberg would approve of this display.