OLYMPIA — The Washington Center for Book, a program of the Office of the Secretary of State and the Washington State Library, has selected one youth book and one adult book by Washington authors to represent the state at the 2026 National Book Festival: When Tomorrow Burns by Tae Keller (Penguin Random House) and Positively Uncivilized by Rena Priest (Raven Chronicles Press).
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Both titles will be part of the National Center for the Book’s Great Reads from Great Places program. Great Reads from Great Places features books and authors representing the literary heritage of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and Northern Marianas.
In When Tomorrow Burns, three middle school students embark on a quest to find a book that may just save their lives in this spectacular novel about fate and friendship–from the Newbery Medal-winning author of When You Trap a Tiger. The novel is set in Seattle, where author Tae Keller now lives.
“When Tomorrow Burns is my love letter to the city of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and it is such an honor to be this year’s youth reader selection,” said Keller.
From an Indigenous perspective, Positively Uncivilized examines the impact of human inhabitants on the planet earth. Alongside personal accounts of the deterioration of salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest and the loss of Indigenous history, the twelve essays in this collection emphasize the necessity of community to overcome the damage done by human socioeconomic and political systems designed to isolate and shame those vulnerable to those unfair systems. The collection is written by former Washington state Poet Laureate Rena Priest, an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation
“I’m tremendously honored and grateful to the Washington Center for the Book for recognizing my essay collection, Positively Uncivilized as a Great Reads from Great Places title for 2026. Washington state is a great place indeed,” said Priest.
“My ancestors have witnessed and stewarded the beauty of these homelands since time immemorial. My intention in collecting these essays was to express a need and a wish to recognize the value of this place so that the mountains, waterways, forests, islands, and prairies can be cherished and cared for in a way that ensures they continue in perpetuity to give nourishment and inspire awe. I hope these essays find their way into the hands and hearts of readers. I hope they extend an invitation to love these homelands as I do, and all homelands, everywhere in equal measure,” Priest continued.
“We are proud to highlight these two beautiful Washington books that shine a light on the profound importance of story, of tenderness, and of being in community,” said Washington State Librarian Sara Jones.
This year’s National Book Festival on August 22 will be held in-person in Washington, D.C., and will include many livestreamed and recorded virtual programs celebrating books and authors.
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees areas within state government including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office operates the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, and administers the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees and the Productivity Board state employee suggestion program. The Secretary of State oversees the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime and the Civic Engagement Program to increase governmental trust and participation for all Washingtonians.