In addition, Tacoma has great city and university libraries, as well as museums like the Tacoma Art Museum and the Washington State History Museum, both of which are free for members. What makes Tacoma even more attractive is its free public amenities, including parks, trails, and community gardens. Tacoma ranked 20 th in the 2016 Forbes poll of best places for business and careers, and any realtor familiar with the area will agree that real estate is much more reasonable in Tacoma than in nearby metropolitan areas-the average cost for a studio apartment ranges from $810 to $1,100. If you’re looking for open mic events, you can find them at coffeehouses like Metronome and B Sharp. Write 253 is a literacy arts organization that teaches creative writing to young people, including incarcerated youth each spring, it hosts Tacoma’s Louder Than a Bomb slam poetry competition. Wayzgoose! Letterpress Book Arts Extravaganza celebrates local printers and book artists. The annual lit crawl is hosted by Creative Colloquy and features dozens of writers each fall at different locations. The city has more traditional institutions and practices as well. It has also opened its doors to the community through book clubs, writing nights, and art walks. Since that time, the store has invited authors like Sherman Alexie, Jamie Ford, and Emily St. The cats belong to the store’s owner Sweet Pea, who brought King’s to Tacoma from Madison, Wisconsin in 2000. Roaming through both stores are King’s resident cats, Atticus and Herbert.
A separate business, this shop sells graphic novels, independent comic books, as well as merchandise like t-shirts, posters, superhero figurines, and key chains. To the left of the bookstore is a room housing Destiny City Comics. Frank and witty staff picks are featured throughout the stacks I recently read one that was allegedly authored by one of the store’s cats. Writers and independent publishers will appreciate the store’s commitment to books published by small presses. King’s is community-focused and offers a broad selection of books-everything from contemporary poetry to books on the Napoleonic Wars. Tacoma’s best-known (and best) independent bookstore is King’s Books. Our Cat-Friendly, Community-Centered Bookstore According to regional projections, Tacoma is expected to grow to nearly 300,000 residents by 2030, many of whom are bound to be writers, considering the city’s many literary offerings. If Tacoma were a writer, she would be smart, attractive, but alas, emerging. Despite its natural beauty, Tacoma retains a gritty vibe that’s due, in part, to its industrial and military history.
As costs of living in Seattle and San Francisco continue to rise, the relative affordability and vibrant arts culture of Tacoma make it ideal for writers living in the Pacific Northwest.