New Author Events Manager at Third Place Books effective September 10, 2026

L-R Milo Michels, Robert Sindelar, Spencer Ruchti

Third Place Books announced that Spencer Ruchti will step down from his role as Author Events Manager on September 10, 2026.

Milo Michels (they/them), currently the company’s Assistant Events Manager, has been promoted to succeed Ruchti.

Michels’ previous experience includes time at Seattle’s University Book Store as a buyer and events coordinator, and as a bookseller at Boulder Book Store in Colorado.

“Independent bookstores occupy a unique niche in a city's life,” says Michels.

“It's where your kid finds the book that turns them into a reader. It's where a group of neighbors can come together in one room to talk, think, and celebrate—a vital resource as more and more of us realize that tech can't replace human connection and solidarity.

 "Whatever's happening in the world, kindness and imagination have a place here.”

Michels continued: “Our author series is a manifestation of those values. Spencer and our events team have built a vibrant, joyful space for literary community, and I couldn't be more excited to steward this program forward.”

Ruchti will attend graduate school in the fall, where he will study policy and public administration at the University of Washington’s Daniel J. Evans School.

Ruchti joined the company in 2021, and has worked at bookstores for nearly a decade.

During his time at Third Place Books, Ruchti guided the store’s event series through the COVID-19 pandemic, and navigated the return to in-person events after 19 months of virtual programming from 2020 to 2021. 

He expanded the store’s programming to develop significant relationships with publishers of popular romance and “romantasy” authors, and established the bookstore as a premier destination for readers of the genres. 

He also solidified the store’s reputation as an essential tour stop for contemporary science fiction and fantasy, attracting authors such as Martha Wells, Robin Hobb, and Matt Dinniman.

Third Place Books has welcomed prominent literary authors, popular novelists, and activists to Seattle, notably nature writer Robert Macfarlane, labor organizer Chris Smalls, tech activist Cory Doctorow, Ijeoma Oluo, Maggie Nelson, Jodi Picoult, David Sedaris, horror and queer erotica writer Chuck Tingle, Ocean Vuong, Hernan Diaz, Newbery Award winners Tae Keller and Erin Entrada Kelly, and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Many authors made return visits.

In 2025, Third Place Books achieved its largest turnout on record, drawing over 21,000 attendees to author events—a 45% increase year-over-year. During his tenure with the company, Ruchti estimates that more than 1,800 authors have walked through the doors of Third Place Books to discuss their work, meet readers, and moderate conversations since 2022.

Ruchti also transformed Third Place Books into a hub for international literature, welcoming renowned translators like Jennifer Croft and Damion Searls, and authors from more than a dozen countries, including Palestine, Romania, Korea, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

“Coming out of the pandemic, I could not have wished for a better partner in reimagining and rebuilding our author program than Spencer Ruchti. He has been a true literary steward to not only Third Place Books but the entire Seattle book community,” says Robert Sindelar, Third Place Books Co-owner and Managing Partner. 

“Our author events program has never been more diverse, robust, and vibrant than it is today. We will all miss Spencer dearly but are thrilled that we have someone as immensely capable and infectiously enthusiastic as Milo Michels to continue building on the impressive foundation Spencer built.”

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is a Pacific Northwest institution hosting nearly 300 author events annually.