WSU Press Author Becomes Host of Cable TV Series

PULLMAN, Wash. — J. Kingston Pierce, a Washington State University Press author, has become the host of a new series on the Seattle Channel, “Eccentric Seattle with J. Kingston Pierce.”

Reaction to Pierce’s original appearance on the Seattle Channel’s “CityStream,” with host Mike James, was so positive that it ultimately led to his current onscreen post.

The first episode premiered last week and will air throughout the month. It describes the contributions, both legal and illegal, of one of Seattle’s foremost benefactors, Madam Lou Graham. Future episodes include “Roy Olmsted: Bootleg Czar,” an account of a policeman turned bootlegger in Prohibition-era Seattle, and “Seattle: City of Gold,” a tale of prospectors during the late 1890s Klondike Stampede. They never struck it rich, but the Emerald City did.

These colorful vignettes are drawn from Pierce’s bestselling 2003 book (paperback only) “Eccentric Seattle: Pillars and Pariahs Who Made the City Not Such a Boring Place After All.” The 320-page book measures 6 inches x 9 inches and retails for $21.95. It is available at bookstores or can be ordered directly from WSU Press by calling (800) 354-7360 or online at www.wsupress.wsu.edu. Shipping charges apply.

WSU Press, associated with WSU and located in Pullman, publishes scholarly books with a cultural or historical relationship to the Pacific Northwest.