You’re invited to conversations in the Cathedral of Cinema

I’ve just completed the first of a series of celebrations marking the publication of my first book in 15 years — Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema. If you missed it, you have more opportunities coming up!

• On Thursday, May 28, at 7 p.m., I’ll be reading and signing books at Third Place Books — Lake Forest Park. (Reserve your free tickets at that link.)
• On Tuesday, June 9, I’ll be at Hugo House, for a presentation that begins at 6:30 p.m. (Follow the link to secure your free tickets)
• On Thursday, June 11, I’ll be co-presenting with author Greg Wright at Village Books in Bellingham at 6 p.m. (Again, free tickets are available at the link.)
• And, for the most adventurous among you, I’ll teach a film seminar, presenting screenings of inspiring films and inviting others into rich discussions of them. That takes place from June 17–21 during Laity Lodge Creativity Week, at Laity Lodge near Leakey, Texas. (Sign up through the link.) Anne will be there too, leading a poetry workshop.

On Tuesday, May 12, in Seattle Pacific University’s Ames Library, I was surprised to see the room fill up with between fifty and sixty familiar faces from my community: current students, former students, and colleagues from the University’s staff and faculty.

I thanked the librarians who had helped me set up the event, and a kind man named Henry who represented our local independent bookstore Third Place Books and sold all but one of the books he’d brought for the event. I made sure that everybody knew that our longtime film professor Todd Rendleman also has a book: Rule of Thumb: Roger Ebert at the Movies. (I stressed the name Roger Ebert, as students have a bad habit of referring to him as “Robert Ebert” and “Roger Egbert,” a persistent problem that I just don’t understand.)

And, speaking of Ebert, I also paid tribute to him, and to his influence on my childhood as he and Gene Siskel would show me that it’s possible to argue with a friend without hostility or animosity. And I praised the great film critic Matt Zoller Seitz, who so generously composed the foreword for my new book, and I did a little show-and-tell session with some of his beautiful books on Wes Anderson. That led me to recommend another great writer on film: Lauren Wilford, an alumna of SPU, whose essays influenced my approach to this book, and whose contribution to Seitz’s series of Wes Anderson books, Isle of Dogs, is an astounding volume. (She co-wrote it with her husband Ryan Stevenson.)

After that intro, I talked about the experiences I’ve had since the publication of Through a Screen Darkly back in 2007 that have led to the publication of Lost and Found in the Cathedral of Cinema — the restlessness with conventional film criticism, the desire to find a form of my own that would give me the freedom to express what movies can make happen in our imaginations and in our communities. I talked about the everlasting struggle of justifying the ways of art to evangelicals, and the ways in which a lifetime of moviegoing helped me escape the cruelties, distortions, and fears of religious fundamentalism. I read a few paragraphs from the prologue, and then I walked — or, better, jogged — everyone through the outline of the book, pausing here and there to spotlight certain highlights of the chapters.

The presentation was so well received by those who showed up (many of whom stayed long after it was over, bought books, and talked with me about the possibility of registering for my upcoming creative writing classes), that I suspect I will follow some variation on that program at the upcoming events.

I hope you’ll come celebrate with me at one of those events!

In the meantime, feel free to check in on my recent conversations about the book via podcast and print interviews. And check out the wonderful review by one of my favorite film critics: Sarah Welch-Larson!

I’ll be back to update this list as it develops.

Podcast Interviews

• Chrisicisms: a conversation with Chris Williams, May 18, 2026
• Shifting Culture: a conversation with Joshua Johnson), May 15, 2026
• The Collision – Faith & Pop Culture: podcast, YouTube, a conversation with Daniel Blackaby and Nyah Carlson, May 14, 2026
• A Matter of Faith: a conversation with Simon Doong and Lee Catoe, May 14, 2026
• In & Out of Weeks: a conversation with Ken Priebe, May 7, 2026
• The Overthinkers: Apple | Spotify, a conversation with Joseph Holmes and Nathan Clarkson, April 27, 2026

Text Interviews

• Cinema Sugar: transcript of a conversation with Chad Comello, May 8, 2026
• Fellowship & Fairydust: interview by G. Connor Salter, May 7, 2026

Reviews

• Seeing & Believing: review by Sarah Welch-Larson, May 12, 2026