Moira Macdonald
@moiraverse.bsky.social
Writer, Seattle Times arts critic, debut novelist (“Storybook Ending,” from Dutton/PRH, now in bookstores), ballet nerd, cat person, Nora Charles wannabe
Finally got to write about one of of my all-time favorite movies: John Huston’s “The Dead.” www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
This movie masterpiece is finally being released by the Criterion Collection
A quiet masterpiece, Huston's film is a subtle adaptation of James Joyce's novella, about a festive yet fateful evening in Dublin in 1904.
www.seattletimes.com
January 21, 2026 at 1:28 AM
Finally got to write about one of of my all-time favorite movies: John Huston’s “The Dead.” www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
In case anyone is in need please know that the new season of “All Creatures Great and Small” is now streaming on PBS and it is LOVELY.
January 19, 2026 at 3:12 AM
In case anyone is in need please know that the new season of “All Creatures Great and Small” is now streaming on PBS and it is LOVELY.
The last moviehouse in the University District will close its doors this week, after 85 years. It’s very sad news; the Varsity — where my parents went to movies when they were at the UW, in the 1950s — was a place filled with stories. www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
This longtime Seattle movie theater is closing
The Varsity Theatre is closing, effective Thursday, leaving the U District, once a hub of moviegoing, without a movie theater.
www.seattletimes.com
January 13, 2026 at 11:58 PM
The last moviehouse in the University District will close its doors this week, after 85 years. It’s very sad news; the Varsity — where my parents went to movies when they were at the UW, in the 1950s — was a place filled with stories. www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
“When Harry Met Sally.” “The Princess Bride”. “This Is Spinal Tap.” “A Few Good Men.” Such devastating news; such a legend. 💔 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
Rob Reiner, ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ‘The Princess Bride’ and ‘Stand by Me’ Director and ‘All in the Family’ Actor, Dies at 78 in Apparent Homicide (Report)
The two-time Emmy winner and Oscar nominee and his wife, Michele, were found dead in their Brentwood home.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:59 AM
“When Harry Met Sally.” “The Princess Bride”. “This Is Spinal Tap.” “A Few Good Men.” Such devastating news; such a legend. 💔 www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie...
This is such terribly sad news. Thank you, Madeleine/Sophie, for all of the laughter. ♥️
Madeleine Wickham, who wrote the “Confessions of a Shopaholic” novel series under the pen name Sophie Kinsella, becoming an international sensation, died at 55.
Read more: nyti.ms/48ysafe
Read more: nyti.ms/48ysafe
December 10, 2025 at 2:40 PM
This is such terribly sad news. Thank you, Madeleine/Sophie, for all of the laughter. ♥️
Good morning! If anyone is out spending their feelings this weekend, may I modestly note that my novel, ”Storybook Ending,” would make a very cheery holiday gift, and it’s available at indie bookstores everywhere. (Signed copies at Third Place Books in Ravenna and Lake Forest Park!) ❤️📚
November 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Good morning! If anyone is out spending their feelings this weekend, may I modestly note that my novel, ”Storybook Ending,” would make a very cheery holiday gift, and it’s available at indie bookstores everywhere. (Signed copies at Third Place Books in Ravenna and Lake Forest Park!) ❤️📚
Oh my goodness, I have just seen Chloe Zhao’s gorgeous “Hamnet,” and I am telling you: bring tissues.
November 16, 2025 at 11:55 PM
Oh my goodness, I have just seen Chloe Zhao’s gorgeous “Hamnet,” and I am telling you: bring tissues.
PSA (courtesy of my long-running column Dinner at a Movie, with Bethany Jean Clement): “Double Indemnity” will be at the North Bend Theatre on Sunday afternoon (hello, Noirvember!), and the BLTs at Twede’s (i.e. the Twin Peaks cafe) across the street are great. www.seattletimes.com/life/food-dr...
WA’s real Twin Peaks: Seattle Times critics take a surreal day trip
Dinner at a Movie finds a classic 1940s diner, moviehouse and film — a trifecta of greatness that makes for a best-ever (and surreal!) day trip.
www.seattletimes.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:30 AM
PSA (courtesy of my long-running column Dinner at a Movie, with Bethany Jean Clement): “Double Indemnity” will be at the North Bend Theatre on Sunday afternoon (hello, Noirvember!), and the BLTs at Twede’s (i.e. the Twin Peaks cafe) across the street are great. www.seattletimes.com/life/food-dr...
Reposted by Moira Macdonald
Feeding America has a page where you can input your zip code and it'll show you all of the food banks near you overlaid on a map. If you need it, it's there. If you don't need it, think about donating money if you have it and your time if you don't.
www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
Find Your Local Food Bank | Feeding America
Find the Feeding America member food bank nearest you. Over 200 member food banks can connect you with free food, food pantries, soup kitchens, and mobile pantries in your community.
www.feedingamerica.org
October 26, 2025 at 7:06 PM
Feeding America has a page where you can input your zip code and it'll show you all of the food banks near you overlaid on a map. If you need it, it's there. If you don't need it, think about donating money if you have it and your time if you don't.
www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-lo...
Reposted by Moira Macdonald
Because it’s fun to celebrate the achievements of friends and colleagues, just finished @moiraverse.bsky.social’s STORYBOOK ENDING. So full of life and intimately incisive observations that made me smile. Just made me feel good and - especially right now - there’s precious little better than that.
October 26, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Because it’s fun to celebrate the achievements of friends and colleagues, just finished @moiraverse.bsky.social’s STORYBOOK ENDING. So full of life and intimately incisive observations that made me smile. Just made me feel good and - especially right now - there’s precious little better than that.
Apparently you can buy blankets at the multiplex now? Is it too expensive to keep the heat on?
October 25, 2025 at 5:26 PM
Apparently you can buy blankets at the multiplex now? Is it too expensive to keep the heat on?
Hello, fall. You’re gorgeous. 🍂
October 14, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Hello, fall. You’re gorgeous. 🍂
One of a kind. Rest peacefully. 💔
a woman wearing a hat and vest says la-de-dah on the screen
ALT: a woman wearing a hat and vest says la-de-dah on the screen
media.tenor.com
October 12, 2025 at 5:22 AM
One of a kind. Rest peacefully. 💔
😢💔https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/seattle-movie-theater-update-siff-will-end-lease-at-historic-egyptian/
Seattle is losing yet another indie movie theater
SIFF Cinema Egyptian on Capitol Hill — known for decades as the Egyptian Theatre — will not reopen under SIFF ownership after flooding last year.
www.seattletimes.com
October 9, 2025 at 6:46 PM
😢💔https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/movies/seattle-movie-theater-update-siff-will-end-lease-at-historic-egyptian/
Reposted by Moira Macdonald
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
October 7, 2025 at 2:23 PM
Can’t decide what to buy on Prime Day?
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Try: absolutely nothing, and then go support indie bookstores instead 📚
Good morning! Should you be in need of a bookish distraction, note that fellow local novelist Ashley Ream (“The Peculiar Gift of July”) and I will be chatting at Island Books on Mercer Island at 6:30 tomorrow, Oct. 2, as a “Writers on Writing” event. Come join us! islandbooks.com/event/2025-1...
Writers on Writing: Moira MacDonald and Ashley Ream
islandbooks.com
October 1, 2025 at 2:25 PM
Good morning! Should you be in need of a bookish distraction, note that fellow local novelist Ashley Ream (“The Peculiar Gift of July”) and I will be chatting at Island Books on Mercer Island at 6:30 tomorrow, Oct. 2, as a “Writers on Writing” event. Come join us! islandbooks.com/event/2025-1...
Need a feel-good story today? Here’s one, about my wonderful former colleague @gabrielcampanario.com (who you might know better as the Urban Sketcher), written by the great Erik Lacitis. www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-m...
A former Seattle Times artist has created a worldwide movement
A remarkable feat by this Seattle-area artist: His urban sketchers group went from 17 members in 2009 to 299,000 worldwide, in 514 cities and more than 70 countries.
www.seattletimes.com
September 27, 2025 at 5:09 PM
Need a feel-good story today? Here’s one, about my wonderful former colleague @gabrielcampanario.com (who you might know better as the Urban Sketcher), written by the great Erik Lacitis. www.seattletimes.com/pacific-nw-m...
It me 🍂
Fall Bitches Already Fondly Gazing at Summer’s Sweet Demise: tinyurl.com/yc574b4r
September 22, 2025 at 4:15 AM
It me 🍂
I’m thrilled and honored to share that my novel, “Storybook Ending,” is the fall selection for Seattle Met’s book club! www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-cul...
The Seattle Met Book Club Is Back
Our second ever book club selection is ‘Storybook Ending’ by Moira Macdonald.
www.seattlemet.com
September 17, 2025 at 8:49 PM
I’m thrilled and honored to share that my novel, “Storybook Ending,” is the fall selection for Seattle Met’s book club! www.seattlemet.com/arts-and-cul...
A great one gone today. Here’s a memory: I interviewed him, years ago, and unlike many very famous people, he didn’t use a wall of publicists but just called me himself. The phone rang: “Hi, Moira, it’s Bob Redford.” Rest peacefully, sir. variety.com/2025/film/ne...
Robert Redford, ‘Butch Cassidy’ and ‘All the President’s Men’ Icon, Dies at 89
Robert Redford, the screen legend known for films like 'All the President's Men' and 'Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,' has died. He was 89.
variety.com
September 16, 2025 at 2:26 PM
A great one gone today. Here’s a memory: I interviewed him, years ago, and unlike many very famous people, he didn’t use a wall of publicists but just called me himself. The phone rang: “Hi, Moira, it’s Bob Redford.” Rest peacefully, sir. variety.com/2025/film/ne...
1. Diet Coke
2. Sunflowers
3. Bright, crisp autumn afternoons
4. Random smiles from strangers
5. Rewatching a movie you love
2. Sunflowers
3. Bright, crisp autumn afternoons
4. Random smiles from strangers
5. Rewatching a movie you love
Battle doomscrolling by posting 5 small pleasures in life:
1. Cold side of a pillow
2. Autumn in New York City, sweater-weather temperature
3. Crocs (the shoe, not the reptile)
4. Finding stuff after thinking you lost it
5. Cats
1. Cold side of a pillow
2. Autumn in New York City, sweater-weather temperature
3. Crocs (the shoe, not the reptile)
4. Finding stuff after thinking you lost it
5. Cats
September 15, 2025 at 10:15 PM
1. Diet Coke
2. Sunflowers
3. Bright, crisp autumn afternoons
4. Random smiles from strangers
5. Rewatching a movie you love
2. Sunflowers
3. Bright, crisp autumn afternoons
4. Random smiles from strangers
5. Rewatching a movie you love
Life is a lot; maybe you need to pay one last (ha!) visit to “Downton Abbey.” www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
Moira Macdonald reviews ‘Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale’
“Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale” is as good as it needs to be (even if our critic doubts it is the actual end of “Downton Abbey”).
www.seattletimes.com
September 11, 2025 at 8:06 PM
Life is a lot; maybe you need to pay one last (ha!) visit to “Downton Abbey.” www.seattletimes.com/entertainmen...
Just a reminder, in case anyone needs it, that Martin Scorsese’s glorious “The Age of Innocence” is leaving Netflix at the end of the month and oh, does it ever bear rewatching.
a woman in a red dress and white gloves is standing in a room
ALT: a woman in a red dress and white gloves is standing in a room
media.tenor.com
September 5, 2025 at 10:38 PM
Just a reminder, in case anyone needs it, that Martin Scorsese’s glorious “The Age of Innocence” is leaving Netflix at the end of the month and oh, does it ever bear rewatching.
Reposted by Moira Macdonald
Hit like if you read film criticism weekly and repost if you read film criticism more than that
August 22, 2025 at 1:39 AM
Hit like if you read film criticism weekly and repost if you read film criticism more than that
Mark your calendars: the wonderful Elizabeth George and I will be chatting about her newest Lynley mystery, “A Slowly Dying Cause,” on September 23 at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. 📚🔍. Come join us! For tickets: thirdplacebooks.com/event/elizabeth-george
August 19, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Mark your calendars: the wonderful Elizabeth George and I will be chatting about her newest Lynley mystery, “A Slowly Dying Cause,” on September 23 at Third Place Books in Lake Forest Park. 📚🔍. Come join us! For tickets: thirdplacebooks.com/event/elizabeth-george