Good Stories

The 10 Best Long Stories about Seattle

We gathered the most recent and best long reads from Seattle Met's award-winning writers.

11/24/2021 By Seattle Met Staff

FEATURE

The Octopus from Outer Space

Seattle’s most beguiling sea creatures were once feared and hunted—and even wrestled—for sport. But new research and a few surprising encounters are changing...

12/02/2019 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

A Life Extruded: Mike Easton and the Alki Homestead’s Path to Il Nido

When the chef reshaped his career he couldn't have known he'd share his destiny with a century-old log cabin and dining icon rising from literal ashes.

10/22/2019 By Allecia Vermillion Photography by Kyle Johnson

Feature

Who Will Mourn the Tech Bro?

The subculture you love to hate is tough to define. It will be even tougher when it’s gone.

09/24/2019 By James Ross Gardner Illustrations by Ryan Snook

Feature

In the Straits: An Inmate Turned Millionaire Turned Lone Survivor

He was a convicted felon who found a niche in Seattle’s construction boom. Then a fatal boating accident came for Michael Powers’s fairy-tale ending.

08/19/2019 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

Checking Out: Amazon, Microsoft, and the Future of Automated Grocery

Some of the region’s biggest tech players are racing to rewrite how America shops—again.

07/23/2019 By Stefan Milne Illustrations by Koren Shadmi

Feature

A Song of Shadow and Light

The Tacoma Refugee Choir formed to reach out to the most vulnerable. Its founder didn't anticipate its impact on her—or her city.

05/28/2019 By James Ross Gardner Photography by Lindsey Wasson

Feature

Where on Earth Is Sam Sayers?

On a perfect summer day, a solo hiker went missing from a Cascade trail. Nine months later, the mystery has consumed the lives of thousands.

04/23/2019 By Allison Williams

Feature

Dealer Takes All: Inside One of Seattle's Biggest Opioid Busts

It took a multistate sting to bring down the opioid king of Capitol Hill. But not before his product stole a life.

03/26/2019 By Levi Pulkkinen

Year in Review

Seattle Met's 6 Most-Read Stories of 2018

From an unclaimed Seattle rock star to a world-changing card game, these were our most poplar long-form articles of the year.

12/19/2018 By Seattle Met Staff

Born This Way

Conversion Therapy Survivors Still Have Wounds to Heal

Licensed therapists can no longer practice conversion therapy on minors. But new legislation can't erase the anguish of those who lived through the experience.

06/19/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Feature

The Boat at the Bottom of the Sea

More than a year after a Seattle-based crabber vanished in Alaska's Bering Sea, its final hours remain a mystery. The surviving family of the Destination’s crew—and one intrepid investigator—seek to uncover the secrets the ocean still keeps.

04/09/2018 By Eva Holland

Feature

Ricardo Rios Is an American Dreamer

In 1991, his parents carried him across the U.S. border at four months old. Now, as he awaits a permanent solution, Ricardo Rios fears expulsion from the only country he’s ever known.

02/15/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Feature

Rape Survivors in Washington State Run Against a Ticking Clock

Most people sexually assaulted in Washington state have just three years to pursue criminal charges against their assailant. A bill to remove the statute of limitations would change that. Until then, survivors who seek justice are racing against time.

01/17/2018 By Hayat Norimine

Lexicon Devils

Harsh Realm: The Greatest Prank Seattle Ever Pulled on New York

Twenty-five years ago the national media, obsessed with Seattle's music scene, came calling. The right person picked up the phone.

11/13/2017 By James Ross Gardner Illustrations by Peter Bagge

Feature

The Russian Spies Who Fooled Seattle

Before hackers tried to sway the 2016 election or word spread that our new president might be compromised, a peculiar couple resided on Seattle’s Capitol Hill. Have we really taken stock of the spies who lived among us?

10/30/2017 By James Ross Gardner

Essay

The Great Divide: Growing Up in Rural Washington as a Muslim Immigrant

What being an outsider taught me about race, class, and politics today.

08/17/2017 By Hayat Norimine

Feature

The Kings of Suicide Hill: Inside the Famous—and Deadly—Omak Stampede

It’s called the World Famous Suicide Race, a harrowing horseback contest between Native American riders in Washington’s most infamous rodeo. In 2017, one teenager has four days to defend a way of life and keep a family legacy alive.

07/17/2017 By Allison Williams

Feature

The Secret Life of Urban Crows

…and why Seattle may be the Corvid Capital of the World.

05/17/2017 By James Ross Gardner

Feature

While in Custody: The Fight to Stop Jail Deaths in Washington State

When an inmate dies in Washington state, the question of who is to blame often goes unaddressed. Meet the families, and their lawyers, who want answers.

03/20/2017 By Ciara O'Rourke Photography by Mike Kane