Intelligent. Dynamic. Provocative. These are just a few of the adjectives that come to mind in perusing the list of speakers coming to Bainbridge Island as guests of the annual Bainbridge Library Speakers Forum program, which begins Sept. 24.

“I’m looking for outstanding speakers who can bring us knowledge from the outside,” series director Susan Bray said.

Speakers selected this year are Michael Fancher, executive editor and senior vice president of the Seattle Times; Judge Fern M. Smith; University of Washington International Studies Professor Resat Kasaba; Perry Lorenzo, Seattle Opera education director; artists Maxine Matilpi and John Livingston; and University of Washington Professor of Sociology Pepper Schwartz.

All lectures take place at the Bainbridge Public Library, unless there seems to be enough demand to warrant a larger venue, Bray said. Past speakers have drawn upwards of 200 attendees.

Fancher opens the series Sept. 24 with “Journalism Under Assault — Why it is a Threat to You,” in which he discusses the many challenges journalism, and print media in particular, face in today’s world. He has been with the Seattle Times since starting as a reporter in 1978. He became Executive Editor in 1986.

Judge Fern M. Smith speaks Oct. 8 on “Breakdown of the Constitution — Our Mandate for Change.” Smith was Director of the Federal Judicial Center in Washington, D.C. from 1999-2003 and is well-versed on the constant challenges that “assail our judicial independence,” she writes in her bio. One of those challenges is the encroachment on the judicial branch of government by the executive and legislative branches.

Prof. Kasaba speaks Oct. 15 on “Iran, U.S. and the New Middle East.” The talk will be geared to whatever the situation in the Middle East is at that time.

Kasaba has earned degrees in his native Turkey and the United States, including a Doctorate from the University of Washington. He has published many articles and several books including “The Ottoman Empire and the World Economy.” He has taught in the Jackson School of International Studies for 20 years, and in 1999 he received the University of Washington’s Distinguished Teaching Award.

Perry Lorenzo makes opera come alive Nov. 12 with “The Origins of Opera — Plato, Eros and Music.” Lorenzo has been called a talented researcher and brilliant storyteller who captivates his audiences with the music and antics of personalities of stage and history. For this lecture he explores and explains the influence of ancient Greek symbology on early opera.

His Wagner lecture series, “Exploring the Ring with Perry Lorenzo,” has been produced on CD. He also founded and directs the Seattle Opera’s Young Artists Program.

Matilpi and Livingston talk about their roles as creators of Northwest Coast Native American art Nov. 19 in “Carrying on Traditions.” Matilpi creates ceremonial items from button blankets to dance tunics, while Livingston carves totem poles in the style he learned from master carvers at Thunderbird Park in Victoria, B.C.

He has carved more than 25 large totem poles and hundreds of masks and sculptures, which are featured in private collections and museums worldwide.

The series concludes Jan. 28 with “The Search for Love,” a lively lecture by Prof. Schwartz.

Schwartz has authored more than 50 research articles and 15 books, including “American Couples,” “Love Between Equals,” and “Finding Your Perfect Match.” She also writes an advice column for the online dating site perfectmatch.com and is Past President of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality.

All Speakers Forum presentations are at 4 p.m. at the Bainbridge Island Library. General series tickets are $50, patron series tickets are $60. Unless the venue changes seating is limited to 110. Single tickets will be available at the door for $15 if the lecture is not sold out.

Ticket order forms can be found at the Bainbridge Island Library, 1270 Madison Ave. N, Bainbridge Island.