On Tuesday, October 11, Portland author Margaret Malone will be reading at WordFest, 6:00-8:00 pm, at Cassava Coffee shop, 1333 Broadway Avenue in Longview.

Margaret’s first collection of short stories, People Like You, was a finalist for the 2016 PEN Hemingway award and winner of the Balcones Fiction Prize. Her stories and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including The Missouri Review,  Oregon Humanities, Swink,  and Propeller Quarterly.

Cheryl Strayed, author of the national bestselling Wild, called People Like You “a powerful debut by a writer of immense talent. In stories that shimmer and burn with beauty and sorrow, generosity and wit, Margaret Malone reveals the deepest, darkest, and most illuminating truths about what it means to be human.”

Margaret was recently interviewed on KLTV’s Book Chat. You can watch that interview at http://alan-rose.com/bookchat/september-2016-a-chat-with-margaret-malone/

 

 

 

 

 

Musicians Mark Dykstra and Dave Nelmark will discuss their recent collaboration on the song, “I Love You More.”

Dave, a school psychologist with the Longview School District, originally wrote the lyrics and asked Mark to put them to music. They will talk about the process they used in working together and how the piece took its final form through their back-and-forth collaboration, and then will perform the song, which was premiered at this past Summerfest at the lake.

 

 

 

 

 

Rita Bowles will be reading excerpts from her novel, The Gods of Clover, a family saga set in an English village called Clover-on-the-Wold in the 1960s. The story is told through the voices of the women in the family made up of Arthur Davenport, an alcoholic, his depressed yet feisty Irish wife Fiona, and their daughter, Eileen.

Rita grew up in a small Cheshire village, similar to Clover-on-the-Wold. A graduate of the University of Utah in Creative Writing, she’s written two books of poetry, one of which won the Pearle M Olsen Poetry Prize and was published by the Utah Arts Council.  She lived in Washougal for ten years before moving to Longview two and a half years ago.

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. The events are free and open to the public.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WordFest’s fall season begins with a strong line-up of authors on Tuesday, September 13, 6:00-8:00 pm, at Cassava Coffee shop.

Kate Ristau is a Portland folklorist and author of young adult and middle grade fiction. She taught at the University of Oregon and Western Oregon University, and with colleague Maren Bradley Anderson edited an anthology of poems, essays, and short stories called Coarse Grounds: A Coffee Anthology. 

Her first novel, Shadowgirl, was released by Lycaon Press in May of 2015, then republished by Indigo Sea Press in August of 2016. Shadowgirl tells the story of fairy teen Aine, who is haunted by a fiery dream where her mother loses her mind and her father makes a devastating choice. Áine escapes into the Shadowlands to discover the secrets of her family and her past. But the moment her foot crosses the threshold, Áine is thrust into a war that has been raging for centuries. Guardians, fire fey, and a rising darkness threaten the light, and Áine must learn to fight in the shadows — or die in the flames. The sequel, Clockbreakers, is being released next month.

Kate will discuss her background in folklore and mythology, and how they continually influence her creative work and her storytelling. She will also discuss young adult literature, and the ways it differs (in stories, characters, plots) from the adult market. Currently, Kate is the Portland Chapter Chair of Willamette Writers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poet Joe Green will be reading a personal essay on quitting drinking, titled, “A Man Walks Out of a Bar,” which appeared in Crosscurrents magazine in 2009. A popular English instructor at Lower Columbia College, Joe retired after 25 years of teaching to concentrate on writing, playing music, and producing letterpress-printed poetry broadsides through his Peasandcues Press.

Joe is the author of several books of poetry, including What Water Does at a Time Like This (MoonPath Press, 2015,) That Thread Still Connecting Us (MoonPath, 2012), The End of Forgiveness (Floating Bridge, 2001), Greatest Hits: 1975—2000, (Pudding House, 2001),Deluxe Motel (The Signpost Press, 1991), and His Inadequate Vocabulary (Signpost, 1986).

 

 

 

Suzanne Martinson is an award winning food writer and author of The Fallingwater Cookbook. A WordFest regular, Suzanne writes humorous personal essays about growing up in the Midwest.

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

 

 

 

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. The events are free and open to the public.

 

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.