At the WordFest gathering on Tuesday, September 6, Gilbert Rossing will be discussing and reading from his book, Dignity, Dogmatism, and Same-Sex Relationships: What Science and Scripture Teach Us. A retired Lutheran pastor (ELCA), Gib and his wife, Beth, began an unexpected journey of study and understanding when their oldest son came out to them that he was gay. Gib’s book is both a personal account of their struggle to understand and what they learned from their investigation of scripture and modern science.

 He writes: “In the beginning, I cared about information about homosexuality only to help me understand my gay son. But soon, I realized that I needed to reconcile understanding about my son with larger issues raised by traditional religious judgments about homosexuality.”

Gib served Lutheran parishes over a period of 30 years in Spokane, Portland, and in Texas. He has a Master of Theology degree from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Portland State University. After retirement from parish ministry, he was a computer software developer and database designer in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

 During the second hour, Daniel Iddings will read from his manuscript, Happily Depressed, for which he is currently seeking a publisher. Born and raised in Kelso, Dan moved to Seattle where he lived for 20 years. Suffering from severe bouts of depression, he lost his job, marriage and home, and became homeless, living out of the back of his pickup truck. With the support of family and friends, he got back on his feet and returned to Longview, where he wrote his book. Happily Depressed discusses how he recovered from major depression by discovering and implementing four key principles to building a happier life.

During the open mic time, Kelley Jacquez will be reading a poem that was recently accepted for publication.

The Brits doors open at 5:30, and the readings begin at 6:00.

There will be no WordFest gathering in August. We will resume our monthly get togethers on Tuesday, September 6th.

Good reading!  Good writing!

WordFest Workshop on Story Spinning

Saturday, August 13,  9:30-12:00, $10

CAP Conference Room,

1529 Commerce Avenue, Longview

You have an idea for a story or a novel. Now what? Or maybe your story has dead-ended. What to do?

The creative process of “spinning” stories is part conscious (we invent, we plot, we “make up”) and part unconscious (we discover–and sometimes are surprised at what we find bubbling up from the subconscious.) This two-hour, interactive workshop explores and experiments with a variety of techniques that cultivate both conscious and unconscious processes. Participants will be invited to workshop their own story ideas, using this tool kit of techniques.

Workshop leader: Alan Rose

Pre-registration necessary. Contact Alan at [email protected].

On Tuesday, July 5, editor and publisher John Morgan will give an overview to current publishing options available to authors, including traditional print publishing, print-on-demand services, and the rapidly growing world of e-books.

John founded Morgan Online Media earlier this year, an e-publishing company that is seeking to edit, publish, market and sell e-books by new and undiscovered authors. John has worked for several large media corporations, including three years as senior editor of the financial trade journal Money Management Executive. His articles have appeared in American Banker, Financial Planning, On Wall Street, Bank Investment Consultant, and Investment Dealer’s Digest.

Also that evening Kim Le will be reading from her book, 100 Snapshots of Struggle, Hope and Survival, which captures the experiences of Southeast Asian refugees who left their homelands and started new lives in the West.

Kim has worked with various social services for over thirty years.  She served as the Executive Director of New Americans Social and Cultural Assistance for almost 10 years, an organization that provides resettlement services for Slavic and Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants in Southwest Washington.   She has also been very involved in community building and empowerment since 1977. Copies of 100 Snapshots will be available that evening for a $5.00 to the Health &Well Being Foundation.

Linda Eddleston will be reading poems that she and her daughter wrote and published in a booklet entitled, Poetry A Through Z.Linda , a retired teacher, will be discussing why people write poetry and providing handouts with different styles of poetry. Copies of the booklet will be available for $10.00.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at The Brits, 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview. Following the evening presenters, there is an open mic time where the audience can read their own material.

The events are free and open to the public.

Scappoose author Willy Vlautin will be discussing and reading from his award-winning novel, Lean on Pete, at WordFest on Tuesday, June 7. The novel is a gritty, heartbreaking story of 15-year old Charley Thompson, who steals his only friend, a broken down race horse named Lean on Pete, when Pete is to be sold for dog food. Together, they set off across the desert of eastern Oregon to find Charley’s aunt in Wyoming. The novel has won two Oregon Book Awards: the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction and the Reader’s Choice Award (You can read my review of the novel in the current issue of The Columbia River Reader.)

Willy, a singer and songwriter for the band Richmond Fontaine, has written two other novels, The Motel Life and Northline.

In the second hour, Mary Ellen Stone will be reading her story, “Some Swan Song,” which was published recently in Bethany House’s anthology, Love is a Flame. The nonfiction piece is both serious and humorous as it looks at what it takes to make a marriage stronger.

Unable to read last month as scheduled, Kelley Jacquez will be reading ”A Believable Story,” about a daughter’s efforts to protect her mother, who is a compulsive liar, from exposure. The story is from a collection of Kelley’s short stories, Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness, which has been accepted for publication by Bilingual Press, University of Arizona, Tucson.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, at 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview, 6:00-8:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Doors open at 5:30, and The Brits offers a select menu for those who wish a meal with the readings.

 

Spike Walker, author of a number of popular real-life thrillers, will be the featured author at WordFest on Tuesday, May 3. Spike will be discussing and reading from his most recent book, On the Edge of Survival: A shipwreck, a raging storm, and the harrowing Alaskan rescue that became a legend.

The story recounts the dramatic Coast Guard rescue of crew from the 738-foot freighter, Selendang Ayu, in December 2004. The ship lost its engines in the midst of a storm and began drifting toward the treacherous coast of the Aleutian Islands.

Spike is the author of Nights of Ice, Coming Back Alive, and Working on the Edge. His books inspired the hit television show, “The Deadliest Catch.”

Copies of his books, provided by Paperbacks Galore, will be available for purchase and autographing.

During the second hour, Bernadette Crepeau will be reading from book two of her Brooklyn Leprechaun Mystery series, entitled Royal Spirits, and will be discussing how writing a screenplay helps one become a better novelist.

Kelley Jacquez will be reading “A Believable Story,” about a daughter’s efforts to protect her mother, who is a compulsive liar, from exposure —until the lie goes too far. The story is from a collection of Kelley’s short stories, Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness, which has been accepted for publication by Bilingual Press, University of Arizona, Tucson.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, at 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview, 6:00-8:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Doors open at 5:30, and The Brits offers a select menu for those who wish a meal with the readings.