WordFest offers a literary smorgasbord at first event of 2026

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WordFest kicks off its 20th year on Tuesday, January 13, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview. The evening will include 12 local writers offering a “literary smorgasbord” of poems, personal stories, musings, and perspectives on the momentous times that we are living.

Maureen “Moe” Baldwin looks at the past and present role of social unrest in American history. Alan Rose will read a story about finding one’s strength during times of weakness.

Several presenters will share personal experiences from their lives. Kandra Kent will read, “The Angels are with Him,” about “the strangest experience of my life” and the unexpected spiritual journey that followed. Elaine Cockrell reflects on “Princess Dreams,” and Ernie Cadman will read “Pieces of My Life.”

There will be poems by Charolette Conklin of Kalama and from Mary Lyons of Longview recalling her childhood growing up in rural Indiana.  Former Daily News managing editor Bob Gaston will read five poems written by his teenage granddaughter Charlotte Gaston from a collection titled “Charlotte’s Instant Poems.” 

Practicing magician Kim Worrall begins his presentation with “a magical introduction,” followed by four of his favorite poems, plus a favorite joke. There will be humor pieces by Tony Indriolo on “The Nature of Laughter. Or Why We Laugh.” Dave Rorden promises to deliver “an act of artistic expression that will give limericks a run for their money,” and Ed Putka shares a letter from his daughter who lives in India, comparing life there to life in the United States.

Each person will read for 10 minutes.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.

Final WordFest of 2025 goes out with holiday humor and cheer, and murder

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Three local writers share works from their imagination at WordFest on Tuesday, November 11, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Retired Longview librarian Hans Schaufus will read a short Christmas story, “The Three Second Dream,” a light-hearted tale of a graffiti artist and a museum director set in Portland and Paris. It is the latest in a series of holiday stories Hans has been writing each year since 1996.

Retired judge Ed Putka often writes humorous stories based on his early years growing up in his Polish neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio. His latest story is set around the old neighborhood church when the 142nd Street Altar Boy Gang have their showdown with the parish custodian.

Mystery writer Tom Larsen reads from Insomnia Blues, the fourth installment of his Jason Freeh Mystery Series. As he approaches his sixty-fifth birthday, Freeh is mourning the loss of his longtime girlfriend and common-law wife. A simple job—delivering a subpoena to a homeless street kid—turns into a complex case involving embezzlement, identity theft, campaign donor fraud, and ultimately murder. Freeh couldn’t care less who murdered Richard Asher until the killer tries to implicate him.

An open mic will follow the presentations where people can read for 10 minutes. (Open Mic sign-up sheet is on the center table when you arrive.)

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.

WordFest will reconvene for the new year on Tuesday, January 13, 2026.

Travel, mystery and poetry at October WordFest

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Three local writers share their experiences, imagination, and love of language at WordFest on Tuesday, October 14, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Dayle Olson will be reading poems from her recently published chapbook collection, From the Dead Letter Department. The chapbook received an Honorable Mention in Moonstone Press’ chapbook contest. These poems speak to change and loss, while maintaining a sense of wonder as the natural world finds new ways to delight and surprise us.

Dayle is a Lower Columbia poet from Cathlamet. Her writing journey flourished after relocating to southwest Washington from Tacoma. Her involvement with The Writers Guild of Astoria, as well as Willamette Writers, and the Oregon Poetry Association (OPA), has challenged her to write better poetry while also developing invaluable friendships with other writers. In 2024, she won first prize for prose poetry in OPA’s annual contest. Copies of her chapbook will be available for $10.

Craig Allen Heath will be reading from his Eden Ridge mystery series, set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. In his debut novel, Where You Will Die, unconventional minister Alan Wright struggles against community obstacles and his own inner demons to discover who killed his best friend, Ruth MacKenzie, one of the oldest and most-beloved citizens of the small community.

In the second book in the series, Killing Buddhas, famous guru Branden Frank dies while visiting Eden Ridge. Frank helped millions find happiness, and inspired Alan Wright’s ministry, but the great man’s legend begins to unravel as secrets from his private life become known.

Craig decided he wanted to be a novelist at age fourteen. He achieved that goal fifty years later by publishing Where You Will Die (2022) and Killing Buddhas (2024.) He is now working on the third book in the series, Reason Not the Need. 

Brandon Ford has worked as a writer and editor for daily and weekly newspapers. He was a public information officer for 10 years with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program. Upon retirement, he set out on a two-year sailing voyage to Southern California, Mexico, and Hawaii on a 50-year-old sailboat that he and his wife rebuilt. Brandon has “always loved the ocean and I want to use my writing to help others love and appreciate her as well.” Brandon will read from the book he is writing about sailing to Mexico and Hawaii that was “a diamond among the string of pearls that represent my life.”

An open mic will follow the presentations where people can read for 10 minutes.


The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.

WordFest launches fall season

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Following our summer hiatus, WordFest resumes with a strong line up of presenters on Tuesday, September 9, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview. 

Robert Michael Pyle reads from his latest book, Swimming with Snakes: Poems & Prose: Encounters with the Actual World(Watershed Press, Seattle). Blending narrative poems with short vignettes and essays, Bob celebrates experiences he has shared with creatures, plants, and places in the natural world. 

A Colorado native, Bob has lived, studied nature, and written from an old Swedish farmhouse in Grays River for the past 47 years. A biologist, teacher, butterfly scientist, and independent scholar, he has received many awards and honors for his work, which includes Wintergreen, Sky Time in Gray’s River, and Where Bigfoot Walks(adapted for the feature film, The Dark Divide). His previous collections of poetry include The Evolution of the Genus Iris, Chinook & Chanterelle, The Tidewater Reach, and The Last Man in Willapa. 

James Dott will be reading from his new poetry collection, Touch Wood, recently published by Watershed Press. The poems form a lyric field guide to trees. The short life and tragic death of David Douglas, early botanist who cataloged Northwest trees, threads through the work, offering elegies, narratives, and meditations on our tangled histories.

Jim is the son of a geologist and a naturalist who kindled his love of nature and natural history. Born in Eugene, Oregon, and growing up in Madison, Wisconsin, Jim began writing poetry and fiction at an early age. He is the author of several chapbooks and two previous poetry collections, A Glossary of Memoryand Another Shore. He and his family live in Astoria, Oregon, above the Columbia River.  More information at jamesdott.com.

In her newest book, The Freedom of the Day: Everyday Silver Linings, Jan Bono shares 117 personal stories and poems spanning 7 decades—a few of her “silver lining moments”—that illustrate how we can focus on the good stuff in our everyday adventures. The book concludes with a challenge to readers to keep what’s going right in their lives on the front burner and recognize their many blessings.

Jan has written 18 books, including the Sylvia Avery Mystery series, all set on the SW Washington coast. www.JanBonoBooks.com

Retired LCC instructor and counselor Mary Stone will read from her latest novel, Silent Pleas, which she describes as “an inspirational romantic suspense—the story involves a Mansion, Murder, and Guilt which join forces to ensnare and unite two strangers.” Reclusive, elderly Ophelia Wentworth owns Cavashahn Mansion. Venice Cambriole’s dream job is to liquidate the treasures within the estate. Besides their love for Cavashahn, the two women share something else:

Each has failed to save a woman in peril. Remorse and guilt haunt them. As Venice sorts through Ophelia’s possessions, will the mansion and intriguing journals reveal the mystery as to who would have reason to kill Ophelia? Could this put Venice and her Estate Treasures crew at risk of harm—or even death? 

Mary continues to write and teach writing classes. She loves to visit book clubs in person or via Zoom to discuss her books. More information at [email protected].

An open mic will follow where people have 10 minutes to read. The monthly gathering of readers and writers meets the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, in the fellowship hall of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The events are free and open to the public.

WordFest on summer break until September

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WordFest will resume on Tuesday, September 9, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephens Episcopal Church, 1428-22nd Avenue in Longview.

Presenters include naturalist-poet Robert Michael Pyle from Grays River, poet James Dott from Astoria, humorist Jan Bono from the Long Beach Peninsula, and Mary Stone from Castle Rock, Washington.

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Good reading! Good writing!