May WordFest features memoirs and murder

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Memoirs and murder highlight the next WordFest on Tuesday, May 13, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Paul Summers Jr. will be reading from his memoir Hide and Seek: A Dad’s Journey from Soulless Addiction to Sole Custody. In the chapter titled “Come Undone” (chapters are named after songs) Paul has come to a ‘do-or-die’ moment in both his sobriety and in his role as a parent. He has to make a decision: Either advocate for his daughter by asking a judge to issue an Emergency Parenting Order, or risk something terrible happening to her because of her mother’s continued dangerous choices around active addiction.

Paul is a multi-dimensional artist, singer/songwriter, touring musician, Las Vegas Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recipient, as well as sole custodial father for eleven years, husband, step-father and grandpa. One of his guitars is a punk scene artifact at the Punk Rock Museum, and he is a 528Hz Solfeggio frequency guitarscape Sound Healer.

Tom Larsen will be reading from Getting Legal, the second book in his Wilson Salinas Mystery of Ecuador series. Having had some success as a private investigator, Wilson decides it’s time to “get legal”—get his P.I. license—even though his attorney tells him “In Ecuador, there is really no such thing as an Investigador Privado. The concept doesn’t exist.” Yet, that fact doesn’t keep the attorney from hiring Wilson to investigate the disappearance of his spoiled grandson, heir apparent to his lucrative legal practice. Wilson enters an unfamiliar world of wealth, lies, adultery, extortion and murder, putting his newly-won sobriety in danger, and, eventually, also his life.

Tom was born and raised in New Jersey and was awarded a degree in civil engineering from Rutgers University. The author of six novels in the crime fiction genre, Tom’s short fiction has appeared in “Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine”, “Mystery Tribune”, “Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine”, “Black Cat Mystery Magazine”, and “Black Cat Weekly.” 2025 marks the third year that Tom’s stories appear in the anthology Best Mystery Stories of the Year from Mysterious Press.  For more information, visit here.

In her third memoir, Portland-based author Caroline Kurtz walks the coast of Oregon, carrying her shelter and food, seeking solace and renewal after the death of her husband. Grieving, she reflects on her long, and at times rocky, marriage to Mark, whom she had known and loved since they met as teenagers in boarding school in Ethiopia. As she navigates the adventures of the trail–leaky tents, hitching rides, chance encounters, and beautiful landscapes–she intertwines historical events of coastal Oregon with her spiritual experience, providing space for the ending of an old identity and the emergence of a new self.

Caroline spent her early life in Oregon before her parents moved her and her siblings to a remote corner of Ethiopia, where she spent her childhood and teen years. She returned to the US for college, where she reunited with and married Mark. The two lived variously in Chicago, Portland, Salem, Ethiopia and Kenya. Caroline retired to Portland after Mark’s death.

An open mic will follow the presentations.


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 celebrates National Poetry Month

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April WordFest offers an evening with local poets and their poetry on Tuesday, April 8, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Clark County poet laureate Susan Dingle heads the line-up of voices. With master’s degrees in both creative writing and social work, Susan believes poetry empowers people of all ages, races, genders, and conditions of life. She is the author of two chapbooks, Parting Gifts and In Pilgrim Drag. She is currently studying poetry in the MFA program at Pacific University. In her role as poet laureate, Susan creates workshops and projects that encourage people to find their own voices.

Beloved LCC teacher and poet Joseph Green returns to WordFest to read from his life works. Joe taught creative writing and poetry at Lower Columbia College for twenty-five years. His poetry collections include That Thread Still Connecting Us and What Water Does at a Time Like This. Joe is also an organizer of the annual Raymond Carver Festival in Clatskanie.

Sally Jones has been in love with words and images since she was eleven when she realized how words and images can generate, express and satisfy emotions. During her 40-year career in 9-1-1 communications, she found writing poetry and taking photographs to be forms of personal therapy. She is now working on a book of stories about her 9-1-1 experiences. Sally is a long-time participant of WordFest and local writing groups. 

Carey Taylor is the author of Some Aid to Navigation and The Lure of Impermanence. She has a master’s degree in School Counseling from Pacific Lutheran University. A Portland resident, Carey has lived her entire life in the Pacific Northwest, including the rare experience of living at three lighthouse stations. She is the winner of the 2022 Neahkahnie Mountain Poetry Prize, a Pushcart Prize, and has been published both nationally and internationally. More information is available at https://careyleetaylor.com

Emily Ransdell is the author of One Finch Singing, winner of the 2022 Lewis Award from Concrete Wolf Press. She has been published in numerous journals including Poetry Northwest, Terrain, Rattle, and New Letters.  Emily divides her time between Camas, Washington, and Manzanita, Oregon, where she teaches poetry and creativity workshops at the Hoffman Center for the Arts. You can read more about Emily at  www.emilyransdell.com

Jo Zichterman has lived in Longview for 4 years and is a new face to WordFest. They are a political, educational, and technical writer who is passionate about finding the best ways to communicate complex ideas and information. Their primary expression of art is through music as a singer and as a creator. Poetry allows them to focus on the performative elements of communication, including the power of pitch, volume, and melody. Jo will be sharing a poem and a song that convey “an ideal for moral & wise leaders in positions of authority.”

An open mic will follow the presentations.


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.

March WordFest celebrates Women’s Voices

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In honor of Women’s History Month, WordFest offers an evening of readings reflecting the variety of women’s experiences, on Tuesday, March 11, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Julie McDonald Zander will read from her historical novel, The Reluctant Pioneer. Matilda Koontz cherishes her life as a wife and mother on their Missouri farm, but her hardworking husband Nicholas dreams of free land and a new life in the Pacific Northwest. In the spring of 1847, Matilda, Nicholas and their sons set out on a grueling, two thousand-mile journey across the Oregon Trail. Fresh graves testify to the dangers of disease, accidents, starvation, and other hazards threatening her family and her husband’s dream. With new struggles at every turn, Matilda wonders how she will protect her sons on such a perilous journey. Will they reach the trail’s end? Will the baby growing inside her survive? And when tragedy strikes, how can she possibly continue?

Julie’s debut historical novel is based on her earlier nonfiction book, Washington Territory’s Grand Lady: The Story of Matilda (Glover) Koontz Jackson (2019), which was a finalist for two national awards. Julie is known to a number of WordFest writers as the organizer of the annual SW Washington Writers Conference at Centralia College. She holds a bachelor’s in communications and political science from the University of Washington, and worked as a newspaper reporter and editor before launching Chapters of Life (www.chaptersoflife.com) which captures and preserves life stories.

Sharon M. Peterson will be reading from her women’s fiction/romcom novel, The Do Over, about Perci who has felt like a failure her entire life. When she’s dumped on the radio by her boyfriend, she and her best friend write a series of New Year’s anti-resolutions she can’t possibly fail at, like “I will not try to lose weight,” “I will not date,” “I will not try to be a better daughter and sister.” But the new year takes a fresh turn when she meets the single dad next door, deals with her overbearing mother, and meets up with local lady felons. With the help of her sassy grandmother and her emotional support fish, Perci may just have the most hilarious, heartwarming, and surprising year of her life. 

Sharon reports that she is a former middle school teacher and has the personality to prove it. One of her favorite quotes is from Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath: “It was her habit to build up laughter out of inadequate materials.”  She lives with her husband and four children, including two autistic sons, two cats, one dog, and a Russian tortoise. You can find more about Sharon at www.sharonmpeterson.com, https://www.instagram.com/stone4031/, and https://www.facebook.com/SharonMPetersonAuthor/

Other voices that evening include Gloria Sanders, sharing a reflection about cooking in the 1970s which includes the history of Texas Chili; and members of a local writing group who call themselves The Woman Warriors, sharing both light and serious short stories: Lori Steed will be reading “Going to Grandma’s House,” a story loosely based on her dad’s adventures as a young child; Stella Mortensen reads “Honoring You,” first published in the 2020 Timberline Review, about new employee haunted by a horrifying assault at work, who finds a way to move forward in the shadow of the trauma; Debz Briske reads about exploring the darker places of one’s childhood; and Jaimee Walls reads about her personal writing journey, entitled “For as Long as Words Last.”

An open mic will follow the presentations.


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.

February WordFest celebrates love in words

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In time for St. Valentine’s Day, WordFest offers a variety of poems, personal memories, and fictional stories about love on Tuesday, February 11, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Long Beach author Jan Bono heads the line-up of the evening’s presenters. Promising to be “quite Valentatious,” Jan will read from her book, Romance 101, a collection of humorous short stories originally submitted to Woman’s World magazine, and her poem “Looking for Mr. Will Do.”

Tiffany Dickinson, author of several Middle Grade books, including The Golden Web, Kaleidoscope, and A Mink’s Tale, will celebrate how non-human creatures burrow into our hearts and the upheaval that can cause. 

Additional presenters offer stories, memories, and poems about love and romance not limited to the person-to-person variety. Donna McLain will read her story, “The Proposal.” Kim Worrall reads his sonnet about the different kinds of love we experience throughout our lives. Craig Werner will share a poem about remembering a romantic encounter with a special place.

An open mic will follow the presentations.
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.

A WordFest “smorgasbord” kicks off 2025

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The first WordFest event of the year will offer a literary smorgasbord on Tuesday, January 14, 6:00-8:00 pm, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 1428 22nd Avenue in Longview.

Nine local writers present an evening with Open Mic readings of 5-10 minutes each: 

Alan Rose captures the humor and heartbreak of first love and its loss from his novel, Tales of Tokyo. Craig Allen Heath reads from his new Eden Ridge mystery series, Killing Buddhas. Cathlamet poet Dayle Olson will share poems about savoring life’s contentment and grappling with its inevitable heartaches. 

Debz Briske reads the opening of the horror novel she’s writing called The Shape of Fear. Retired judge Ed Putka recounts a northwest fishing trip he took with a quirky friend. Elaine Cockrell describes what happened when a character in her novel A Shrug of the Shoulders ran off with the planned story.

Hans Schaufus shares a humorous post-Christmas reflection. Lori Steed from Paperbacks Galore relates a true story about how listening to one’s intuition saved her life. And Mary Lyons rounds out the evening with a piece from her “Hoosier memoir.”

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.