Kay Smith-Blum will discuss the writer’s journey that produced her debut novel, Tangles, a Cold War love story revealing the devastating costs of the birth of the nuclear age. When a harpooned whale provides proof that the Hanford Nuclear Reservation is endangering all life in the Columbia River Basin, young scientist Luke Hinson begins to investigate the danger, while also avenging his father’s death from cancer. Facing his own thyroid cancer diagnosis, Luke fights those intent on keeping the extent of the danger secret.

Dawn Shipman will be reading from her YA fantasy novel, Kingdom Lost, (Elk Lake Publishing, 2021), the first in her Lost Stones of Argonia trilogy. A young princess finds herself on the run after her kingdom is overthrown and her father taken captive by the enemy. During her journey, she discovers the gemstone she wears is much more than a family heirloom, and that her world is inhabited by intelligent, non-human beings. If she wants to regain her throne, she must learn to trust those by her side—both human and not.

Jane Kurtz will read from her newest book, Oh, Give Me a Home, an “almost true story” in verse for young readers about when she returned as a child from Ethiopia to the U.S. and spent a year in Boise, Idaho. It’s a story of family, of culture shock, of being a third culture kid, and trying to figure out answers to the question, “Where are you from?” The book was named a Junior Library Guild selection and received a starred review from Kirkus, which calls it “A buoyant, beautiful explication of cultural adjustment as seen through a child’s eyes.”

Elmo Shade is a narrative poet who enjoys the art of storytelling. He will be reading several short pieces that range from his childhood days growing up in the South to transitioning to life in the Pacific Northwest.

Elmo is the author of the poetry chapbook, The Dark Side of White Bread: Surviving Our Fathers(Atmosphere Press, 2023), and three additional poetry collections.

Shawn Deal will be reading “The Chosen One,” named one of the top 25 funniest monologues published in 2024: It’s not easy being the Chosen One. The greatest challenge isn’t battling monsters or saving the world from some grand apocalypse; it’s the everyday things, like having to tell your dad you resurrected him after he was killed by a monster, or admitting to him you’re dating a 300-year-old vampire.

Alan Rose will read “We Are Compadres,” a chapter from his novel, As If Death Summoned, about how a well-intentioned team building retreat almost destroyed a staff. When a new executive director assumes the helm of the local AIDS organization, she determines the 30+ employees would benefit from a team building retreat. It’s not one of her better ideas.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.