At the next WordFest, on Tuesday, May 6, a new magazine will be launched.

Northwest Coast is a 64-page, full color quarterly celebrating the people, culture, and landscape of the greater Columbia-Pacific region.

Editor and Publisher Bryan Penttila will discuss his vision and goal for the magazine, and will have complimentary copies of the first issue available at the WordFest gathering (regular cover price is $4.95.)

Several local writers are featured in the first issue, including Irene Martin of Skamokawa, Jim LeMonds of Castle Rock, and Joe Green from Lower Columbia College.

Bryan is from an old-line logging family from Naselle and the author of Columbia River: A Pictorial History of Life on the Columbia River Estuary (Frank Amato Publications, 2003.)

Also at WordFest, Mary Lyons will read from her completed version of “It’s A Fearful Thing.” Mary brings a respectful, heartfelt and sometimes humorous voice to her experiences of being a home hospice volunteer.

 Regular contributor Ned Piper will be reading an essay, entitled “On Writing,” which distills his experience of writing for much of his adult life. Ned has written five novels, and over 50 short stories and 300 poems. He is now seeking a literary agent, with the hope of publishing his latest novel, Dead Pigeons.