On December 1st, Leslie Slape will be reading from “The Comedy of Crime,” funny stories drawn from her life as a crime reporter for The Daily News.

 Leslie is also a professional storyteller with the Storytellers Network. Her non-journalism writing has appeared in The Cowlitz County Historical Quarterly, The Salal Review, and in the book, “The Healing Heart: Families,” edited by Dave Albert and Allison Cox. She also wrote the play, “This Island Earth,” with Don Correll, which was produced at Lower Columbia College in spring 2009.

Peg Miller will read her story, “A Christmas Mistake,” about things that go wrong and go right at a Christmas dinner. It’s part of a series of short stories where food plays a prominent role.

Peg is a retired teacher and school librarian. Over a period of twenty-four years, she taught Literature for Children at Lower Columbia College, and in 2010, she will be teaching a class, “Write Your Life Story,” also through LCC.

Chuck Taylor will be reading from his 4th novel, in progress, “The Caverns of Acold,” a young adult novel about a brother and sister, who, on a visit with their father to Antarctica, fall through a crevasse, landing in another realm far below the surface, populated by the descendents of the Oceanids, who were featured in the myths of the Greeks and Romans.

Jane Still will be the guest reviewer for the evening. Her first book, a collection of humorous essays entitled, “Mother’s Daze/No Dignity,” will be released this spring.

Following the scheduled presenters, there will be an open mic time.

WordFest is a gathering of writers and readers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits Tea Shoppe, 1427 Commerce Avenue, in Longview, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. A select menu is available for people who wish to enjoy a meal or coffee and dessert with the readings. Doors open at 5:30 pm.