The first WordFest gathering of the year will be on Tuesday, January 6, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

Mary Putka will be reading from her collection of short stories, Letters To My Oldest Daughter.  When her daughter, Holly, was a young child, her family was stationed on Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido, where her father was a dentist in the military. For her birthday a year ago, Mary began writing brief vignettes to her about her time in Japan. “I wanted to fill in some of her memories from those years. As I began to write them, I realized how each short piece reflected a different trait of Holly’s personality, revealing my daughter to me in a whole new way.”

Mary co-founded Kalama Word Catcher seven years ago with Molly Ciancibelli.  She is very involved in volunteer and civic activities, including serving on the Kalama City Council.

 

Ernie Jones will be reading a short story about a famous writer whose life spirals out of control with drugs and alcohol. He is arrested for drunk driving, and as part of his sentence, he is ordered to conduct a creative writing class for the parks recreation program. A number of those who take the class are members of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers. Through the stories they write about their losses, he reconsiders his life.

Ernie’s first novel, Book Of Caleb, will be released in early 2015. He’s currently working on his second novel about alien invaders who come to save the earth from the destructive humans infesting the planet.

Pat Nelson will be reading from the latest in her Not Your Mother’s Book . . . series. This one, On Working for a Living, released in November, is a humorous anthology of true stories “by working stiffs.”

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the first Tuesday of each month. The events are free and open to the public.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

The next WordFest on Tuesday, November 4, will offer a variety of works by local writers.

 

Steve Anderson will be reading excerpts from his forthcoming novel, Book of Hours: Peter’s Parchment, which is a sequel to his first novel, Book of Hours: The Beguilement of Brother Alphaios. His stories weave history, mystery and monks together in a modern urban setting.

 

 

 

 

Pat Nelson is bringing another in the Not Your Mother’s Book . . .  series. This one, On Working for a Living, scheduled to be released in November, is a humorous anthology of true stories “by working stiffs.” Pat will be joined by several of the authors of the stories. 

 

 

 

 

 

Charolette Conklin has previously read her poetry and short stories at Wordfest and has been published in The Salal Review, The Rambunctious Review, and the Wordfest anthology, That Holiday Feeling. She will be reading from a novel she is working on, about a talented artist whose manipulative and controlling husband won’t allow her to leave. The stakes get higher until her life is on the line.

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

WordFest meets on the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

 

The next WordFest on Tuesday, October 7, will offer a variety of works by local writers.

The beach and water have figured prominently in Janice Haupt’s life, as has her family. All are lovingly portrayed in her latest book of poems, Call This Beach Mine, published by Karen Bonaudi, Ink. Cover art and book design were created by Castle Rock artist Sandra Putaansuu. Janice published an earlier chapbook of her poems, Profile of a Thin Woman, as a gift to her four daughters.

 

 

Pamela Deane will be reading from her semi-autobiographical novel, The Translation of Max, the story of a mother’s struggle to help her son through the trauma of schizophrenia. The story of her main character Maggie parallels her own during an eight-year journey to bring her son back to the world of reason.

Pamela is “a home-grown gal,” born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. She began teaching high school when she was fifty, retired at sixty-five, and today enjoys spending her time immersed in writing novels rather than lesson plans.

 

Over the years, Ed Putka has entertained the WordFest audiences with his humorous stories about people and adventures while growing up in his Polish neighborhood in Cleveland.

Ed will read a new short story called “Sugar Cookies,” about some unusual happenings when his extended family picnicked one August Sunday at Munroe Falls.

 

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

WordFest meets on the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

 

 

WordFest resumes Tuesday, September 2, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.
Fred Hudgin will be reading from his most recent novel, Ghost Ride, about a former Green Beret medic who returns to his small town in the Pacific Northwest after tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“Ghosts abound in this story of love, betrayal, supernatural guides, and unfaithful parents,” says Fred. ” The good guys aren’t entirely good. The bad guys aren’t entirely bad. Nothing is what it seems at first glance.” A computer programmer, Fred has been writing poetry and stories since 1967.

Carolyn Caines will be reading from her new book of poetry, Sunshine in My Suitcase, a collection of poems from her travels.

“In this volume of poetry you can share the feeling of standing near a volcano, riding a catamaran in Hawaii, or eating reindeer stew in Finland,” says Carolyn, who has written several books of poetry and a novel, Passage to Love.

 

Chris Bryant will read from his book, Women & Wealth: How To Take Charge of Your Financial Future. A financial planner, Chris says the book “looks at different financial topics from a woman’s perspective.” Money management, navigating the business world; the financial implications of marriage and raising a family; divorce; retirement, estate and investment planning are among the topics covered in the book.

 

There is an open mic period following the presentations.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

WordFest next meets on Tuesday, July 1, 6:00-8:00 pm, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview.

M. Kay Howell has written adventurous children’s books and prize winning memoir essays.

After she donated her children’s book series to a local jail in Vancouver, she was approached by a female inmate. Reading the children’s stories, the inmate felt that Kay was someone she could trust to tell her story. Kay read the media reports on the case, obtained the courtroom video tape files from the hearings and trials, and found the story fascinating, an example of injustice in the American penal and court systems. She agreed to proceed with the project. The end product five years later was Surviving Justice.

The novel is based on the true account of two women thrown together in brutal circumstances who form an unlikely bond and confront the legal system in the Pacific Northwest.

 

 

 

Leslie Slape will be reading from her historical research for a play about the first hanging in Cowlitz County in 1892. The play imagines the conversations and the relationship developed between Ben Holmes, Cowlitz County sheriff from 1884-1892, and the prisoner Robert Day.

A former Daily News reporter and now a student at Portland State University, Leslie’s writing has appeared in the anthologies The Healing Heart: Families and That Holiday Feeling, The Cowlitz County Historical Quarterly, and The Salal Review.

Peg Miller, a WordFest regular, will be reading one of her wry stories, this one about a kid sister’s adventures.

WordFest is a monthly gathering of readers and writers who meet the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 pm.

Cassava offers a dinner menu for those who wish to enjoy a meal with the readings, as well as local wines and brews.

The events are free and open to the public. There is an open mic period following the presentations.