Last September, Portland writer Steve Anderson, read at WordFest from his thriller, The Other Oregon, what he called “Cascadia noir.” Steve is also the author of the novels, Liberated: A Novel of Germany, 1945, and Under False Flags, as well as narrative nonfiction, short stories and screenplays.

On Tuesday, June 14, he will be reading from his newest novel, Lost Kin, the third in a trilogy about two German-born brothers, Harry and Max Kaspar, who were raised in the United States. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, Max returns to Germany. In this volume it is 1946, and the brothers are reunited, Harry as part of the American occupation forces, and Max who bears a questionable past and seeks Harry’s help in saving Cossack refugees from being deported and killed in the Soviet Union.

A Fulbright Fellow who studied in Munich, Steve is also a literary translator of crime and mystery fiction by German novelists Alexander Hartung, Marcus Huennebeck, and others.

He was recently interviewed on KLTV’s “Book Chat” program, which can be viewed at www.alan-rose.com.

 

 

 

Susan Rose will be reading from her Young Adult fantasy, Shattered Crust, published in January, which she describes as “a love story, mystery, fantasy and suspense,” set in Yellowstone National Park. She is currently working on a sequel, Beneath the Crust: Yellowstone’s Secret Jewel.

Susan lives in the Pacific Northwest and has had her short stories published in the Not Your Mother’s Book anthology series.

 

WordFest regular Ed Putka will be reading another of his popular Cleveland stories, set in the Polish neighborhood of his youth. This story involves a picnic at Munroe Falls with the extended family. What could go wrong?

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Tuesday, May 10, Liz Prato will be speaking at WordFest in her different roles as short story writer, essayist and editor whose work has been published in numerous literary journals, and as an influential figure in the Portland literary community. She will be reading from her short story collection, Baby’s on Fire, and talk about her interest in short form fiction.

Liz also reviews manuscript submissions for Forest Avenue Press in Portland. She will discuss what she looks for in submissions and take questions from the audience about submitting one’s work for publication. Liz was featured in a recent Book Chat interview, currently airing on KLTV. You can also see the interview here: http://alan-rose.com/bookchat/april-2016-a-chat-with-short-story-writer-and-editor-liz-prato/

 

Retired Lower Columbia College instructor Yvette O’Neill Raynham will read from Forty Years on the Road: My Life as a Safari Driver in Kenya, by Peter Mbulo. Yvette and her husband Michael Raynham met Mbulo in Nairobi in 2012, visiting cultural sites and going on safari with him, and then again in 2014.

 

“Peter has been a safari driver for forty years and is a great story teller,” says Yvette.  “We encouraged him to write his memoirs which, in addition to accounts of adventures in the bush, reflect the history of Kenya from the last days of British rule and the struggle for Independence up to the present.” Mbulo also writes of the effects of climate change and development on Kenya’s animal populations, the problems and benefits of globalization, and the efforts to maintain the cultural heritage of the country.

 

 

 

Susan Taylor will read from a novel she is writing entitled Heads Do Roll, a “light-hearted murder mystery” based on her experience as a federal whistle-blower. Susan worked with Erin Brockovich when organizing protests in six southern California cities where Susan exposed “flood control” projects as payback for congressional donations and related contamination of local wells.

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. 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.

 

 

 

 On Tuesday, April 12,  Robert Hill will be reading from his new novel, The Remnants, published by Forest Avenue Press. The town of New Eden has arrived at its last days. As two near-centenarians prepare for their annual birthday tea, a third vows to interrupt the party with a bold declaration. With wit and inventive wordplay, Robert delivers a bittersweet elegy to the collective memory of a dying community.

 

Robert is a recipient of a Literary Arts Walt Morey Fellowship and a Breadloaf Writers Conference Fellowship. His debut novel, All Is Said and Done (Graywolf Press,) was short-listed for the Oregon Book Award’s Ken Kesey Award for Fiction.

 

 

 

 

David Rorden will read from the manuscript of his legal novel, A Method to Her Madness, which tells the story of a young public defender who finds himself thrust into a high-profile jury trial defending a mental patient found sitting in the middle of the freeway. The attorney soon learns that his client staged the event in order to put the state’s system of forced mental treatment on trial. But she has another, and darker agenda.

 

 

Steve Anderson, WordFest regular and author of the novel, Book of Hours: The Beguilement of Brother Alphaios, will be reading from his memoir.

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

 

 

 

 

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. 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.

 

 

 

Charolette Conklin will be hosting the next WordFest gathering on Tuesday, March 9, at 6:00 pm. A regular participant for many years, Charolette has read her often humorous poetry and short stories that have been published in The Salal Review, The Rambunctious Review, and the WordFest anthology, That Holiday Feeling. 

 

 

 

Local writer and poet Mary Lyons returns to Wordfest with essays, poetry and an excerpt from a short story, all part of a wide-ranging collection she’s writing entitled Body Parts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patrick Kubin will be reading an excerpt from his novel, Foolish Fire, a coming of age story about a teenage girl overcoming hardships and family tragedies while growing up in the 1970s on a farm in the fictional town of Riverview, Oregon.

Patrick is a writer and lawyer living in Longview. His short stories and photos have been published in the Salal Review, The Daily News, The Columbia River Reader, and Portland Magazine. He has written three previous novels.

 

Cam Parvitee will be reading from the second book in her Black Dragons series, about the trials and challenges of a group of senior citizens and the twelve neighborhood children they befriend.

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

 

 

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. 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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last July, Ellen Urbani visited WordFest to discuss her novel, Landfall, about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. In August, she officially launched the book at Powell’s in Portland, and then set off on a book tour along the east coast and through the South.

 

Ellen returns to the next WordFest on February 9 to talk about the tour. She will be discussing what she describes as “the fun and foibles of a book tour, ways to draw audiences, what support authors can expect from bookstores, how to make an event/appearance engaging (or, how to keep your audience from falling asleep while you’re on stage)”, and tips based on what she learned from the experience (e.g., “Don’t put your iPad in the little storage compartment on the back of the seat in front of you on the airplane.”)

 

 

 

Local artist, songwriter and performer Mark Dykstra will give a presentation on songwriting, sharing his process in writing lyrics and developing melodies for his song, “The fire burns deep in the mines.”

Mark has been performing since he was sixteen, and over the years has opened for several well known artists. He organizes and performs at the Acoustic Music and Brews events at The Five Dons Brewery in Longview, held on the first and third Saturdays of each month between 4:00 to 7:00 pm., featuring local acoustic musicians.  He has a degree in arts education from Portland State University, and practices in a variety of media within the arts and music. He has worked with several local authors on their book covers and book trailers.

 

Alan Rose will be revisiting his 2010 novel, Tales of Tokyo. The second and most autobiographical of his novels, Tokyo is a modern quest novel, following the adventures of four young people who go to Japan to teach in the 1980s. “Each is on a personal quest: Chris is looking for love; Sally is searching for an identity (preferably someone else’s); Jason is seeking a God in whom he doesn’t believe; Delia is out to reform the world—This year it will be Japan.”

Alan will read excerpts from the novel and discuss how the idea for the characters and the book came to be and how they developed.

 

In addition to Tokyo, Alan is the author of The Legacy of Emily Hargraves (2007) and The Unforgiven, published by Bold Strokes Books in 2012. He coordinates the monthly WordFest gatherings, hosts the KLTV program “Book Chat,” and is the book reviewer for The Columbia River Reader.

 

 

There will be an open mic period following the presentations.

 

The monthly gathering of readers and writers meet the second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 PM, at Cassava, 1333 Broadway in Longview. 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.