Who knows where great ideas come from, but the concept for the Crazy Eights Author Tour came to George Byron Wright while he was on a recent road trip. Here’s the idea:

“Stimulate more interest in Oregon’s writing and publishing communities by connecting them with readers, booksellers and libraries in an exciting new way.”

This “exciting new way” involved getting 28 Oregon authors and eight independent bookstores to participate in an author tour where eight authors at a time would speak at eight separate venues. The tour launched at Betty’s Books on September 14 in Baker City and the final stop will be at Klindt’s Booksellers in The Dalles this Saturday from 2-5 pm.

The event format is a little like speed dating: the authors will have five minutes to address the audience about their lives as writers and introduce their latest books or projects. Following the presentations, there will be a mixer where the authors will be able to schmooze one-on-one with the audience and discuss their work and sign books.

The authors on this last leg of the tour are:

Bill Cameron
R. Gregory Nokes
Molly Gloss
Ursula K. Le Guin
Ron Lovell
Sid Miller
Gina Ochsner
Karen Spears Zacharias
George Byron Wright

If you’re looking for something wonderful to fill your Saturday afternoon, you couldn’t do much better than to celebrate books, authors and community.—Amber James