Literary Arts has announced the list of 80+ authors (and illustrators) coming to Portland for the November 7, 2015 relaunch of the literary festival, Wordstock. The festival aims to build community around literature through author events, workshops, a book fair, and more. Wordstock began in 2005 and is the largest celebration of literature in the Pacific Northwest.
The festival is relaunching after a rebuilding year. The Literary Arts website states that they will be
reaching out to all the partners of Wordstock to build on previous collaborations. We will also be building new partnerships and looking for new ways to collaborate with the incredible talent here in Oregon and around the country.
One of the major partners will be independent bookstore, Powell’s. Powell’s will have an on-site bookstore in the Kridel Grand Ballroom on the third floor of the Mark Building at the Portland Art Museum. The festival is standing by its indie bookstore partner. “Attendees are strongly encouraged to purchase books they want signed in advance of the event” and “[b]ooks must be purchased from Powell’s bookstore in order to be signed, with the exception of one pre-bought book that may be brought for signing.” Attendees getting books signed will be asked to show receipts from Powell’s.
This year’s festival will take place on one day, including the first-ever Portland Lit Crawl. However, those who want to really make the weekend literary can purchase tickets to the inaugural Bookmark Ball for the night before the festival, Friday November 6. (Limited quantities of tickets to the ball are available! Only $125 patron tickets were still on sale through their website as of this post.)
Some PNW children’s and YA authors attending include: Paige McKenzie (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl), Carson Ellis (Home), William Ritter (The Beastly Bones), Chris Scofield (The Shark Curtain), and Heidi Schulz (Hook’s Revenge: The Pirate Code).
Among the adult regional authors attending: Patrick DeWitt (Undermajordomo Minor), Brian Doyle (Martin Marten), Chuck Palahniuk (Make Something Up), Willy Vlautin (The Free), Lidia Yuknavitch (The Small Backs of Children), Cheryl Strayed (Brave Enough), Ursula K. Le Guin (Steering the Craft), Elias Cairo (Olympia Provisions: Cured Meats and Tales from an American Charcuterie), and Adam and Jackie Sappington (Heartlandia: Heritage Recipes from Portland’s The Country Cat).
For more about the authors and illustrators participating, see Wordstock’s author page. Early tickets to the festival are available now.