Good News for Lois V. Harris & Kathryn Galbraith!

A big hip hip hooray for Lois V. Harris and Kathryn Galbraith!! Lois' book, CHARLIE RUSSELL: TALE-TELLING COWBOY ARTIST, and Kathryn's ARBOR DAY SQUARE, were the two finalists for the 2011 Western Writers of America’s Storyteller Award. They didn’t win, but came close! You can find out more about Western Writers of America on their website.

5th Annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference

Lots of familiar face presenting at this conference--it sounds great!

Registration is open for the 5th Annual Field’s End Writers’ Conference to be held Saturday, April 17 at Kiana Lodge, on the shores of Agate Passage just north of Bainbridge Island. Enjoy a day of camaraderie, inspiration, and learning about the art and craft of writing.

This year’s keynote speaker is environmental journalist Bruce Barcott, 2009 Guggenheim Nonfiction Fellow and author of The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, named one of the best books of 2008 by Library Journal. Award-winning poet and performance artist Dr. Gloria Burgess will be opening speaker, discussing “Creative Perseverance: For Such a Time as This.” Founder and Principal of Jazz, Inc., her books include Legacy Living and Dare to Wear Your Soul on the Outside.

Several authors for children and young adults will offer presentations: Anjali Banerjee on “Knowing When to Stop Revising”; David Patneaude on “What If? What Then?”; Alma Alexander on “It’s Not Just Harry’s World”; Carmen T. Bernier-Grand on “Writing Vivid Biographies for Children”; and Joni Sensel on “Green and Growing: Ecology Topics for Children’s Fiction.” Children’s book author George Shannon serves as Master of Ceremonies.

Publicist Alice B. Acheson will present a workshop, “A Dozen Steps to Find a Literary Agent or Publisher.”

Other features this year include a professional panel of three industry experts examining the topic “Writing Outside the Lines: State of the Industry,” a “Writing Aerobics” hands-on workshop with Kathryn Galbraith that will jump-start your writing by using all of your senses, and an open reading session. The event also includes a continental breakfast, delicious salmon or vegetarian lunch, and a cheese and wine book signing reception.

Please visit www.fieldsend.org to register.

Seattle Book Fest 2009

Secret Garden Bookshop, has produced a fantastic line-up of local talent in the world of children’s literature for the Kids Stage at Book Fest 2009!

The offerings include:

• 29 authors and illustrators and 4 publishers representatives

• including Sara Anderson, Kevin Emerson, Martha Brockenbrough, Matthew Porter, Kathryn O. Galbraith, Bonny Becker, and Wendy Wahman, among many others

• doing 14 hours of readings, panels, games, giveaways and prizes, dancing, music, and a Halloween Parade for little ones

• in solos, duos, and panels on topics ranging from Beyond TWILIGHT, reading suggestions for the TWILIGHT Obsessed (for those 12 and up) to Fairy Wings and Horsey Things (for readers 3-8) to Getting Your Kids’ Book Published (for adults) to Beyond Forks, authors of locally set books for young adults on paranormal themes, with

• game breaks, including a MAD LIBS party each day, with fun and prizes, flying Pike Place Market fish, and a Grammar Bee for kids from 9-99.

DATE: Saturday and Sunday, 24-25 October 2009

TIME 10 – 6 both days

LOCATION: Columbia City Event Center
3528 S. Ferdinand
Seattle, WA 98118

Check the full weekend schedule at the Book Fest website.

*Secret Garden is a general independent bookshop, selling books for adults and everyone else, since 2000.