Get Lit! will offer kid-friendly events

When it comes to literary festivals, kids don’t normally come to mind.

Who wants a bunch of adolescents messing around with all the stilton and syrah?

Apparently Get Lit! does. Eastern Washington University’s annual literary conference is making sure that young readers aren’t left out of its 2009 event, April 10-19 in Spokane and Cheney.

Here’s the kid-friendly activities list:

April 13: Youth Poetry Slam (ages 5-12), 5:30 p.m., River Park Square’s Kress Gallery (east of the food court). Free.

April 14: Teen Poetry Slam (ages 13-18), 6:30 p.m. Empyrean Coffee House, 154 S. Madison St. Free.

April 18: KPBX Kids Concert, with children’s author Margaret H. Lippert (“Mrs. Chicken and the Hungry Crocodile”), 1 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. Free.

•Writing Workshop for Teens, 2 p.m., Spokane Athletic Club, 1002 W. Riverside Ave. Free. Preregistration required, call (509) 359-7435.

•Kenn Nesbitt Reading/Kids Poetry Writing Workshop, for ages 8 and up, 3 p.m. (workshop begins at 3:30), Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main. Free. Call (509) 838-0206.

•Families Read Workshop/Kids Story Time, 3 to 4:30 p.m., (with Nesbitt event, above), Auntie’s Bookstore, sponsored by Page Ahead Children’s Literary Program. Free. Call (509) 838-0206.

April 19: The Loves and Lies of Ellen Wittlinger, reading/talk by the author of “Hard Love,” 1 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater.

For further information about Get Lit!, go online at http://getlitprograms.blogspot .com. Or call (509) 368-6590.

UI professor scores

Brandon Schrand, author of “The Ender Hotel: A Memoir” and coordinator of the University of Idaho graduate creative writing program, has received the Thomas H. Carter Prize for his essay “The Bone Road.”

The Carter Prize is awarded annually by the literary journal Shenandoah, which is published quarterly by Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va.

According to a UI press release, Schrand’s essay, which appeared in the spring 2008 issue, “explores four generations of vanishing fathers in Schrand’s family and occurs, in part, along the Bone Road in southern Idaho.”

Schrand received a $1,000 honorarium for his efforts.

Lost Horse prize

Sandpoint-based Lost Horse Press is offering its 2009 Idaho Prize for Poetry. The winner will earn $1,000 in cash and publication by Lost Horse Press.

Entry deadline is May 15 and requires a $25 fee. See www.losthorsepress.org/tip/ index.html or call (208) 255-4410.

Book clubs galore

The Spokane County Library District is sponsoring book clubs at six of its branches.

Participating branches are Cheney, Deer Park, Medical Lake, Moran Prairie, North Spokane and Spokane Valley.

For lists of times, dates and book-club titles, go online at www.scld.lib.wa.us/index.asp. Or call (509) 893-8200.

Blog savvy

If you want to respond to and/or draw attention to your own literary and other happenings, go online to www.spokane7.com/blogs/ moviesandmore. Scroll down to the topic that interests you and leave a comment. One post that might intrigue newspaper fans is headlined “The American newspaper: R.I.P.”

Unless otherwise noted, all events are free admission.

Book talk

•Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“Midnight’s Children,” by Salman Rushdie), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

•Let’s Talk About It! Wrap-up and Review Party, 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, South Hill Library, 3324 S. Perry St. Call (509) 444-5385.

•Auntie’s Evening Books Group (“Loving Frank: A Novel,” by Nancy Horan), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Tin Pencil Writers Group, 6 p.m. Wednesday, Tinman Gallery, 811 W. Garland Ave. Call Mallory at (509) 325-1500 or e-mail tinpencil@yahoo.com.

•Literary Freedom Book Group (“The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream,” by Barack Obama), 1 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

•Poets Dick Warwick, Milton Taylor, John Stelzer, readings, 1 p.m. today, Budding Rose Gallery, 510 S. Whitman Ave., Rosalia, Wash. Tickets $7. Call (509) 523-4278.

•Dundun Open Mike Event, readings, 7 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore. Sign up for public reading by e-mailing request to Melissa@auntiesbooks.com.