Book Notes: 2011 Get Lit! lineup taking shape
The 2011 Get Lit! headliners have been finalized, so we can tell you who’ll be appearing along with the previously announced Tim O’Brien and Ani DiFranco.
Here’s the rest of the lineup:
• Sena Jeter Naslund, author of “Ahab’s Wife,” “Adam & Eve,” “Abundance, A Novel of Marie Antoinette” and “Sherlock in Love.” This Alabama-born winner of the Harper Lee Award will talk about feminine perspectives on the classics.
• Matthew Dickman, a Portland poet who has been featured in the New Yorker. He’ll read from his recent volume, “All American Poem.”
• Maude Barlow, Canadian activist and author of “Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis” and “The Coming Battle for the Right to Water.”
• Sam Kean, a science writer whose latest book, “The Disappearing Spoon,” is an entertaining and best-selling take on the periodic table of elements.
• Children’s book authors Louise Borden and Suzanne Morgan Williams.
• Spokane young adult author Michael Harmon (more on him below).
More authors, events and workshops will be announced later. This year’s theme is “Telling the American Story.”
Spokane’s annual literary festival takes place April 13-17. Get your festival passes now through TicketsWest outlets (800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com) .
Washington State Book Awards
Belated congratulations to the above-mentioned Michael Harmon, who won a Washington State Book Award in September for his young-adult novel, “Brutal.”
The Spokane author gained a big readership with his earlier books, “The Last Exit to Normal” and “Skate.” His award, in the “middle grades to young adults category” of the children’s book category, is known as the Scandiuzzi Children’s Book Awards.
There were plenty of other winners and finalists of local interest:
• Timothy Egan, a Gonzaga Prep grad, won the history/biography category for “The Big Burn.”
• Jack Nisbet of Spokane was a finalist in that category for “The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest.”
• Tod Marshall, Spokane poet and Gonzaga University professor, was a finalist in the poetry category for “The Tangled Line.” Sherman Alexie was also a finalist in the poetry category for “Face.”
• Jim Lynch, a former Spokesman-Review reporter, won the fiction category for his second novel, “Border Songs.”
• Lynda Mapes, another former Spokesman-Review reporter, was a finalist in the history/biography category for “Breaking Ground: The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and Unearthing of the Tse-whit-zen Village.”
‘River House’
Oregon author Sarahlee Lawrence will be at Auntie’s Bookstore, 402 W. Main Ave., on Thursday at 7 p.m. to read from her compelling memoir, “River House” (Tin House Books).
It’s about her childhood on a remote ranch in central Oregon, her life as river guide on some of the most dangerous rivers in the world, and her eventual return to the ranch. The book is described as “an exquisite blend of memoir and nature writing.”
‘The Wolverine Way’
Here’s another promising appearance at Auntie’s: Douglas H. Chadwick, reading from his new book, “The Wolverine Way.”
No, it’s not about the X-Men or Michigan football. Chadwick is a wildlife biologist who was involved in a five-year study of wolverines in Glacier National Park.
You’ll learn whether wolverines deserve their fearsome reputation – and whether they’ll be able to survive in the future.
Chadwick has also written books about grizzly bears, mountain goats and whales.
His reading will be on Friday, 7 p.m. in the main Auntie’s auditorium.
Tinman Too readings
The Tinman Too, 809 W. Garland Ave., has a new reading partnership with the Spokane Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
It will stage readings every month by one of the society’s members. First up: Stephen Wallenfels, author of the young adult sci-fi novel “POD,” on Saturday at 1 p.m. It’s free and books will be on sale for signing.
Coming up: Chris Crutcher on Dec. 11 and Kelly Milner Halls on Jan. 8.