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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Fall conference scheduled by regional SCBWI

The Spokesman-Review

Writing for children isn’t easy. Check that. It may be easy, but getting paid for it isn’t. Tips that can lead to success are valuable. Such tips are exactly what is going to be offered up at Searching for Success, the inaugural SCBWI Fall Conference of North Idaho and Eastern Washington, which will be Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Coeur d’Alene Casino Resort in Worley, Idaho.

Those initials stand for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. The Inland Northwest region of the SCBWI is putting on this event, which will feature speakers and workshop leaders such as writers Terry Davis, Kelly Milner Halls and Linda Joy Singleton, art professor/illustrator Deborah Nourse Lattimore and editor Summer Dawn Laurie.

Davis, whose novel “Vision Quest” was re-released for the book’s 25th anniversary in the spring by Delacorte Books, is taking the place of author Terry Trueman, who had to back out for professional reasons.

For registration information, call Verla Kay at (509) 284-2433, e-mail her at verlakay@aol.com, or see www.scbwiwaid.org.

Howell, Howell, Howell

Fans of Allen Ginsburg will see the humor in the above headline (think “Howl”). Others should just note that it refers to Christopher Howell, poet and creative writing instructor at Eastern Washington University, who will hold a two-day writing workshop this month at Sandpoint’s Oden Hall, 143 Sunnyside Road.

“Finding the Authentic Voice: Strategies for Accompanying Narrative to the Lyric Impulse” will run Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 p.m. and Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For registration and fee information, call (208) 255-4410, e-mail losthorsepress@mindspring.com or see www.losthorsepress.org.

Good news for EWU

Speaking of EWU, the Eastern Washington University Press has been accepted as an affiliate member of the Association of American University Presses, which a press release describes as “the major organization representing academic and scholarly book publishers in the United States.”

Perhaps more important, though, is the announcement that Ivar Nelson, who had been serving as interim publisher of the EWU Press, has been officially chosen to fill the position on a permanent basis. Nelson previously was at the University of Idaho, where he directed the UI Press before the school cut the program funding.

New and ‘gently used’

On Sacred Grounds: Coffee, Tea & Specialty Shoppe, 163 S. Lincoln St., sends out word that it carries “new and gently used books,” many of which are by local writers. Among them you’re likely to find Mitch Finley, Kathleen Finley and young-adult writer Claire Rudolf Murphy.

“Our books will cover a variety of topics relevant to Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Christianity, Judaism, spirituality, physical and mental wellness, and … titles of general ‘unusual’ subjects,” says store owner Elaine Rising.

The shop, which is located in Steam Plant Square, also displays art. For further information, call 747-6294.

No deja vu

No, you aren’t imagining things. Two reader board items listed below – a Thursday night reading by Duane Broyles and Howard Ness, the other a Friday night performance by the Ignite! Community Theatre – were mistakenly included in last week’s column. The error was mine. Mea culpa.

Unless otherwise noted, the following events are free and open to the public.

Book talk

•Poetry Reading Group (747-3454), 3 p.m. today, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington (838-0206).

•Gay & Lesbian Book Group (“The Jane Austen Book Club,” by Karen Joy Fowler), 7 p.m. Wednesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Arts and Creativity Book Club (“The Birth of Venus,” by Sarah Dunant), 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday, Tinman Gallery, 811 W. Garland Ave. (325-1500).

•Idaho Humanities Council Book Discussion (“This House of Sky,” by Ivan Doig), 7 p.m. Thursday, Post Falls Library, 821 N. Spokane St., (888-345-5346). The discussion will be led by Virginia Johnson, chair of the North Idaho College Communication, Fine Arts and Humanities Division.

•Seekers Book Group (“Conversations With God,” by Neale Donald Walsch), 10 a.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Literary Freedom Book Group (“Places I Never Meant to Be,” by Judy Blume), 1 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

•Duane Broyles, Howard Ness (“Vintage Postcards from Old Spokane”), PowerPoint presentation, 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Auntie’s Bookstore. They will be joined by Spokane authors Tony and Suzanne Bamonte (“Spokane’s Legendary Davenport Hotel”).

•Ignite Community Theatre will present a reader’s theater production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible” on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Auntie’s Bookstore.

•Petals and Poetry Reading, 3 p.m. Saturday, Tree of Knowledge Bookstore, 409 First St., Cheney (559-5706).