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

Milk crate readings a warm-up to Get Lit!

We’re still 10 days away from the E-ticket events for this year’s Get Lit! literary festival – Eastern Washington University’s celebration of all things writerly – but the warm-up sessions begin on Thursday.

Here’s a short rundown:

“Thursday, noon: milk crate readings, downtown Spokane, free.

“Thursday, 5:30 p.m: EWU Writers in the Community Program presents a Youth Poetry Slam (ages 12 and under), Kress Gallery on third floor of River Park Square. Admission is free.

“Saturday, 1 p.m.: Get Lit! KPBX Kids’ Concert with Carmela and Steven D’Amico, Bing Crosby Theater, 901 W. Sprague Ave. Admission is free.

And as a special addition, an open-mike event will be held at 6 pm. on April 22 at Area 58, the art gallery/decorative-arts store owned by poet Dennis Held and Connie Grove, 3036 N. Monroe St.

Musician Bill Wylie will open the evening, and readings will follow at 7 (writers are invited to read three minutes of material). Call (509) 327-0427.

As for the festival’s main events, seats are still available. Tickets are through TicketsWest outlets (509-325-SEAT, 800-325-SEAT, www.ticketswest.com), except where otherwise noted:

“April 18: Donald Worster, 7:30 p.m., Spokane Community College Lair Auditorium, free.

“April 19: Timothy Egan and Jess Walter, with Ann Joslin Williams, 7:30 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater, $20/$16 (plus service fees).

“April 20: Walter Mosley, with opening act M.L. Smoker, 7:30 p.m., Showalter Hall on EWU’s Cheney campus, $20/$16 (plus fees).

“April 21: Walter Mosley, “This Year You Write Your Novel,” 9:30 a.m., Spokane Club, 1002 W. Riverside Ave., $10; call (509) 623-4284.

“April 21, Charles D’Ambrosio, Spokane Club, free.

“April 21, Tess Gallagher and Alberto Rios, with opening act Jim Daniels, 7:30 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater, $15/$12 (plus fees).

“April 21, Jonathan Lethem, 10 p.m., CenterStage Theater, 1017 W. First Ave., free.

“April 22, Auntie’s Bookstore presents Sherman Alexie, 2 p.m., Bing Crosby Theater, free (tickets available at Auntie’s).

We’ll run a complete schedule next Sunday. To see the most recent information online, go to www.ewu.edu/getlit.

Do it yourself

Patrick Carman is the kind of guy who keeps people buying books on self-publishing.

The Walla Walla author took an idea for a series, wrote it, self-published it, toured and did his own publicity – and ended up selling the trilogy, under the “The Land of Elyon” banner, to Scholastic, the U.S. publisher of J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books.

Now Carman has a new series, the first of which is “Atherton: The House of Power.” He will make two public appearances at local bookstores on Thursday and Friday (see reader board below).

Who knows? Maybe he’s working on a third series, too.

Slam bam

As part of the sixth-annual Young Writers of the Lost Horse youth writing conference, a four-day event that begins Monday at Sandpoint’s middle and high schools, Lost Horse Press will sponsor the inaugural Sandpoint Poetry Slam on Thursday.

The event, which is aimed at grades 5 through 12, will be held at the Sandpoint Library, 1407 Cedar St. Sign-up starts at 5 p.m., with the slam beginning at 6. Participation in the conference isn’t required to take part in the slam.

Winners will be invited to participate in the Get Lit! Teen Poetry Slam, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. April 18 at the Empyrean Cafe, 154 S. Madison St.

For further information, go to www.losthorsepress.org. Or call (208) 255-4410.

Page to screen

The 1968 sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,” which was based on Arthur C. Clarke’s novel from the same year, will be screened at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown branch of the Spokane Public Library, 906 W. Main Ave., as part of the library’s ongoing Stanley Kubrick film series.

The screening is free and open to the public. Call (509) 444-5300.

Book talk

“Auntie’s Morning Book Group (“March,” by Geraldine Brooks), 11 a.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore, Main and Washington. Call (509) 838-0206.

“Auntie’s Evening Book Group (“The Namesake,” Jumpha Lahiri), 7 p.m. Tuesday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

The reader board

“Nicholas Cahill (“Household and City Organization at Olynthus”), lecture, 1 p.m. Wednesday, Gonzaga University’s Foley Center Teleconference Room, 502 E. Boone Ave.; 7 p.m. Wednesday, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture, 2316 W. First Ave. Call (509) 323-6691 or (509) 456-3931.

“Jo Ann Beard (“The Boys of My Youth”), reading, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, University of Idaho College of Law Courtroom. Call (208) 885-7251.

“Patrick Carman (“Atherton: House of Power”), signing, 6 p.m. Thursday, Valley Barnes & Noble, 15310 E. Indiana, call (509) 922-4104; reading, 7:30 p.m. Friday, Auntie’s Bookstore.

“Candace Ann Frasher (“Through the Grapevine: An Illustrated Guide to Wine Grapes”), lecture, 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Auntie’s Bookstore.