Get Lit! Festival 2023: Full Schedule

9:30am PDT

Prose by Any Other Name

What exactly is prose? How can everything that isn’t poetry fall into this one category? Merriam Webster calls prose an “ordinary” form, but there is nothing ordinary about the writing of these three talented regional writers! Join us at Spokane Falls Community College for a conversation on writing from three of our region’s rising stars in fiction and nonfiction. Leyna Krow, Chelsea Martin, and Leah Sottile’s work covers many different forms of prose including long form journalism, true crime, podcasting, personal essay, coming of age novel, the short story, and more. These writers will be in conversation with poet and professor Laura Read and the event will be presented in the Palek Auditorium (building 24). We would like to thank SFCC for their continued partnership.

*Note that this event is a one-hour conversation that will be repeated with the same authors from 10:30-11:30 in order to allow more SFCC students to attend. The public is welcome to choose one session to attend, or to stay for both.

This event is free and open to the public, no ticket is required. Paid parking is available on campus via parking meter.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Leah Sottile

Leah Sottile is the author of When the Moon Turns to Blood: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell and a Story of Murder, Faith and End Times. As a freelance journalist, her features, profiles, investigations and essays have been published by the Washington Post, The New York Times Magazine, Playboy... Read More →

Leyna Krow

Leyna Krow is the author of the short story collection I'm Fine, But You Appear To Be Sinking (Featherproof Books 2017) and the novel Fire Season (Viking 2022), which was nominated for The Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize. Her second story collection Sinkhole & Other Inexplicable... Read More →

Laura Read

Laura Read is the author of But She Is Also Jane, forthcoming from University of Massachusetts Press in 2023, Dresses from the Old Country (BOA, 2018), Instructions for My Mother’s Funeral (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2012), and The Chewbacca on Hollywood Boulevard Reminds Me... Read More →

Chelsea Martin

Chelsea Martin is the author of Tell Me I'm an Artist, Caca Dolce: Essays from a Lowbrow Life, Even Though I Don't Miss You, and several other books. She received a BFA from California College of the Arts in 2008 and lives in Spokane, WA with her husband and child.

Thursday April 20, 2023 9:30am - 10:15am PDT
Spokane Falls Community College 3410 W Whistalks Wy, Spokane, WA 99224

In-person event

10:00am PDT

True Histories of the Pacific Northwest

Historical fiction offers a unique opportunity to blend research with imagination and creativity. Writers Alix Christie, Rebekah Anderson, and Elaine Cockrell all explore the experiences of real communities in Eastern Washington and the Northwest through the lens of their own family and cultural histories. Beyond sharing captivating stories, their novels shed light on important issues surrounding social justice and environmental impacts. In this virtual event, Alix and Rebekah will read excerpts from their novels followed by a conversation led by Elaine. The authors plan to be part of a live chat during the premiere of this event on YouTube, so don’t miss this opportunity to speak with them directly about their work and writing lives!

This event is virtual and will premiere at the time scheduled above. YouTube link coming soon! *Note that the authors may be present during the live chat so come prepared to meet them virtually and ask them about their work!

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link or click the video stream button above!

Authors

Alix Christie

Alix Christie grew up in California, Montana and British Columbia. She is a prize-winning journalist and author of novels, reportage and stories. Her debut novel, “Gutenberg’s Apprentice,” was shortlisted for the VCU Cabell First Novelist Award, and long-listed for the International... Read More →

Elaine Cockrell

Elaine Cockrell grew up amid wheat and sugar beet fields of her family's farm near Adrian, Oregon. She lived in a multi-cultural world with Basque sheepherders, Mexican itinerant fieldhands, and Japanese-American families, most of whom settled there at the end of World War II. After... Read More →

Rebekah Anderson

Rebekah Anderson's debut novel, "The Grand Promise" was released by Empty Bowl Press in 2022. Published on June 1, the 80th anniversary of the Grand Coulee Dam, the book is a work of literary fiction inspired by her family history and imagines the experiences of real Eastern Washington... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
Virtual

Virtual

10:30am PDT

Prose by Any Other Name

What exactly is prose? How can everything that isn’t poetry fall into this one category? Merriam Webster calls prose an “ordinary” form, but there is nothing ordinary about the writing of these three talented regional writers! Join us at Spokane Falls Community College for a conversation on writing from three of our region’s rising stars in fiction and nonfiction. Leyna Krow, Chelsea Martin, and Leah Sottile’s work covers many different forms of prose including long form journalism, true crime, podcasting, personal essay, coming of age novel, the short story, and more. These writers will be in conversation with poet and professor Laura Read and the event will be presented in the Palek Auditorium (building 24). We would like to thank SFCC for their continued partnership.

*Note that this event is a one-hour conversation; the same authors will be having a very similar discussion from 9:30-10:15am. This event is repeated in order to allow more SFCC students to attend. The public is welcome to choose one session to attend, or to stay for both.

This event is free and open to the public, no ticket is required. Paid parking is available on campus via parking meter.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Leyna Krow

Chelsea Martin

Laura Read

Leah Sottile

Thursday April 20, 2023 10:30am - 11:30am PDT
Spokane Falls Community College 3410 W Whistalks Wy, Spokane, WA 99224

In-person event

11:00am PDT

Women of the West

For many, the American West has an undeniable pull. The sheer vastness and breathtaking views coupled with a sense of adventure and freedom serve as a recipe for inspiration. In this reading and discussion, we will hear from four women of the West who have explored, experienced, and written about life in the Western United States. This conversation will be led by Evonne Ellis, who is working on her memoir, The Lookout Chronicles, which details fire lookout life, history, megafire, and climate change. Evonne will be speaking with Karla Theilen, writer, fire lookout, and travel nurse based in Missoula, Montana, Julie Weston, the author of the Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery series, and a skier, flyfisher, and nature lover, and Kelly Coughlin, who leads backcountry tours at Mesa Verde National Park, and is working on two memoirs about her experiences in wildland fire and as a guide in Mesa Verde. We would like to thank The Hive and Spokane Public Library for their partnership.

This event is free and open to the public, no tickets required.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Evonne Ellis

Evonne Ellis is a writer, photographer, and a fire lookout on a volcanic peak in Oregon. She is currently finishing, “The Lookout Chronicles,” a memoir about fire lookout life, history, megafire, and climate change.

Julie Weston

Julie Weston grew up in Idaho and practiced law for many years in Seattle, Washington. She is the author of the Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mysteries: Moonshadows (a Finalist in the May Sarton Award for Historical fiction), Basque Moon (Winner of the 2017 WILLA Award for Historical... Read More →

Karla Theilen

Karla Theilen is a writer, storyteller, fire lookout, and travel nurse based in Missoula, Montana. She has been Facebook-free since 1972.

Kelly Coughlin

Kelly Coughlin works behind the scenes at Mesa Verde National Park, leading backcountry tours and assisting night sky programs while working on two memoirs about her experiences in wildland fire and as a guide in Mesa Verde.

Thursday April 20, 2023 11:00am - 12:00pm PDT
The Hive 2904 E Sprague Ave, Spokane, WA 99202

In-person event

12:30pm PDT

Curtain Call: A Conversation on Playwriting

Join us for Curtain Call: A Conversation on Playwriting featuring writers from the Inland Northwest. This event will be hosted by Bryan Harnetiaux, Spokane Civic Theater’s Playwright in Residence since 1982. The conversation will be moderated by Trish Harnetiaux, Brooklyn-based playwright, filmmaker, and podcaster who was born and raised in Spokane. Talented panelists include local and regional playwrights Molly Allen who spent three years as Stage Left Theater Writer in Residence, Pam Kingsley, author and actress with numerous plays produced around the United States, Scott Doughty, the co-founder of Spokane Playwrights Laboratory with over 200 show credits on his resume, and Laramie Dean, a novelist, playwright, and theater teacher from Missoula, Montana. Don’t miss this conversation on playwriting in the PNW and beyond! We would like to thank The Hive and Spokane Public Library for their partnership.

This event is free and open to the public, no tickets required.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Scott Doughty

Scott Doughty holds an MFA in directing with an emphasis in new play development from the University of Idaho. He is a multi-year collaborator at the 7 Devil’s Playwrighting Conference. With over 200 show credits on his resume, Scott has worked for the Ensemble Studio Theatre’s... Read More →

Laramie Dean

Laramie Dean is a Montana writer of queer horror fiction and the director of theatre at Hellgate High School in Missoula. He has recently published several plays from Theatrefolk, including Dracula, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and Finding Jo March, a queered adaptation of Louisa... Read More →

Pamela Kingsley

Pamela Kingsley’s plays have been produced by theatres around the U.S., most recently in Boston, Cleveland, Columbia (MO), Kansas City, Los Angeles, Louisville, New Haven, NYC, the State University of New York (Brockport), San Francisco, Santa Fe, and Spokane. Her play Mother's... Read More →

Molly Allen

Molly Allen of Dave Ken and Molly in the Morning on 92.9 zzu was thrilled to spend 3 years as The Playwright in residence at Stage Left Theater. Radio personality and co-founder/Executive Director of the non-profit Safety Net. She is a grandma by day and theater lover by night. Molly's... Read More →

Bryan Harnetiaux

Bryan Harnetiaux has been a Playwright-in-Residence at Spokane Civic Theatre in Spokane, Washington, since 1982. Thirteen of his plays have been published, and his short play THE LEMONADE STAND is also anthologized in More One Act Plays for Acting Students (Meriwether Publishing Ltd... Read More →

Trish Harnetiaux

Trish Harnetiaux is a playwright, filmmaker, and podcast creator. Her plays include California, Tin Cat Shoes, How to Get into Buildings, If You Can Get to Buffalo and Welcome to the White Room. Her six-part narrative podcast, The MS Phoenix Rising, is available on Playwrights... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
The Hive 2904 E Sprague Ave, Spokane, WA 99202

In-person event

2:00pm PDT

Community Open Mic

Join us for our annual Community Open Mic, hosted by Broken Mic, one of Spokane’s longest running open mic events. This event is a celebration of our talented local writing community—you are invited to participate as this is an open-mic style reading for all genres including singer-songwriters. Signups are first-come-first-served while space is available, and writers will each have 1-5 minutes to perform. Each year we highlight a featured headliner from the festival, and this year’s feature is Spokane writer Peter Quint! We would like to thank Broken Mic, The Hive, and Spokane Public Libraries for their partnership.

This event is free and open to the public, no tickets required.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Peter M. Quint

Drawing from his career as a teacher, leader and advocate within and for the Deaf community, Peter M. Quint writes novels about Deaf characters facing life challenges which shake their foundations and beliefs. Outside the fiction, he enjoys household building projects and fitness... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 2:00pm - 3:00pm PDT
The Hive 2904 E Sprague Ave, Spokane, WA 99202

Interactive event

3:00pm PDT

Spokane Cookbook Happy Hour featuring poet Jane Wong

Meet us for happy hour at Baba in Kendall Yards for a celebration of the Spokane Cookbook which will include a poetry reading from festival headlining poet, memoirist, and self-proclaimed “restaurant baby” Jane Wong. Creativity, whether on the page or on the plate, starts with inspiration. At this happy hour we will hear poetry inspired by Jane Wong’s life growing up in restaurants, and we will hear from photographer and cookbook author Ari Nordhagen on what inspired the Spokane Cookbook and what it was like to put together such an amazing collection of recipes from our culinary community. Baba will be serving dishes and drinks inspired by Jane’s poetry and the work of many other festival authors. Find more inspired specials available for purchase at Baba and other local restaurants (many available for the entire month of April!) by visiting our Inspired Partnerships page. Thank you to chef Adam Hegsted and the Eat Good Group for their continued support.

This event is free and open to the public. Baba encourages attendees to make reservations in advance via their website (Resy) or by calling Baba. Please note that you are reserving for the Get Lit! Happy Hour event.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Jane Wong

Jane Wong is the author of two poetry collections: How to Not Be Afraid of Everything (Alice James, 2021) and Overpour (Action Books, 2016). Her debut memoir, Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City, is forthcoming from Tin House in May 2023. A Kundiman fellow, she is the recipient of a... Read More →

Ari Nordhagen

Ari Nordhagen is an award-winning portrait, wedding and food photographer, who currently writes a monthly food column for Spokane + Coeur d’Alene Living Magazine called “Eats, Shoots, and Leaves.” She is an avid supporter of local restaurants, farmers’ markets, and artisans... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 3:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
Baba 1242 W Summit Pkwy, Spokane, WA 99201

Interactive event

6:00pm PDT

Spark Central Book Release with the Salish School

Join Spark Central and the Salish School in celebrating the release of their book Sn̓ilíʔtn̓: Writing about Home. This book was created through an exploratory, three-session poetry and short prose workshop where participants learned elements of the Salish language and dove into perspectives of heritage and home with the help of instructor LaRae Wiley from Spokane's Salish School and poet Laura Read. This event will be hosted by LaRea and Laura and will include readings from Sn̓ilíʔtn̓: Writing about Home. We would like to thank Spark Central for their continued partnership.

This event is free and open to the public, no tickets required.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Laura Read

LaRae Wiley

LaRae Wiley is an enrolled member of the Colville Confederated Tribes. She is a proud grandmother of five grandchildren and is one of the new fluent speakers of the highly endangered Colville language. LaRae is the Executive Director and a founder of Salish School of Spokane. Salish... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 6:00pm - 7:00pm PDT
Spark Central 1214 W Summit Pkwy, Spokane, WA 99201

In-person event

8:00pm PDT

Pie & Whiskey

Everyone’s favorite event, Pie & Whiskey, is back! It’s been 12 years since this event began at the Get Lit! Festival, and we’re so thrilled to be able to celebrate our anniversary year with the first in-person Pie & Whiskey since 2019! Pie & Whiskey is hosted by Samuel Ligon and Kate Lebo. Ligon is the author of three novels—Miller Cane: A True & Exact History, published serially in the Inlander, Among the Dead and Dreaming and Safe in Heaven Dead—and two collections of stories, Wonderland, and Drift and Swerve. Lebo is the author of the cookbook Pie School, and a collection of essays, The Book of Difficult Fruit, which won the Washington State Book Award in 2022. Ligon and Lebo also co-edited the anthology Pie & Whiskey: Writers Under the Influence of Butter and Booze, which will be available for purchase at the event. Pie & Whiskey features 13 authors reading flash fiction, flash nonfiction, and poetry inspired by a deep affinity and abiding appreciation for pie and whiskey. Readers include Polly Buckingham, Ben Cartwright, Kevin Decker, Nick Deshais, Jill Herrera, Samuel Ligon, Kate Lebo, Gary Copeland Lilley, Emma Noyes, Rochelle Smith, Jess Walter, and Lisa Wells.

Pies served at the event are baked by Kate Lebo and a crew of volunteers. A limited number of chapbooks containing work from the readers will be on sale for $10. The chapbooks are designed by Lost Horse Press, printed by Gray Dog Press, and hand-stitched by EWU students. While sales of the chapbook help support the event, donations are also gladly accepted.

We would like to thank Don Poffenroth and Dry Fly Distilling for generously donating the whiskey. We would also like to thank Gray Dog Press, Lost Horse Press, DOMA Coffee Roasting Company, Culture Breads, and Willow Springs. This event would not be possible without their donations of time, space, energy, and funds.

This event is 21+ and will be $5 at the door. Cards are accepted but cash is encouraged. We encourage attendees to arrive early to guarantee entry. This event takes place on the first floor of the Montvale Event Center.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Authors

Polly Buckingham

Polly Buckingham is the author of one book of poetry, The River People (Lost Horse Press 2020), and two books of fiction, The Expense of a View (Katherine Anne Porter Award, UNT Press 2016) and A Year of Silence (Jeanne Leiby Memorial Chapbook Award, Florida Review Press 2015... Read More →

Ben Cartwright

Ben Cartwright is the author of the poetry collection After Our Departure (Sage Hill Press) and the poetry chapbook The Meanest Things Pick Clean (Floating Bridge). His work appears in West Branch, The Stinging Fly, DIAGRAM, and Seneca Review. Ben is a professor at Spokane Falls Community... Read More →

Kevin Decker

Dr Kevin S. Decker has been on the faculty at EWU since 2005. He primarily teaches applied ethics and the history of philosophy, but has also taught First Year Experience seminars as well as for the Honors program. His recent publications include “Dune and Philosophy” (editor... Read More →

Nick Deshais

Nicholas Deshais is the editor of the Inlander, where he oversees the entire editorial operation and helms news coverage. He has worked for various news outlets, including Portland’s Willamette Week, the Spokesman-Review, Northwest Public Broadcasting and Washington State Magazine... Read More →

Jill Herrera

Jill Herrera is from Whidbey Island and calls Spokane, Washington home after a decade living in Lilac City. By day she can be found writing grants like a word-producing machine, and the rest of the time you will find her writing essays on fungi, sex, humans, and yoga, in that order... Read More →

Kate Lebo

Kate Lebo’s first collection of essays, The Book of Difficult Fruit, is out now from Farrar, Straus & Giroux. Other recent work includes the chapbook Seven Prayers to Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Entre Rios Books) and the anthology Pie & Whiskey: Writers Under the Influence of Butter... Read More →

Sam Ligon

Samuel Ligon recently published a serial novel—Miller Cane: A True & Exact History—which appeared in 50 installments in Spokane’s weekly newspaper, The Inlander, as well as online, on Spokane Public Radio, and as a podcast. Ligon is the author of four previous books of fiction... Read More →

Gary Copeland Lilley

Gary Copeland Lilley is the author of seven books of poetry, the most recent being The Bushman's Medicine Show from Lost Horse Press (2017). He is originally from North Carolina and now lives in the Pacific Northwest. He has received the Washington DC Commission on the Arts Fellowship... Read More →

Emma Noyes

Emma Noyes, a member of the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (Sinixt/Colville), is the author and illustrator of Baby Speaks Salish (Scablands Books). Her poetry and other writings can also be found in Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry (Mountaineers Books... Read More →

Rochelle Smith

Rochelle Smith is originally from Trinidad and Tobago, and has lived in central New Jersey, Pittsburgh, New Haven Connecticut, and Washington DC; Idaho is by orders of magnitude the most rural place she’s ever called home (although New Jersey is the Garden State). She is a humanities... Read More →

Jess Walter

Jess Walter is the author of ten books, most recently the short story collection The Angel of Rome. His other books include the national bestseller The Cold Millions and the #1 New York Times bestseller, Beautiful Ruins; The Zero, a finalist for the National Book Award; and Citizen... Read More →

Lisa Wells

Lisa Wells is the author, most recently, of Believers: Making a Life at the End of the World, a finalist for the 2022 PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award. Her debut collection of poetry, The Fix, won the Iowa Poetry Prize. Her work has been published in Harper’s Magazine... Read More →

Thursday April 20, 2023 8:00pm - 10:00pm PDT
Montvale Event Center: Montvale Hall 1019 W 1st Ave

In-person event

10:00pm PDT

Social Hour at Emma Rue's

For all the night owls who want a dedicated time to mix and mingle with festival attendees, Emma Rue’s has you covered! They are hosting a special 21+ festival after-party for readers and writers to come together for story-centered cocktails and desserts. These will especially come in handy if you’re still craving more pie and whiskey! Take this time to peruse our schedule and strategize your festival weekend with our friends at Emma Rue’s. They will even have a special cocktail and mocktail available inspired by one of our festival authors, which will be available during this social hour and for the entire month of April as part of our Inspired Partnerships program! Thank you to Emma Rue’s for the collaboration and support!

Emma Rue's is a luxe cafe that draws its inspiration from 1920s Paris. Their drinks are thoughtfully crafted and often come with a story of origin. You will find nods to literature, history, and the story behind elements in the beverages throughout our menu.

Surveys help our program obtain critical grant funding. Thank you for taking a few minutes to complete our survey after you've attended any of our events! If you enjoyed your experience and want to donate to our program, please use this link!

Thursday April 20, 2023 10:00pm - Friday April 21, 2023 12:00am PDT
Emma Rue's 17 S. Howard Street, Spokane, WA 99201

Interactive event

TBA

Private Author's Reception

*This is a private event for festival authors only. It is not open to the public. We thank Gander & Ryegrass for hosting us, and we encourage you to visit them another day!

Friday April 21, 2023 TBA
Gander & Ryegrass 404 W. Main Ave, Spokane

Private