Join Get Lit! at First Night

Get Lit! Programs is proud to participate in First Night Spokane, the city's family-friendly New Year's Eve extravaganza. You can find us at Auntie's Books at River Park Square (on the 2nd floor), where we'll be featuring two fantastic local authors, as well as providing supplies and direction for you to make your own bookmarks!

Well-known (and adored) authors Kelly Milner Halls and Beth Cooley will both read from their latest work. Kelly Milner Halls writes primarily nonfiction for children, including Saving the Baghdad Zoo and In Search of Sasquatch. Beth Cooley writes fiction for young adults, as well as poetry and literary criticism. Her two novels are Shelter and Ostrich Eye. Each author will read from their work and would be happy to answer questions, sign your copy of their book or chat about writing.

The event will last from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Auntie's at the Square. You will need a First Night button to attend this event, but kids 10 and under gain free admission to all of the First Night events. More information on First Night and how to obtain a button can be found here.

The readings will begin at 7 p.m., but stop in any time to create your own bookmark, write a poem using word magnets or simply browse Auntie's great selection of books.

See you at First Night!

The 2011 Big Read Kicks off!

This year, for the first time, Get Lit! will participate in The Big Read, a program created by the National Endowment for the Arts in partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and in cooperation with the Arts Midwest. The goal of The Big Read is to restore reading to the center of our community's culture. According to a 2004 report by the National Endowment for the arts, "not only is literary reading in America declining rapidly among all groups, but the rate of decline has accelerated, especially among the young." The Big Read aims to address this crisis by celebrating some of the greatest books.

The 2011 Big Read will consist of a series of events all connected to Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, and will serve as a month-long lead-up to this year's Get Lit! Festival. The Big Read in the Spokane area officially kicked off on March 4 with a reception at the Chase Gallery in Spokane's City Hall where several area veterans spoke and will continue with 50 events, now through April 16.

Now is a good time to pick up a copy of Tim O'Brien's award winning book The Things They Carried. Tracing the tour of one American platoon, The Things They Carried is not just a tale of the Vietnam War, although it is considered one of the finest books ever written about combat. This award-winning book is a brutal, sometimes funny, often profound narrative about the human heart - how it fares under pressure, and what it can endure. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award and the title story of the collection was selected for Best American Short Stories of the Century.

There are various book discussions around town that you can participate in:

Riverpoint Campus on March 9 at 6 pm

North Spokane Library on March 9 at 7 pm

Auntie's Bookstore on March 12 at noon

Riverpoint Campus on March 16 at 6 pm

Sinto Senior Activity Center on March 16 at 10 am

Liberty Lake Library on March 17 at 6:30 pm

Barnes & Noble (NorthTown) on March 19 at noon

North Spokane Library on March 20 at 1 pm

VFW Post 51 on March 25 at 5 pm

Barnes & Noble (Spokane Valley) on March 31 at 7 pm

Fairchild Air Force Base Library on April 5 at 6 pm

South Hill Library on April 11 at 6:30 pm

Hillyard Senior Center on April 12 at 1 pm

Deer Park Library on April 24 at noon

Plus you have the option to go online and participate in a blogging book club with University of Idaho students moderated by Dr. Emily Duvall, assistant professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Idaho. Read what students have to say about The Big Read book, The Things They Carried, and leave your own comments.

Also, beginning March 4, you can catch a stage adaptation of the book put on by Eastern Washington University's Theater Department. They will present the same show for one night only on March 18 at The Bing Crosby Theater. You can see films related to the 1960's and to veterans on Wednesday nights at several libraries. Several groups are offering panel discussions and teach-ins. And mark your calendars for the culminating event: "An Evening with Tim O'Brien and Brian Turner," on Saturday, April 16 at 8 pm at The Bing Crosby Theater. (The cost is $15, but military get a $5 discount and students are free with a current high school or college ID.)

To find out more about Get Lit!'s involvement in The Big Read visit our website, or for a complete calendar of events, click here.

Check out this video to see what it's all about:

Free Adult Writing Workshops!

Writers in the Community, part of the Inland Northwest Center for Writers at EWU, will be offering free adult writing workshops each Saturday during the month of March. This is a great opportunity to sharpen your skills and work with other writers, plus-- let's say it again-- they're FREE!

There will be workshops in fiction, poetry and non-fiction, beginning this Saturday, March 5. All of the workshops will be held in the Phase 1 building of the EWU Riverpoint campus, and there will be signs in the main lobby to direct you to the correct classroom.

Here is the schedule:

Saturday, March 5, 11 a.m.-2 p.m.: All genres (fiction, non fiction, poetry).
Saturday, March 12, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Fiction
Saturday, March 19, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Nonfiction
Saturday, March 26, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Poetry

The theme for these workshops is "Kicking at the Dust." During this Saturday's workshop, poets will focus on nature poetry, fiction writers will examine how to use tension to drive the action in stories, and non fiction writers will be focusing on food-related memories.

Please RSVP to witc@eagles.ewu.edu so they know how many students to prepare for!

Writers in the Community (WITC) is an internship program for graduate students working toward their Master of Fine Arts degree. During the school year, participants lead classes, seminars and workshops in such varied settings as hospitals, prisons and retirement homes, as well as elementary, middle and high school classrooms. They also sponsor a number of community events related to reading and writing in our community, such as the Whitworth Writing Rally each fall; Broken Mic, a series of weekly open mic readings; and of course the youth, teen and college poetry slams during the Get Lit! Festival.

Veteran's Voices Project 2011

Tincan started at Eastern Washington University in 1994 thanks to a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce. This local program uses information technology and interactive media for education and community development. In 1999, Tincan became a nonprofit and shifted focus from equitable access to telecommunications and computer technology to the development of meaningful content that showcases the vibrant community through the online arena. They recently moved to a new local in downtown Spokane that boasts a 32 station media lab and a full video production studio. Among other things, they teach many students about video production and have built an great online history archive filled with regional information.

The Veterans' Voices project seeks to tell the story of the Vietnam War as only those who marched through the harshness of war can explain. Funded by a grant from Humanities Washington, Tincan is collecting oral history interviews with Vietnam Veterans to capture the things they carried with them both physically, mentally and spiritually. This is in celebration of the 2011 Big Read book, The Things They Carried, by Tim O'Brien.

Eight high school students from the Spokane area are studying the history of the war and the art of film to create a film to reflect Get Lit! Program's 2011 theme of "Telling the American Story." The students will read The Things They Carried; attend workshops with Whitworth professor Dr. Dale Soden; conduct oral histories with Vietnam Veterans; and create a 10-minute film that will be shown during the Get Lit! Festival when Tim O'Brien will be in town to talk about his work. (Date: April 16, 8pm at the Bing Crosby Theater.)

If you know any Vietnam Veterans who would be interested in sharing their story, please contact Elisha Durrant at elisha@tincan.org or 509.744.0972.

For more information on The Big Read, which runs March 4 to April 17 or the 13th annual Get Lit! Festival, which will take place from April 13-17, click here.

Get Lit! at First Night 2010

This year Eastern Washington University's Get Lit! Programs will be ringing in the New Year with talented students from our Writers-in-Residence program at RiverCity Leadership Academy, Barker High School, and Havermale High School. These young writers have been discussing literature and working on creative writing with Get Lit! professionals. Since 2004, Get Lit!'s Writers-in-Residence program has helped inspire over a thousand young writers in K-12 schools in and around Spokane.

Join us to hear what these budding writers have been working on with our visiting authors! We look forward to seeing you at the NEW Auntie's Bookstore Annex at the River Park Square Mall on the 2nd Floor near the Macy's skywalk. The event will start at 7pm and go until about 9pm. Click here for a complete First Night schedule of events, or here for complete information. Buttons are $12 advance purchase and $15 the day of the event. Their website has a listing of all the locations buttons are available for purchase. As usual, children 10 and under are free with a paying adult.

Have a safe and arts filled New Year's Eve!

Writing = Change

As we face another new year with its call to action in the form of personal resolutions and all of its promise, the thought that comes to mind is how words play a role in effecting our future.

Here at Get Lit! we work year round to showcase poets, authors, essayists, journalists, songwriters, screenwriters, playwrights, and graphic novelists that are contributing to the larger conversation--or rather conversations, since there are many dialogues in process--that impact our understanding of the world we live in. We make a point to bring at least one leading environmental thinker to the festival each year such as Paul Roberts, David Suzuki, and Maude Barlow. In the past, we have hosted political voices like bell hooks, Naomi Wolf, and Reza Aslan. And we have had nearly 100 poets and 100 fiction/nonfiction authors share their work over the years. The goal is to spark discussion within the community and introduce new authors to people in our region.

We also host many educational outreach programs in K-12 schools in Eastern Washington with the hope that our professional writers and authors can help teachers show students that their pens/pencils have a little bit of magic in them. With a pen, a piece of paper, and a point, these young writers are given the opportunity to share their ideas with others. Writing no longer feels like an assignment. Instead, many students have noted having fun, feeling powerful, and getting excited about learning more about themselves and others through sharing. With our "Telling the American Story" theme for 2011, we are also expanding on our usual workshops and panels with a focus on getting local writers of all ages creating and publishing their words. So watch in February for more information on our workshop options!

Meanwhile, we've come across a few articles by Paul Haeder in downtoearthnw.com that address this idea of the power of words. For those of you who don't know, downtoearthnw.com is committed to reporting and sharing environmental news and sustainability information from across the Inland Northwest. Here are the articles that sent us down this road:

Power of the Pen: Memory of Earth, Wind and Fire Environmental writing from the edge of the world; fiction and poetry brings truth

Power of the Pen II: Can poetry bring truth? Modern environmental movement welcomes creative thinkers

We invite you to share your thoughts about writing as an agent for fostering change. What have you read lately that compelled you to action? What have you written lately out of passion? In this fast, faster, fastest world, words can serve as a necessary stop light, encouraging contemplation, a new perspective, and even a call to action.

Lit! Lovers

About to enter its 13th season, Get Lit! is thrilled to have watched its literary festival flourish each year, connecting local, new, and nationally known writers and providing unique opportunities for a wide range of literature lovers. Get Lit! is indebted to its supporters and revenue sources, including community partnerships, business sponsorships, foundation grants, and event ticket sales.

Now, Eastern's College of Arts, Letters, and Education invites you to support Get Lit! Programs. Your gift will allow us to continue bringing quality literary programs to members of our community. Sponsorship options range from $50 to $50,000. Underwrite a festival agent, sponsor a school for one of our educational outreach programs, make an in-kind offer, donate online as a Lit! Lover, or even become the Pulitzer or Nobel sponsor of Get Lit! Programs. Become affiliated with a nationally recognized program while helping

• underwrite international and nationally acclaimed writers and poets.
• expand the reach of this premier literary festival to a greater community.
• ensure that the festival is affordable, offering many events free to the public.
• increase outreach to schools throughout the region, inspiring future authors.
• engage children in the excitement of reading and writing and help improve literacy.
  

Click here to contribute to Get Lit! Programs. For more information about sponsorship opportunities for your company or organization, please contact one of the following:

Deb Blake, College Advancement Director for the College of Arts and Letters at Eastern

dblake@ewu.edu or 509.359.6703

Danielle Ringwald, Get Lit! Programs coordinator

dringwald@ewu.edu or 509.368.6590

And of course, to find out more about Get Lit! Programs and keep an eye on upcoming events, go ahead and visit our website.

Poetry in Motion

Our longest running Writers-in-Residence Program is at Central Valley's Barker High School. For five years, Get Lit! Programs paired local writer Renee Roehl with Barker students interested in exploring creative writing. Students meet once a week for several hours in a writing workshop that explores poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. The program continues throughout the school year and results in an amazing anthology of their collected work. Since many of the students continued with Renee year after year, she has seen so many of them grow as writers and as people.

The teenage years can bring with them a keen sense of observation as young adults explore the world around them. The students at Barker have already seen so much and they have some powerful things to say about it. While some of the students prefer to share their guts and glory on the page, I have seen the end of the year performance at the school and have even noticed some of the students sharing with the community at open mics and poetry slams.

Here is one example, a poem on film. Thanks to Eastern's Writers in the Community and local nonprofit TinCan, Jessica Andrew and several other students at Barker High produced this:



Tincan uses information technology and interactive media for education and community development. Jessica was featured in Tincan's October Newsletter. It offers info on what she is doing now.

This month's student spotlight is on Jessica Andrew. Jessica started with Tincan last May through the Subversive project at Barker High School. Since then Jessica has joined the NEA Films 4 Change program at Tincan and has found herself in the producers chair. Jessica, who is extremely organized, makes a perfect producer for the film. She has been responsible for the role of scriptwriter and production scheduler while also recruiting actors and keeping contact with all team members. Jessica is a senior at Barker High School and is currently taking running start classes at Spokane Falls Community College. Her creativity and drawing skills will prove beneficial in her pursuit for a degree in architecture at WSU. Right now Jessica's number one job is taking care of her 20-month-old son.

Anthology Accepting Essays on Teaching

Are you a current or recent graduate student who has experience teaching creative writing? If so, you can submit an essay on creative writing pedagogy for possible inclusion in the anthology Dispatches from the Classroom: Graduate Student Essays on Creative Writing Pedagogy.

The editors of the anthology are looking for essays "linking the theoretical foundations of creative writing pedagogy with practical classroom application." They are interested in essays examining pedagogical practices for poetry, nonfiction and drama, but not fiction.

The editors suggest that "ideal essays will briefly discuss an aspect of creative writing instruction (including relevant pedagogical theory), but will focus mainly on how this aspect translates to classroom practice, and will include personal experience and examples."

Submission details:
Essays should follow MLA documentation format and may run from 5-15 pages, but preference will be given to shorter lengths. Supplementary materials including course documents, assignments, or class handouts are encouraged, but should not be submitted independently. Reprints are acceptable if the editors are notified. All submissions should include a cover note with an author bio and the title of the essay. Submissions must be sent to the editors by e-mail at dispatchesfromthefront@yahoo.com by November 19, 2010.

Happy writing!



*Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.

Spokane Author Shann Ray Wins Prestigious Writing Award

We would like to offer congratulations to Spokane resident Shann Ray, winner of the Katharine Bakeless Nason Prize for Fiction, a prestigious award sponsored by The Bread Loaf Writers' Conference of Middlebury College. His winning manuscript, American Masculine: Montana Stories, will be published by the independent publisher, Graywolf Press, in 2011.

Shann Ray is the nom de plume of Dr. Shann Ferch, a professor currently employed by Gonzaga University, where he teaches classes on leadership and forgiveness. His short stories have appeared in numerous literary journals such as Northwest Review, StoryQuarterly, McSweeney's and The South Dakota Review. He also is an award-winning poet, a Fulbright scholar, a former collegiate basketball player and a father of three daughters.

Get Lit! Programs recently contacted Shann Ray over email in regards to this blog posting. He generously and eloquently offered the following quote when asked about Spokane and the Northwests' influence on his poetry and prose:

"Spokane's lit scene is the place where I was given the gift of seeing the world with new eyes. The great psychiatrist, and holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl once said: 'what is to give light must endure burning.' Frankl also said the most true expression of our humanity is to give ourselves in the ultimate unselfish act of loving another human being. I agree. Here in Spokane, I feel such gratitude for the deep investment other literary artists have made in me. Poet Jonathan Johnson completely transformed my vision of life with others, beauty, and the crucible involved in prose that is both elegant and filled with torque. Poet Chris Howell's Light's Ladder shattered me, and then made me whole. Jess Walter's discernment regarding plot and the undercurrents that move society, and especially his kindness, have been invaluable. Sherman Alexie's poetry collection, The Summer of Black Widows, his collection of stories, War Dances, and his vitality and generosity as a person have helped keep my hope alive as a writer.

"The Northwest, a span of wildness and fire I think of as running from Washington to British Columbia and from Alberta to my home state of Montana is another form of crucible. Spending time with my dad in the high country, and letting the landscape absorb me has given me an abiding respect for the ravishing mystery that is the created world.

"Awe, violence, loneliness, emptiness, forgiveness, intimacy, fullness and grace are aspects of our relationship to landscape that help form the interior of my poems and stories and the people who inhabit them. Both landscape and people leave me with a breathtaking sense of the many subtle and enduring ways perfect love casts out fear."

For more about Shann Ray and his writing, visit his website

A New Auntie's Bookstore Location!

Auntie's Bookstore is expanding to Riverpark Square!

Remember where Children's Corner bookstore used to be? Auntie's has signed a three-year lease for a space on the second floor, just before the skybridge to Macy's.

The new Auntie's location will feature a variety of books and they will also have small gift items like t-shirts available for sale. While still to be determined, the books will most likely include a mixture of fiction, non-fiction, children's literature, magazines and more. And the new store will of course offer the same friendly, knowledgeable staff we've become accustomed to.

Auntie's owner, Chris O'Harra, envisions this location will reach out not only to visitors to Spokane who wouldn't necessarily stumble on the Main location, but also to casual mall shoppers who might otherwise choose a national chain bookstore.

As of now, Auntie's is aiming to be in the space this summer. Wow! Keep an eye out and drop by the new location to say hello!

Library Cuts

As you may have already seen in the Spokesman-Review and other news outlets, the proposed 2011 City of Spokane budget includes large cuts for Spokane libraries, which may result in an entire branch having to close or the elimination of an outreach program to seniors and preschoolers.

The budget proposal by Mayor Mary Verner is attempting to deal with an estimated $10 million shortfall as a result of the recession. While the library staff had foreseen budget cuts and already eliminated 2.85% of their budget, approximately $220,000, these proposed cuts are twice what they'd planned for.

The budget was proposed early in order for citizens to give feedback on the proposed cuts. To express your comments & concerns about the potential cuts, go to: Ask Spokane

The city currently has six library branches: Downtown, Shadle, South Hill, Hillyard, Eastside and Indian Trail. Due to the recession, visits to the library have increased by almost 6%, with last year being the busiest year on record.

Make sure to follow the link and give your feedback!

Want an Author at Your School?

It's that time of year again: time to sign up for a Writer-in-Residence at your school!

Get Lit!'s Writers-in-Residence Program pairs authors with K-12 schools in and around Spokane. The author works with three classrooms for an hour a week each, guiding discussions in literature and generating enthusiasm for writing. Since 2004, over 1,000 young writers have worked with a writer in residence, and each year they produce a Young Writers Anthology. Here is a poem from student Jacob Olsen at Lidgerwood Elementary from the 2009-2010 school year:

I Stopped a Volcano

I lived next to a volcano
and I was cooking
a saber-toothed tiger.
Before I took the first bite
the volcano erupted. All of the dinosaurs
were killed. I tried to stop it
but I fell in the volcano.
The volcano spit me out
and I was OK.
I stopped the volcano.
Then I called Yo-Yo my pet pterodactyl
and Yo-Yo picked me up with his legs
then I climbed on his back.
We flew away and my food
was burned from the volcano.

Here's another, by student Titus May at Lidgerwood Elementary:

Shiny Trumpet

My dad played a shiny new trumpet
in a band
he was really amazing
he played rock tunes
everyone loved him
I wanted to play it
but my grandpa sold it
for money
I miss that trumpet

The program also allows classroom teachers to develop new strategies to teach writing and literature, and the writers in residence leave behind their lesson plans so that other teachers can benefit from them as well.

Students from the WiR class at Barker Alternative School

From Momo Lesky:

Going For Now

walk me to the bus stop
high beams on in the dark cloudy rainy night
four wheeled vehicles race down the black tar river
from green to red, here's our chance to scamper across the road
the back cotton balls of sky let down wet cold tears
bright beamed and moaning like a woman in labor
the bus has come to take me home


There are a number of different options available. Your school can choose to have a Writer in Residence at your school for 26 weeks, 10 weeks, or a special field trip event.

Parents, teachers, students-have your school participate! For more information, look here for Options & Fees.

Poetry Book Release Party!

Willow Springs Books, the reincarnation of the Eastern Washington University Press, has produced a chapbook of poetry by American surrealist poet Adam Hammer, entitled No Time for Dancing. To celebrate the book's release, the graduate student staff of Willow Springs Books will be hosting a party at Coffee Social (113 West Indiana Ave) on Wednesday, June 9th at 7 p.m. and you are invited!

No Time for Dancing is Adam Hammer's second book of poetry. His first book, Deja Everything, was published by Lynx House Press in 1979. Hammer died in a car accident in 1984, and his remaining manuscripts were turned over to EWU professor Christopher Howell.

The Willow Springs Books staff is comprised of EWU MFA students who will be handing out buttons and reading poems from the collection. The students culled the 15 poems from the manuscripts left after Hammer's death, and their next project in the series will be a collected works of Adam Hammer.

Here is an excerpt from a poem, "The Ocean of Wire":

The pins which flow

through you like chemicals

are warmer than science, and

the cotton boat you do not

sleep in drifts toward the forest

of electricity. You are playing

a game of darts

with gravity,

and you are losing.

The book itself is only $10, with the proceeds supporting the production of the next chapbook in the series. Food and drinks will be available for purchase from Coffee Social and if you have any questions or want further information, check out our Willow Springs Books Facebook page

If you can’t attend, you can order the book by sending a check for $10 (made out to Willow Springs Books) to Willow Springs Books, Inland Northwest Center for Writers, 501 N. Riverpoint Blvd. Suite 425, Spokane, WA 99202. Be sure to include your current mailing address in the envelope.

InRoads Release Party!

EWU's Writers in the Community program will present its annual collection of creative writing from students across the city, InRoads. The release party will be held at the Empyrean Coffeehouse on June 3rd from 6-8 p.m. This is a free event and open to the public.

The students who contributed to the collection range from age 8 to 18, and this year's collection includes poetry and stories from Crosswalk Teen Center, Airway Heights, Havermale HS, LC, Wilson Elementary, Jefferson Elementary, Mead, North Central, Central Valley, ESD's NET Program, and many others.

In addition to the InRoads release, the event will also feature student films from the subVERSive Poetry Project. The subVERSive Poetry Project is a partnership with nonprofit Tincan and made possible by an EWU Student Diversity Grant. The films---from Garry Middle School, Medicine Wheel, Crosswalk, the SAC School, and Barker High School (ONE OF OUR WRITERS-IN-RESIDENCE SCHOOLS)---combine poetry, video production and social consciousness. Students are responsible for all the writing and filming, guided along the way by poetry and film experts.

Copies of InRoads will be available for $7 each (free to teachers and published contributors). T-shirts will be available for $6 each.

Have questions? Contact: Brandon Getz, Director of WITC, witc@eagles.ewu.edu

Youth Summer Reading and Writing Camps!

Now that the weather seems to be finally warming up, we're breaking out our flip-flops and starting to think about what to do this summer! Of course, there are a ton of options, but we'd like to spotlight some youth camps related to reading, writing, and storytelling. So when your child says in the third week of summer, "I'm tired of going to the pool," you can pull one of these out of your pocket:

The Corbin Art Center hosts a variety of classes, workshops, and camps for all ages:

Fun From A-Z - (registration number 11920)
Ages: 3 Yrs. to 5
Dates: July 5-July 9
Time: 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Fee: $27.00
For a week, let's create from the alphabet! Each day you will select several letters from the alphabet to include in fun art projects.

Creative Theater & Storytelling Camp (registration number 11982)
Ages: 6 Yrs. to 11 Yrs.
Dates: June 28-July 2
Time: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Fees: $104.00
Description: This is a one week camp with an innovative mix of interactive storytelling and role playing activities, games and prop, costume and mask making, is lots of fun and focuses on teaching skills in communication and concentration. Students assume the roles of characters and collaborate to tell stories in fantasy literature.

Character and Plot Development - (registration number 13737)
Ages: 14 Yrs. and over
Date: July 1
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Fee: $15.00
Description: This one day workshop is lead by Stephanie Splater. Strong fiction is driven by dynamic characters and enticing plots. Sharpen your skills in these key aspects of fiction writing with activities and discussions geared toward writing fiction that will sell. Bring your current work in progress (or writing samples will be provided) and something to write with.

Writing Fiction - (registration number 13735)
Ages: 14 Yrs. and over
Dates: Tuesdays July 6-July 27
Time: 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
Fee: $49.00
Description: Teens and adults are welcome to work with Neal Peters for a whole month of creative writing. Love to write, but feel intimidated to write a full-length novel? Feel the impulse, but never finish writing a story? Here's help to become your own editor and explore ways to finish projects. Topics include writing beginnings, middles, and ends, character construction and plotting. Bring a composition book and pen or pencil.

Pre-registration is required! For a list of the different classes, workshops and summer camps, go here. For general information on the Corbin Art Center, go here or visit spokaneparks.org.

Coeur d’Alene Arts Commission also offers multiple summer classes, but this one is particularly interesting to us:

Book Arts

Ages: grade levels 4-7
Dates: July 13, 14, 15
Time: 9:30 - 11:30 a.m.
Fee: $30
At: Harding Family Center, 411 N. 15th., Coeur d’Alene
Description: Share Sharalee Howard's love of books and art. For the last nine years she has been learning about, creating, teaching, and selling hand bound books. This class will explore a variety of bookbinding techniques.

For more information and to register, visit cdaid.org or call (208) 676-9132.

Saint George’s School offers Summer Camp classes to kids in the community:

Writing Workshop

Ages: grades K-2
Dates: August 16 to 20
Time: TBA
Fee: $125-$150
Complete course description is yet to be announced, but the class follows the primary writing program—words.


Stories Alive - Reader's Theater
Ages: grades 3-6 (and possibly younger)
Dates: June 21 to 25
Time: 9:00 am to Noon
Fee: $150
Words will come alive as you learn to create scripts from stories, poems and your own original work. You will learn about acting, directing and taking a character from the page to the stage. The week will culminate in a performance for friends and family showcasing your work as a writer and actor!

Registration Deadline is May 28. For more information, click here or call 466-1636 ext. 400


Central Valley School District offers the following to enhance reading and writing development:

Ages: elementary students, grades 1-2 or 3-5
Dates: Monday – Thursday June 23 – July 22 (No classes July 5)
Time: session from 8am – noon
At: Broadway Elementary
Fee: $150 per student (scholarships available)
Description: Elementary students in need of additional skill and strategy development in reading and math will benefit from Summer School 2010. Students will work in small groups.

Early Reading and Literacy for grades 1 and 2
A balanced approach to literacy and math is provided to help students become successful learners. Students will work on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary development and reading comprehension.

Intermediate Literacy for grades 3, 4 and 5
A balanced literacy framework forms the basis for this class. This includes fluency (recognizing new words and reading with ease) and comprehension (making connections between what a student hears and reads and then using thinking strategies effectively). Students will also gain experience writing for different purposes and audiences.

Ages: middle school students, grades 6-8
Dates: Monday – Thursday June 23 – July 22 (No classes July 5)
Time: session from 7:45 – 9:45 a.m. or session 2 from 10 a.m. – noon
At: Central Valley High School
Fee: $75 per session (scholarships available)
Description: Middle school students in need of additional skill and strategy development in reading and writing will benefit from Summer School 2010. Each session is designed to meet the needs of struggling students who would benefit from additional academic support. Teachers will develop a Student Learning Plan that addresses specific learning targets for each student. Each class will provide whole group, small group and individual instruction with a maximum class size of 15 students. Reading/Writing: Students in this class will work on strategies to build reading fluency, comprehension and writing skills using both fiction and nonfiction texts.

These classes are open to all students. For more information on these and high school related summer classes related to language arts click here, visit cvsd.org, or call 228-5400

Upcoming Readings for Kids

Here is a sampling of children's book readings happening in May and June!




Superhero Storytime: Reading from Superhero School by Aaron Reynolds & Andy Rash. Comic book lovers should stop by before Spokane Comicon to get inspired to draw some comics of their own! Saturday May 22, 11 a.m., Auntie's Bookstore

Colors of the Rainbow: Hear colorful stories read and make a cool mosaic light catcher.
Saturday May 29, 11 a.m., Auntie's Bookstore

Father's Day event, Storytime, crafts and treats revolving around good ol' Dad!
Saturday June 19, 11 a.m., Barnes & Noble, Eastside Location

Weekly Children's storytime, includes a reading and treats. 11 a.m. June 5, 19 and 26 (all Saturdays) Barnes & Noble, Eastside Location.
Clifford the Big Red Dog will be visiting! At the B&N children's stage and available for photos.
Saturday June 26, 11 a.m. Barnes & Noble, Eastside Location

Also, it seems like most bookstores in town will be having an event on June 12 to celebrate the release of Toy Story 3. For younger children, the corresponding book is already available at Auntie's Bookstore.

Last but definitely not least, all of the Spokane Public Library locations have preschool and toddler storytimes on a weekly basis. They recommend toddler storytime for 18-36 months and preschool storytime for ages 3-5. Check here for your local branch's schedule.


For More Information:

Auntie's Bookstore Events
Barnes & Noble Event Calendar
Borders Events

Help Spread the Word!

As we gear up for the 12th Annual Get Lit! Festival, we want to ensure that everyone in the community hears about the amazing lineup the festival has to offer. This year's festival has events, readings and workshops that will be entertaining, practical, enlightening, humorous, off-the-wall, inspiring and so much more. There are readings, panels and workshops for lit lovers of all ages by an array of award-winning writers like Janet Fitch, Richard Russo, Jess Walter, Reza Aslan, Anna Lappé , Sallie Tisdale, Victor Lodato, Janet Wong and many more.

The festival is designed to appeal to our entire community with events that engage as many individuals as possible. We'd love your help spreading the word about the festival, the more people know about it, the easier it will be for them to realize which events would be perfect for their son, daughter, teacher, spouse, coworker or friend. Every person who hears about the Get Lit! Festival and decides to attend even one event makes our arts community stronger!

We've made it really easy for you to help spread the word. It's as easy as printing a poster or linking to our website on your Facebook profile or blog. You can even Tweet about us, if you feel so inclined :)

We have 13 different posters, flyers and bookmarks for you to choose from, so feel free to print and post to your heart's content! Just go here to choose which flyer would be perfect for your workplace or favorite hangout spot.

If you'd like to link to us on your blog, Facebook, Twitter or other site, here is the link to our homepage.

And, of course, good old fashioned word of mouth is tried and true.

Page Ahead: View From the Judge's Table by Guest Blogger Cecelia Goodnow

Get Lit! Programs is once again working with Page Ahead Children's Literacy Program at our annual festival. This year we are hosting a book drive to gather new books for children up to age 12. You can drop off books at any Numerica Credit Union branch, at the INB Performing Arts Center, or any festival event during the month of April.

Get Lit! was also asked to participate in judging for the first Page Ahead Book Award. The categories were picture books in nonfiction, read-aloud, and multicultural. I learned about snowflakes and the boy who actually invented television and discovered many great titles to add to my collection. Each one had something to offer, so it was hard to choose the winners. Below is an insider's look at our book discussion by guest blogger Cecilia Goodnow.

"Does anyone have any thoughts about the next category?"

Susan Waller, development coordinator for the Page Ahead, scanned the faces of the judges ranged around the conference table high above downtown Seattle. We were there to select the winners of Page Ahead's Best Books for Kids, the literacy group's inaugural children's book contest.

I bit. With the confidence of conviction, I pulled my favorite multicultural book from the stack of nominees and argued its merits.

"Clearly," I concluded, "this is the standout title in the category."

A head nodded, and I prepared to take a victory lap. But then another judge spoke up:

"I hated that book."

"I did, too," said another.

Huh?

It was a graphic demonstration of what we all know in the abstract -- that reading tastes are highly personal and individualistic. They also can be quite passionate, as we learned from fellow judge Cecilia McGowen, head children's librarian of the King County Library System. McGowen, who has served on other awards committees, said tears and angry words can spill out in the heat of rhetorical battle. She even heard of one disagreement that was punctuated by a slap.

Fortunately, we were a congenial and collegial group, and we had a lot of fun this afternoon discussing the pros and cons of the titles under consideration. It went kind of like this:

Judge A: "I'm sorry none of your favorites was chosen. I don't want you to feel your opinion isn't being heard."

Judge B: (chuckling) "That's okay. It's not about me."

In addition to McGowen and yours truly, the "deciders" included Rene Kirkpatrick, former buyer at All for Kids and now a buyer at Third Place Books; Stephanie Dunnewind, who reviews kids' books for The Seattle Times, and (via speakerphone from Spokane) Dani Ringwald of Get Lit! Programs, which sponsors an annual literary festival. Waller and Jacki Crowther, Page Ahead's book program manager, rounded out the selection committee.

The scene was a 48th-floor conference room inside the Washington Mutual Tower, in the sprawling offices of Perkins Coie, the Northwest's oldest and largest law firm. We had a great view of the misty city and kept ourselves stoked with a tempting array of snacks from Trader Joe's, so it was well nigh impossible to be cranky about anything. And it was all for a good cause.

Page Ahead launched the contest, which is planned as an annual event, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its literacy outreach. Since 1990 the organization has donated some 2 million new books to more than 600,000 low-income and at-risk children. Through its Family Involvement Program, it works to encourage parents to read aloud to their children. In fact, Read-Aloud was one of the categories in this year's contest, along with Nonfiction and Multicultural titles.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in late April, so I can't divulge the outcome of our vote, but I can share the list of nominees. Feel free to jump in with your opinions, pro or con, on the titles we considered.

Nonfiction

Butterflies and Moths, by Nic Bishop

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11, by Brian Floca

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth, by Kathleen Krull

The Story of Snow: The Science of Winter's Wonder, by Mark Cassino

Boy, Were We Wrong About the Solar System! by Kathleen V. Kudlinski

Read Aloud

Duck! Rabbit! by Amy Krouse Rosenthal

Maybe a Bear Ate It! by Robie Harris

Thunder-Boomer! by Shutta Crum

A Book, by Mordicai Gerstein

The Three Little Tamales, by Eric A. Kimmel

Multicultural

One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference, by Katie Smith Milway

14 Cows for America, by Carmen Agra Deedy

The Beckoning Cat, by Koko Nishizuka

Our Children Can Soar, by Michelle Cook

Book Fiesta! by Pat Mora

Cecelia Goodnow has been writing about children's books for two decades, initially as a reporter for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Her newspaper career has led her to many topics, including education, politics, lifestyle trends, health and pop culture, but some of her most rewarding stories have been about the world of children's books, whose talented creators too often go unsung. Read more about news, reviews, and dialog about books for children and teens from the Cover to Cover blog here.

Earth Day is on its way!

Earth Day, celebrated in the US on April 22nd, is a day designed to raise and inspire awareness & appreciation for the Earth's environment. Earth Day itself was founded by U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson as an environmental teach-in in 1970 and is celebrated in many countries around the world.

At the Get Lit! Festival we are celebrating Earth Day with three environmental events featuring festival author and co-founder of the Small Planet Institute, Anna Lappé.

On Wednesday, April 15th at 7pm, Ms. Lappé will read and discuss her newest book, Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It at Spokane Community College's Lair Auditorium. Her book proposes a farming method that is nature mentored, restorative, regenerative, resilient, and community empowered, as well as a diet to reduce carbon and cool the planet.

The following morning on Thursday, April 15^th at 9:30am, Lappé will open up the conversation at SCC’s Hagan Foundation Center for the Humanities (locate in the library building, 2^nd floor) to discuss your sustainability concerns. For more information about Anna Lappé and her various works, please visit her bio page.

Both events with Anna Lappé on April 14 and 15 at SCC are free and open to the public. For more information about the events, visit the Get Lit! Programs website! You'll also find 50 other events to choose from!

On Saturday, April 17^th, Spokane is celebrating Earth Day, so why not ride your bike, your toboggan, the bus, or just walk on downtown and make a day of celebrating literature and the Earth! Come on down and catch some Get Lit! events on the 17^th, then check out the Earth Day Spokane events to honor Earth Day. The Earth Day celebration will take place April 17th, 11am to midnight on Main street between Division and Brown, in the streets and on the sidewalks!

Wrap up your week of Earth Day and Get Lit! events by checking out the film What’s on Your Plate? During Get Lit! Flicks at the Magic Lantern on Tuesday, April 20^th at 7:15, a documentary featuring commentary by Anna Lappé.

April is a great month for book and Earth lovers!