Bedtime Stories

You may be familiar with the annual Bedtime Stories, the Humanities Washington gala that promotes storytelling, critical thinking and conversation. During the event, Northwest authors take over the stage to fundraise for Humanities Washington's efforts, sharing works that spin off of the gala's main theme, as well as engaging each other and the audience in noteworthy conversation. This year, the Bedtime Stories theme is Red Eye and will be taking place in Seattle, Washington on Friday, October 12. The author line-up includes Kathleen Flenniken, Charles Johnson, Kevin O'Brien, Amy Wheeler, and Nancy Pearl will be running the mike as the event's emcee.

For those literary lovers who would be interested in going, but feel that Seattle is a couple too many hours across the way, we have good news: for the first time, Humanities Washington will be holding Bedtime Stories here in Spokane, Washington as well. The opening Spokane roster features local writers like Kim Barnes, Jim Lynch, Shann Ray, and Nance Van Winckel. Our very own Jess Walter, author of Beautiful Ruins, will take over the stage as the evening's host.

In addition to the brain-storming and thought-provoking conversation, Bedtime Stories will be offering food for hungry writers, and various types of wine to wet those parched throats. Spokane's Bedtime Stories will be held on Friday, September 28 at 6:15pm in Skyline Ballroom, Red Lion Hotel at the Park. Individual tickets will be going on sale this summer. For more information on either event about remaining tickets, event sponsorship, or purchasing a table, reach Kari Dasher at 206.682.1770 x103, or email her kari@humanities.org.

Jess Walter - Author Reading

Most of our readers know him and his work fairly well, but we never miss an opportunity to hear Jess Walter read. Not only was he was a headlining author of EWU's  Get Lit! Festival in April, reading with Colson Whitehead as well as participating in the Comedy as Commentary  panel, but he's been a longtime supporter of the literary arts in Spokane. He's the author of five novels and one nonfiction book, including The Zero (2006), The Financial Lives of Poets (2009), and most recently, Beautiful Ruins (2012). He is the winner of the Edgar Allen Poe award, a National Book Award Finalist, and has been published in a variety of magazines, literary journals, and newspapers. His books have been sold in fifteen different countries, translated into thirteen languages, and his success won't stop with his latest publication- he already has another book on deck, a collection of short stories to be released in March 2013.

Beautiful Ruins, the novel, begins on the sun-drenched shores of an Italian coastline, featuring a relationship between a simple innkeeper and a dying American actress. Their romance, whose origins lay in 1962 Italy, are rekindled 50 years later and half a world away on American soil. History, dreams, and memories arise in the novel, which he'll read from at Auntie's Bookstore on June 12 at 7 p.m.You won't want to miss it!

Kate McLachlan - Author Reading

This Friday, May 18, Auntie's Bookstore welcomes Kate McLachlan, an author dwelling in Eastern Washington with her wife, two dogs, and a cat. After teaching public school for roughly fourteen years McLachlan decided to give law school a try, seeking a day job that would muster her creative juices. Her energy prompted her to deliver three books: Rip Van Dyke (June 2010), Rescue at Inspiration Point (November 2011), and her most recent, Hearts, Dead and Alive (March 2012).

McLachlan will be reading excerpts from her latest book, which revolves around Kimberly Wayland, a fifth grade teacher, coming across a human heart in a dumpster and the chaotic mysteries that follow. Most of McLachlan's books incorporate several genres such as time travel, mystery, and historical fiction.

The discussion begins promptly at 7 pm. For more information visit Auntie's Bookstore at www.auntiesbooks.com, or call 509.838.0206

Jonathan Potter and Travis Laurence Naught

Auntie's Bookstore in Spokane, WA is famous for bringing in amazing authors to read, discuss, and socialize with those interested in the writer's craft. This Thursday, May 10, will be no different as both Jonathan Potter and Travis Laurence Naught visit Auntie's to read from their work and share their views on the craft of poetry.

Jonathan Potter will be speaking about his first book of poems, House of Words. Published by Korrectiv Press, the poems laid upon these pages spin theories of words and of life--indeed, the whole book is dedicated to his wife and the celebration of their marriage. The simple gray cover of House of Words--a farmhouse settled in a quiet field--offers an eerie quality to the book, but there is nothing otherwordly about these poems, only images of beauty, struggle, and devotion are ignited once you begin to read.

The Virgin Journals depicts Travis Laurence Naught's experiences on living life as a quadriplegic. His poems challenge the reader to forget about physical disabilities, about anything that can hold one back from what is truly beautiful in life. Separated into three elements--Life, Love, and the World--Naught is able to deliver truth in every word. His raw perspective of the world eliminates any sugar-coating, and he is unafraid and unapologetic throughout every piece.