The wait is over! Registration and tickets for The Nature of Words, Central Oregon’s premier literary event, scheduled for November 5-9, 2008 in Bend, Oregon are now available. Tickets for guest author readings, workshops and the dinner and panel discussion can be purchased at The Ticket Mill, Old Mill District, Bend in person or via phone (541.318.5457). Tickets to the two nights of author readings only are also available at the Tower Theatre box office (phone 541.317.0700) or via www.towertheatre.org. Author reading tickets are free to students with valid ID and discounted for seniors age 65 and over only at the Ticket Mill.

Read full press release

The Nature of Words showcases acclaimed writers in fiction, literary non-fiction and poetry. The festival also includes an awards event for winners of the Rising Star competition for high school- and college-age writers. Venues include:

• Rising Star Creative Writing Competition Awards for Young Writers – November 5, 7:00 p.m., Central Oregon Community College (COCC) Library – free to the public.
• Guest Author Readings and Book Signings – November 6 and 7, 7:00 p.m., Tower Theatre.
• VIP Reception – November 7, 5:30 p.m., Umpqua Bank, downtown Bend.
• Guest Author Workshops – November 7 and 8, morning and afternoon, Oregon State University (OSU)-Cascades Campus and COCC Library.
• Dinner and Guest Author Panel Discussion – November 8, 6:00 p.m., High Desert Museum.
• Open Mic – November 9, 11:00 a.m., Bend Public Library, Brooks Room – free to the public.

The guest author line-up includes:

Special Recognition
Ursula K. Le Guin, icon of the science fiction and fantasy genre, winner of numerous awards, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist, author of The Left Hand of Darkness, the six books of the Earthsea series, and most recently Lavinia. Ms. Le Guin will receive an award in recognition of her body of work.

Fiction
Pam Houston, short story writer whose work has won The O. Henry Award, The Pushcart Prize, and inclusion in Best American Short Stories of the Century; author of two collections of linked short stories, Cowboys Are My Weakness and Waltzing the Cat. Houston is also a novelist (Sighthound), essayist and playwright.

Luis Urrea, 2005 Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Devil’s Highway: A True Story, and author of The Hummingbird’s Daughter, a best-selling novel culminating 20 years of research. Author of 11 books, Urrea has also written a memoir and a collection of poetry.

Literary Non-fiction
Charles Bowden, non-fiction author, journalist, and essayist, who writes about the environment and social issues along the U.S.-Mexico border An outspoken advocate for the desert Southwest, Bowden is winner of the Lannan Award for Juarez: The Laboratory of our Future. His most recent title is A Shadow in the City: Confessions of an Undercover Dog.

Craig Childs, naturalist and desert ecologist whose works combine science and adventure travel; winner of the Colorado Book Award and the Spirit of the West Literary Achievement Award. In 2007, Childs published Animal Dialogues: Uncommon Encounters in the Wild. Other titles include House of Rain: Tracking a Vanished Civilization Across the American Southwest and Soul of Nowhere.

Poetry
Ekiwah Adler-Belendez, 19-year old bilingual poet prodigy from Mexico who published his first book at age 12. Ekiwah is the author of several volumes of poetry: Soy (I Am); Palabras Inagotables, (Never-ending Words); Weaver (2003), his first book in English, and The Coyote’s Trace.

Judith Barrington, poet and memoirist who has published three collections of poetry, a prize-winning memoir, and a widely-used text on writing literary memoir. Her most recent poetry is collected in a new chapbook, Postcard From the Bottom of the Sea. Her most recent full length book is Horses and the Human Soul.

Patricia Smith, four-time national individual champion slam poet, known worldwide as one of the few performance poets whose work also translates to the written page. Smith has published Blood Dazzler, Teahouse of the Almighty and two additional poetry collections.

Guest author-led workshops will cover an array of topics including:

Ursula K. Le Guin: Going Through the Looking Glass with Alice (special lecture)
Luis Urrea: The Hummingbird’s Workshop: The Theory and Practice of Trust
Craig Childs: Full Frontal Nature Writing
Judith Barrington: What Makes a Poem a Poem: On Not Going to the Edge of the Page
Pam Houston: Writing From the Physical World
Ekiwah Adler-Belendez: Poems From the Inner Witness
Charles Bowden: Writing for Magazines: Formula or Free Style
Patricia Smith: Walking Through the Long Ago

Two additional workshop-only authors will present these topics:

George Venn: Where Can I Find That? – Tools for Writing Historical Fiction
Christopher Zinn: The Art of Reading – How To Be a Better Reader

More information is available at www.thenatureofwords.org, via info@thenatureofwords.org or by calling 541.330.4381 or 541.480.3933.