This Thursday, November 7, the Nature of Words kicks off its ninth annual Literary Festival with four days of writing workshops, guest author readings and signings, lectures, and more (finishing up on Sunday the 10th). It is to the literary arts what BendFilm is to independent cinema and they have a great slate of events lined up:

Thursday:

• Multicultural Lecture with guest author Lawson Inada (12:00 p.m.) – $25 at COCC Wille Hall
• Rising Star Creative Writing Competition Awards Ceremony (7:00 p.m.) – Free at COCC Hitchcock Auditorium

Friday:

• Reading and Reception with Guest Author James Prosek at 3pm at the Confluence Fly Fishing Shop in the Old Mill – By invitation
• VIP Reception at Umpqua Bank downtown at 5:30pm – By invitation
• Guest Author Readings and Book Signings at the Tower Theatre (7:00 p.m.) featuring Lawson Inada (poetry), James Prosek (creative nonfiction), Karen Finneyfrock (slam poetry and young adult fiction) and Jim Lynch (fiction) – $30 at the Tower Theatre

Saturday:

• Guest Author Workshops and Lectures (9:00 a.m. through 3:00 p.m.) – variously priced at the OSU-Cascades Campus Cascades Hall
• Fireside Author Reception (7:00 p.m.) – $50 at Aspen Hall in Shevlin Park

Sunday:

• Second Sunday Author Reading with guest author Dr. Emily Carr, followed by an open mic from 11am to 1pm – Free at Bend Public Library’s Brooks Room

That’s a great lineup of things to attend, and you can buy tickets to all of them here, except for the Tower Theatre event which you can buy here.

This is definitely a great festival with some excellent events that I’d encourage everyone interested in writing—or even just an avid reader—to consider attending. You won’t be sorry you did!