Wednesday, August 28, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
21
Sisters celebrates literary culture with festival
Sisters9 strong lineup
of festivals is one stronger
4 with the addition of the
Sisters Festival of Books set
for this October.
Sisters Festival of Books
is a three-day celebra-
tion of the literary culture
of Central Oregon and the
Pacific Northwest. The fes-
tival features more than 40
local, regional, and national
authors and takes place across
multiple venues in Sisters.
Books featured at the festi-
val will cover a wide range
of subjects, including poli-
tics, Western historical fic-
tion, Vikings, motherhood,
romance, Arctic exploration,
Central Oregon recreational
activities, and more.
The idea for the festival
was sparked by local resi-
dent Mac Hay, who travels
annually to the Edinburgh
International Book Festival
in Scotland. Hay9s reports on
the festival have been fea-
tured in The Nugget. While
the Edinburgh festival is huge
in scope, Hay was convinced
that Sisters could adapt the
model and provide a perfect
venue for a festival of its own.
<This started with Mac
coming to me and talk-
ing about his love for the
Edinburgh Book Festival and
his feeling that Sisters needs
one,= said Lane Jacobson,
owner of Paulina Springs
Books in Sisters. <It just
seemed like a no-brainer. It
made a lot of sense.=
Jacobson, assisted by Ann
Richardson, began shaping
an inaugural festival that fits
Sisters.
He told The Nugget that
the festival offers <a high
concentration of authors in a
short period of time at a rea-
sonable cost 4 and also (the
opportunity) to mingle with
like-minded book lovers,
which is also a big part of it.=
The Festival begins Friday,
October 18, at FivePine Lodge
and Conference Center with
a catered reception featuring
some favorite Central Oregon
authors including Paul Alan
Bennett, Jill Stanford, Craig
Rullman, Jim Barnett,
Joshua Savage,
Jim Cornelius
and more.
The Festival continues on
Saturday with a full lineup of
author events, a pop-up book-
store at the festival venue,
and author dinners. Some of
Saturday9s featured authors
include the renowned North
Carolina author David Joy,
whose novels <Where All
Light Tends To Go,= <The
Weight Of This World,= and
<The Line That Held Us=
have won critical acclaim
and a fiercely loyal read-
ership. Joy is a native of
the North Carolina moun-
tains, as familiar with the
fly rod as he is with his pen.
He is also the author of the
memoir <Growing Gills: A
Fly Fisherman9s Journey,=
was a finalist for the Reed
Environmental Writing Award
and the Ragan Old North
State Award.
Other featured authors
include Oregon Poet Laureate
Kim Stafford, former con-
gressman Les AuCoin,
NYT Bestselling Author
Jane Kirkpatrick (<One
More River to Cross=), Bill
Sullivan (author of the <100
Hikes= series of guidebooks,
<Listening for Coyote,=
and <The Ship in the Hill=),
Debra Gwartney (<I Am
a Stranger Here Myself=),
Molly Gloss (<Unforeseen:
Stories, The Hearts of Horses,
Falling from Horses=), and
Meaghan O9Connell (<And
Now We Have Everything:
On Motherhood Before I Was
Ready=).
Sunday will feature pri-
marily kid- and family-
focused events in-store at
Paulina Springs Books.
Programming includes story
times, sing-alongs, coloring
and more.
Proceeds from the festi-
val will be used to establish
a scholarship fund for Sisters
High School students through
the Sisters Graduate Resource
Organization (Sisters GRO).
Like other festivals in
Sisters, the Sisters Festival
of Books aims to support the
local economy.
<From a business per-
spective, the timing is great
because it helps extend
the shoulder sea-
son just a
little bit
longer,= Jacobson said.
There will be a couple of
workshops associated with
this inaugural event, an aspect
of the festival Jacobson
expects to see expand in sub-
sequent years. Eventually,
Jacobson sees the Sisters
Festival of Books following
in the footsteps of other suc-
cessful Sisters events.
<In the future we want it to
be inspired by the Sisters Folk
Festival where the whole town
is a venue,= Jacobson said.
For information and tickets
visit www.brownpapertickets.
com/event/4276088.
DINING & TAKE-OUT
until midnight every night
Menu at SistersSaloon.net
541-549-RIBS
190 E. Cascade Ave.