BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 X-WR-CALNAME:getlitfestival2026 X-WR-CALDESC:Event Calendar METHOD:PUBLISH CALSCALE:GREGORIAN PRODID:-//Sched.com Get Lit! Festival 2026//EN X-WR-TIMEZONE:UTC BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T173000Z DTEND:20260417T193000Z SUMMARY:Craft Class: Poetry with Keetje Kuipers DESCRIPTION:Writing a poem is always a vulnerable undertaking\, but it becomes an even more delicate and dangerous act when we as people rather than as poets are implicated in the act. The Latin root of the word humility\, “humus\,” means "of the earth." So to humble ourselves inside the poem—to attempt to answer the question of what we’ve sometimes gotten painfully\, harmfully wrong as we’ve moved through the world—is work that requires getting a little muddy. What might it be like for our poems to get down in the dirt\, to put ourselves and our poems at worm level? In this class\, we will concentrate on writing towards the places in our poems where humility manifests itself as a clarity of vision of ourselves in relation to the world. We’ll accomplish this through reading\, drafting\, and revision that asks each of us to create a poetics of humility that yields not a poem of regret but of wonder—at change\, at realization\, at the endless\, humble prospect of still-to-be-seen possibility.\n\nThis is a ticketed event. Tickets ($35 + fees) are on sale now!\n\nPurchase Keetje Kuiper's books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey! CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Events A\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:b9a4335401b91a2b860a747776893790 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/b9a4335401b91a2b860a747776893790 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T180000Z DTEND:20260417T190000Z SUMMARY:A Reading and Conversation with Willy Vlautin DESCRIPTION:Please join us at Emerge CDA\, an arts nonprofit in Couer d'Alene\, Idaho\, for a reading and conversation with novelist and songwriter\, Willy Vlautin. Willy will be in conversation with faculty member Jonathan Frey from North Idaho College. Willy Vlautin's \;bestselling novel\, The Horse\, explores regret\, addiction\, and loneliness through the lens of a grizzled\, aging musician. \;It won the Joyce Carol Oates prize and is regarded as one of his most personal works to date. His new novel The Left and the Lucky examines how circumstances shape our lives\, and how unexpected friendship can save lives. Thank you to EWU MFA Alum\, Jonathan Frey\, for putting this event together. This event is free and open to the public. \n\nThank you to North Idaho College for their partnership!\n\nPurchase Willy Vlautin's books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey! \n\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Emerge CDA\, 119 N 2nd St\, Coeur d'Alene\, ID 83814 SEQUENCE:0 UID:aa0b1f6fe1f8b6250e5625f28a53428a URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/aa0b1f6fe1f8b6250e5625f28a53428a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T180000Z DTEND:20260417T190000Z SUMMARY:Record Your Own Poetry Moment with Spokane Public Radio DESCRIPTION:Have you ever dreamed of being on the radio? Do you crave an audience for your poetry\, or do you have a favorite poem that you wish the whole world had read? Look no further\, because we are thrilled to continue our partnership with Spokane Public Radio’s Poetry Moment! You may have heard SPR’s Poetry Moment on SPR Classical (KSFC 91.9)\, which airs every weekday at 9am and provides an outlet for the creatives of Spokane\, and a daily dose of poetry for all listeners. We’re offering all festivalgoers a chance to record their own Poetry Moment in the Central Library’s podcasting studio! Poetry Moment readers will be welcome to share a poem by their favorite poet\, or read their own work. Readers will be chosen on a first-come-first-served basis\, so we encourage you to show up early to form a line. Please make sure to read the guidelines here before you arrive. Don’t miss the chance to share a Poetry Moment on the airwaves! \;\n\nTo check out an \;example\, here are five poems read for the Poetry Moment by festival author Laura Read\, including one of her own.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, no tickets are required\, but participation is first-come-first-served. Folks will sign up with a volunteer outside the studio to record. \;\n\nThank you to Spokane Public Radio and the Spokane Public Library for their partnership!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Podcasting Studio\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:5cce0c074c4d44875110e64290c45a6a URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/5cce0c074c4d44875110e64290c45a6a END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T190000Z DTEND:20260417T200000Z SUMMARY:Table Reads: A No-Mic Open Mic DESCRIPTION:Have you always wanted to participate in an open mic but maybe you’ve been intimidated by reading in front of a large crowd? Maybe microphones send shivers down your spine? We have created the perfect opportunity to build your confidence and let you test the public reading waters in a safe and supportive space. Readers will be seated around a table\, and you’ll have the opportunity to read 1-5 minutes of your own work\, standing up or sitting down—it’s up to you! This event is perfect for first-time readers\, but all are welcome. With festival author Ren Cedar Fuller as the host\, this event will be welcoming to authors looking for an encouraging and intimate setting to share their original poetry or prose. Capacity will be low\, so make sure to arrive early to take advantage of this unique low-stakes open mic!\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (20) and attendees should arrive early to guarantee a seat.  \;\n\nThank you to the Spokane Public Library for their partnership on this event!\n\nPurchase Ren Cedar Fuller's books via our official festival bookseller \;Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Conference B\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:f37fe353f300208d6496968835ba62e2 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/f37fe353f300208d6496968835ba62e2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T200000Z DTEND:20260417T220000Z SUMMARY:Craft Class: Nonfiction with Tessa Hulls DESCRIPTION:Into the Body\, Out of the Mind\nWriting is a solitary\, sedentary act—but how can we harness the wisdom and flow of our bodies to innovate in how we use our words? This generative\, multidisciplinary workshop will draw from unexpected sources to encourage us to think about language as a physical force. You need absolutely zero drawing skills for this class\, but bring blank (not lined!) paper and a pencil (other materials welcome: bring colored pencils\, pens\, or watercolors if you have them). Come prepared to explore your senses\, move your body\, and surprise yourself. Be aware that some of the work samples used in this class will touch on heavy themes.\n\nThis is a ticketed event. Tickets ($35 + fees) are on sale now!\n\nPurchase Tessa Hulls' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Events A\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:1aebc5625415d37948813f34d70627dc URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/1aebc5625415d37948813f34d70627dc END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T210000Z DTEND:20260417T220000Z SUMMARY:Daring to Debut: The Journey to Publication DESCRIPTION:Celebrating the publication of a first book is an exciting milestone in an author’s life\, but it’s not always clear how that process happens. Join us for an intimate discussion around a conference table about the ins and outs of publishing your debut! Writers Lauren Westerfield and Ally Ang will lead a casual conversation\, telling the story of how their first works came to be and answering any questions you might have about this process. Lauren Westerfield’s first book\, Depth Control\, a collection of genre-bending essays\, was published in 2025 by Unsolicited Press\, and Lauren’s debut memoir Woman House was just published this spring. Ally Ang’s Let the Moon Wobble\, an honor book for the 2026 Stonewall Book Award\, was published by Alice James Books in 2025. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the path to publishing in both poetry and prose! \;\n\nNote that this event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (20) and attendees should arrive early to guarantee a seat. \;\n\nThank you to the Spokane Public Library for their partnership on this event!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Conference B\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:363ebe5662503576fd8fecd4e13ec000 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/363ebe5662503576fd8fecd4e13ec000 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T220000Z DTEND:20260418T000000Z SUMMARY:Saranac Art Projects Gallery Show and Author's Reception DESCRIPTION:For the third year in a row\, we are thrilled to partner with Saranac Art Projects\, Spokane’s contemporary artist collective and gallery\, to present a special exhibition of visual art created by Spokane artists\, inspired by our festival authors. A group of Saranac's artists were given a list of all of our 2026 festival authors and they each chose a writer who inspired them to create a visual art piece. The artists worked throughout the winter on the pieces that will be presented at this exhibition. We are inviting festival authors and community members to gather together at the Saranac Art Gallery for a gallery show and author’s reception. This is a chance for festival authors and attendees to mix\, mingle and enjoy some light refreshments\, courtesy of Get Lit! and Saranac Art Projects. Authors can continue to connect and attendees can have a chance to meet the faces of this year’s festival! We encourage our attendees to use this time to gather in solidarity and enjoy inspired visual art with other creative community members!\n\nHere are this year's participating artists and the festival authors they were inspired by:\nRebekah Wilkins-Pepiton–Lindsey Drager\nHannah Koeske-Rollins–Laura Read\nLena Lopez Schindler–Maya Jewel Zeller & Mita Mahato\nTobe Harvey–Joe Wilkins\nMariah Boyle–Jess Walter\nOlivia Evans–Margaret Albaugh\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. Thank you to Saranac Art Projects for their partnership!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Saranac Art Projects\, 25 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:09af869f1087e0bf0a61009312e5c193 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/09af869f1087e0bf0a61009312e5c193 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260417T223000Z DTEND:20260418T003000Z SUMMARY:Craft Class: Fiction with Willy Vlautin DESCRIPTION:Dialogue\, Dialogue\, Dialogue: A Fiction Craft Class with Willy Vlautin\n\nHow I fell in love with novels is dialogue. As a kid I read all my mom’s John D. MacDonald and John le Carré thrillers and found myself constantly skipping to the dialogue sections. Dialogue was where the drama hid\, where the characters sparred\, romanced\, deceived\, and despaired. The more I studied it the more I learned that every writer approached dialogue differently. There was no right or wrong way. The trick was to find your own way\, your own style. We’ll look at dialogue masters like Roddy Doyle and Elmore Leonard and we’ll also examine the power of dialogue in film. We’ll discuss a handful of dos and don’ts\, and of course we’ll have a dialogue writing prompt at the end\, where time permitting\, we’ll share what we’ve written. \n\nThis is a ticketed event. Tickets ($35 + fees) are on sale now!\n\nPurchase Willy Vlautin's books via our official festival bookseller \;Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:Spokane Central Library: Events A\, 906 W Main Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:f4517cbebfb5483ecf31e8addb512d08 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/f4517cbebfb5483ecf31e8addb512d08 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T000000Z DTEND:20260418T020000Z SUMMARY:Book Fair Preview Party! DESCRIPTION:Join us for an exciting ticketed preview party to get to know our Book Fair vendors the night before our Book Fair officially opens to the public! You’ll have a more intimate opportunity to shop and get to know all of the bookish organizations\, local non-profits\, booksellers\, literary journals\, artists\, and much more. We have asked all Book Fair vendors to offer something extra fun and exciting for this special preview night. That could be hands-on activities like making collages with Art Salvage or a \;printmaking demo with SPPC\; or\, special deals like buy-one-get-one free on titles from Latah Books! We will also have light snacks available for purchase at the venue\, along with some special cocktails and mocktails inspired by the festival! \;We can’t wait to share what else everyone has planned. Don’t miss this exciting way to kick off our 2026 festival Book Fair! \;\n\nIn addition to the deals and activities\, we are thrilled to present an opportunity for authors and attendees alike to get FREE headshots taken \;by Freeze Frame Visuals! \;More information on that and how to sign up on the night\, coming soon.\n\nGrab your tickets ($10 + fees) here!\n\nWe can’t wait to share what else everyone has planned. We will update this listing to include more information on what special activities or deals the vendors have in store as we get closer to April. \;Don’t miss this exciting way to kick off our 2026 festival Book Fair and support our vibrant bookish community!\n\nBook Fair vendors include: \;\n\nAuntie’s Bookstore\, Girl Noise Press\, Latah Books\, Makeout Creek Books\, Melanie Hewitt AKA LibroBuch\, Airlie Press\, Eastern Oregon University\, Willow Springs Magazine\, Willow Springs Books\, Rock & Sling\, Range Media\, Spokane Print and Publishing Center\, Western Colorado University\, Poetry Northwest\, Spark Central\, Spokane Arts\, Art Salvage\, Banana Slug Books\, SpokAnimal\, Spokane Public Radio\, Foray for the Arts\, Carbonation Press\, The Fig Tree\, Gray Dog Press\, Weird Lit\, and Wishing Tree Books.\n\nCarbonation Press will be giving away a free poster-sized version of the cover art for the anthology Down River\, Deep Root signed by contributors. \;Join us on Friday night to learn how to win!\n\nThis event is ticketed. Tickets will go on sale March 10th and links will be included here and on our website. \;\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Montvale Hall\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:25c0aaf39d99b67b54b1dfb2d329904f URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/25c0aaf39d99b67b54b1dfb2d329904f END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T020000Z DTEND:20260418T033000Z SUMMARY:The Writer’s Memoir DESCRIPTION:Every writer knows there’s never one way to tell a story\, which makes the writer’s memoir rich for experimentation. We are thrilled to welcome this panel of award-winners and groundbreakers\, Tessa Hulls\, Mita Mahato\, Maya Jewell Zeller\, Lauren Westerfield\, and Margaret Albaugh\, for our Friday night headlining event celebrating memoirs that defy genre. This panel features writers at varying stages of the memoir writing process from drafting and experimenting with forms\, to celebrating their debut\, to the Pulitzer Prize. These writers all work in many genres and a vast array of mediums including photography\, and they will inspire us all with what hybridity makes possible. Whether it's the intergenerational turmoil of Tessa Hulls’ Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Feeding Ghosts\, or the shifting landscape of rural American poverty in Maya Jewell Zeller's rhizomatic memoir-in-essays Raised by Ferns—all five of these writers present both their lives and their crafts in genre-defying leaps of literary prowess.\n\nThis is a ticketed headlining event ($35 + fees). Tickets are on sale now! \;\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\n There will also be a FREE livestream option available for this event! Here's the link to watch live!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:1b825071342eb216d43c84792edd02c4 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/1b825071342eb216d43c84792edd02c4 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T160000Z DTEND:20260419T000000Z SUMMARY:Book Fair DESCRIPTION:Join us for our annual Book Fair at the Montvale Event Center\, which includes access to more than a dozen festival events featuring festival authors Keetje Kuipers\, Ally Ang\, Maya Jewell Zeller\, Prageeta Sharma\, Joe Wilkins\, Laura Read\, Lindsey Drager\, and many others! Events include readings\, panel discussions\, reading and writing sessions\, an exciting rooftop reading and open mic with Foray for the Arts\, and so much more! The Book Fair will host 25+ local and regional booksellers\, small presses\, non-profits\, and other bookish organizations. DOMA Coffee Roasting Company will be serving FREE coffee from 9am-12pm! This year’s Book Fair and all daytime Saturday events at the Montvale Event Center are free and open to the public–no ticket purchase necessary. Come for a few events or stay all day!\n\nThis year's Book Fair is free and open to the public - no ticket is required and attendees can come and go to the Book Fair and events on all three floors of the venue as they please. We have noted in the event descriptions that some events have low capacity\, so you will want to arrive early to get a seat. \;\n\nHere's who you'll find at this year's Book Fair!\n\nAuntie’s Bookstore\, Girl Noise Press\, Latah Books\, Makeout Creek Books\, Melanie Hewitt AKA LibroBuch\, Arlie Press\, Eastern Oregon University\, Willow Springs Magazine\, Willow Springs Books\, Rock & Sling\, Range Media\, Spokane Print and Publishing Center\, Western Colorado University\, Poetry Northwest\, Spark Central\, Spokane Arts\, Art Salvage\, Banana Slug Books\, SpokAnimal\, Spokane Public Radio\, Foray for the Arts\, Carbonation Press\, Gray Dog Press\, Weird Lit\, and Wishing Tree Books.\n\nHere are some walkable locations that we recommend for lunch!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey! CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Montvale Hall\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:074ef723672253fa46d11a395de4122e URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/074ef723672253fa46d11a395de4122e END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T163000Z DTEND:20260418T173000Z SUMMARY:Conversations Over Coffee DESCRIPTION:Are you a novelist looking for a critique group? A poet looking for other poets to share prompts and inspiration? Are you a reader and want to talk about the books you can't get out of your head? Join us for our fourth-annual Conversations Over Coffee! This event (inspired by an Unconference format) offers participant-driven conversations that cover a range of topics--essentially anything you’d like to talk with others about! Bring your expertise and your hopes to connect on any question or topic\, and we'll create in-the-moment groups so people can talk about their interests with others. This is a great space to form lasting connections with other readers and writers in town!\n\nMust Read Fiction began because reader and writer Erin Popelka believes that her life is better when she’s got a novel in hand. In 2017\, she started Must Read Fiction\, a social media community to meet other readers who feel the same way. The result: a vibrant place for readers to connect to their next great read\, hear the story behind the story with author interviews\, and receive free books!\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (30) so please arrive early to guarantee a seat.\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Second Floor Lounge\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:a38126d68f0c6c8745505fd6445b32d6 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/a38126d68f0c6c8745505fd6445b32d6 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T170000Z DTEND:20260418T180000Z SUMMARY:InRoads Launch Party DESCRIPTION:Join us in celebrating the release of this year’s InRoads\, an annual anthology of fiction\, nonfiction\, and poetry published by EWU's Writers in the Community program (WITC). WITC is a non-profit practicum housed within Eastern Washington University’s Master of Fine Arts program that has been active for nearly three decades. During the academic year\, MFA students volunteer as creative writing teachers in diverse placements\; historically\, WITC has taught in hospitals\, correctional facilities\, halfway houses\, community non-profits\, and public\, private\, or alternative schools\, as well as other locations through the Spokane area. This year’s placements include Spark Central\, Spokane Montessori School\, a community writing workshop based in the Catalyst building\, mentoring Spokane’s young poets with the Spokane Youth Poet Laureate office\, and working with senior citizens at the Shadle Library and Corbin Senior Center. The anthology’s entries are entirely written by community members in these placements\, collected throughout the year\, and published in InRoads\, which celebrates the students’ and community members’ writing and creativity. Come hear inspiring readings from our community and learn more about the positive impact WITC is making in Spokane. Contributors to this year’s InRoads anthology will get one free copy. Otherwise\, this year’s InRoads may be purchased for $8\, and previous year's editions for $5.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public.\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Third Floor Ballroom\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:b684ced3c64e39781b6e690870e987de URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/b684ced3c64e39781b6e690870e987de END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T173000Z DTEND:20260418T183000Z SUMMARY:Parents Who Write: Making It Up As We Go DESCRIPTION:Writing and parenting are often viewed as incompatible endeavors\, but these parents are here to put that idea to bed. In this open-hearted conversation\, writers Ren Cedar Fuller\, Uma Kukathas\, Beth Alvarado\, Lisa Laughlin\, and Joe Wilkins will discuss drawing inspiration from their children\, parenting from the heart\, and the ways these two roles enhance\, rather than inhibit\, one another. Joe Wilkins and Lisa Laughlin’s work focuses on the influences of place and the environment on family. Ren Cedar Fuller\, Uma Kukathas\, and Beth Alvarado write about the unique experiences of parenting within diverse and multicultural households. Don't miss this important and heart-led conversation on parenting and writing. \;\n\nThis event is free and open to the public.\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:7a9928e69a0bbe66e9a8875f9c4f1722 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/7a9928e69a0bbe66e9a8875f9c4f1722 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T180000Z DTEND:20260418T190000Z SUMMARY:Silent Reading Party DESCRIPTION:In the mood to be around other people but not interact? Do you need a few minutes in the middle of the festival to take a few quiet moments to regroup? Join Silent Reading Party host Kathie McAuliffe to sit together and enjoy some quiet book time! If this appeals to you\, you’re in luck - there are two Silent Book Club Chapters in Spokane right now\, and we’re offering a chance to sit in on a session with one of those chapters to experience what all the hype is about. Come join us for a special festival silent reading party that will include personal book recommendations from many of our festival authors! \;\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (30) so please arrive early to guarantee a seat. \n\nThank you to the Silent Reading Party for partnering with us on this event.\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Second Floor Lounge\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:46df34bd5039d48f9977bf8ce40df936 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/46df34bd5039d48f9977bf8ce40df936 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T183000Z DTEND:20260418T193000Z SUMMARY:So You Think You Want to Write a YA Novel DESCRIPTION:In the last few decades\, YA novels have made an undeniable impact on the literary world\, encouraging young readers and adults alike to love reading. But what is a YA novel? What makes it different from adult fiction? Is it simply having a young protagonist and a simplified language profile? In this panel\, we will be exploring what the YA novel is and discuss the distinct challenges presented by the YA genre. During this discussion\, authors Eliot Treichel and M.L. Smoker will take us through all of these questions and more about how to authentically write in the YA voice without moralizing to young audiences. There will also be time to discuss the literary market for YA novels and help attendants decide on if YA as a genre is the right literary approach for them. \;\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. \;\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Third Floor Ballroom\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:a22a4d72add4069b9ee4a3190d349db3 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/a22a4d72add4069b9ee4a3190d349db3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T190000Z DTEND:20260418T220000Z SUMMARY:Foray for the Arts: Festival Features and Open Mic DESCRIPTION:Foray for The Arts is a Spokane-based traveling multidisciplinary event founded by Greg Bem and Sarah Rooney. The event is intended to provide a place for local artists of all kinds to perform with each other in order to collaborate\, network\, and gain experience. The first two hours will celebrate local writers solicited by Foray\, and the final hour will be open mic. Writers interested in reading as part of the open-mic will need to arrive at the top of the event to sign up. Foray is known for traveling to local businesses and even local parks to present their events\, in order to celebrate the unique variety of venues that Spokane has to offer while providing opportunities to connect with different parts of the community. This unique rooftop Foray hopes to give writers the exciting opportunity to share their work from a sky-high venue overlooking downtown Spokane.\n\nSign ups for the open mic portion will be available at the beginning of the event. Please note that the sign up list is limited\, arrive early to reserve a spot directly with the hosts\, Sarah and Greg. \;\n\nFeatured artists include: Ciara Totton\, Robert Jenson\, Joe Williams\, Alyus Vasquez\, Christina Momono\, and Asyia Gover.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. \;\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Rooftop\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:09490a3244ae61ace87a036e8953a145 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/09490a3244ae61ace87a036e8953a145 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T190000Z DTEND:20260418T200000Z SUMMARY:Spirituality & Friendship Across Genres DESCRIPTION:As writers\, our relationships with each other have a way of deepening our understanding of our work and our careers over time. This panel\, featuring Prageeta Sharma\, Teresa Carmody\, Maya Jewell Zeller\, and Laura Read\, will explore how writers sustain creative lives through chosen bonds\, and how friendship shapes the ethical and imaginative dimensions of their varied genres and forms. They find their writing is often guided by a search for what endures—love\, presence\, the unseen—and an interest in how friendship itself becomes a spiritual practice: one of attention\, reinvention\, and care. Each writer will share an excerpt from their recent work\, followed by a discussion on friendship and spirituality. Prageeta and Laura have published new poetry collections in 2025\, Teresa a novel-in-stories\, and Maya is celebrating her debut memoir. Don’t miss this dynamic reading and discussion on the power of friendship.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. \;\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:59f3291a4c55d5b33dd98f1b26585d7f URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/59f3291a4c55d5b33dd98f1b26585d7f END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T193000Z DTEND:20260418T203000Z SUMMARY:Drop In and Write DESCRIPTION:One hazard of the festival is that you can be struck by inspiration at any moment. You may find yourself desperately seeking a quiet corner to jot down notes for your own work\, but we’ve got you! Look no further than this uninterrupted hour of focused writing time with our friends from Spark Central! Drop In and Write is a regular program at Spark\, and we’re thrilled that they have been bringing their magic to the festival for the last five years. For this session\, you’re encouraged to bring works in progress or get inspired with creative prompts. This year we’ll even have prompts available from 2026 festival authors! \;\n\nThank you to Spark Central for partnering with us on this event! \;\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (30) so please arrive early to guarantee a seat.\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Second Floor Lounge\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:af2df512f14b4561ebcb433cd775f40c URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/af2df512f14b4561ebcb433cd775f40c END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T200000Z DTEND:20260418T210000Z SUMMARY:Flourishing Where You Are: Creating a Resilient and Authentic Writer’s Life DESCRIPTION:Join us for a candid conversation about the emotional and structural challenges writers face when traditional support systems–such as MFA programs\, literary communities\, or familial and cultural networks–are absent or inaccessible. Karina Agbisit\, a publishing professional and nonfiction writer\, will be joined by Nicole Zdeb\, author of the award-winning Field of Saints\, and Erin Popelka\, fiction writer\, founder of the online community Must Read Fiction\, and a licensed mental health counselor. As writers\, publishers\, and professionals in their various fields\, they know the challenges of staying open and creative and building community when life often isn’t set up for creativity to flourish. In this discussion\, they will explore how writers can navigate exposure\, revelation\, and insecurity\, while also celebrating small victories\, setting achievable goals\, and learning to distinguish signal from noise in their creative lives.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public. \;\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Third Floor Ballroom\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:8ac9226db81d4082cd649e64c19ed59f URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/8ac9226db81d4082cd649e64c19ed59f END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T203000Z DTEND:20260418T213000Z SUMMARY:An Afternoon of Poetry DESCRIPTION:For 2026’s headlining poetry event\, three prize winning authors - Keetje Kuipers\, Ally Ang\, and Laura Read - will read from their most recent collections. Keetje Kuipers’ Lonely Women Make Good Lovers has received critical acclaim for its daring and complicated evocation of love\, including a starred review from Publishers Weekly\, who called it “wickedly erotic and ingenious.” Keetje is the Editor of \;Poetry Northwest\, the oldest poetry-only literary magazine west of the Mississippi\, and a \;a former VP on the board of the National Book Critics Circle.  \; Ally Ang is the author of Let the Moon Wobble\, their debut poetry collection\, which critics have called “a tour de force of passion\, longing\, and loneliness.” One of the rising stars out of Seattle\, they’ve received recognition from the National Endowment of the Arts\, the Jack Straw Writers Program\, and more. Laura Read\, former Spokane Poet Laureate and current professor at both SFCC and EWU\, is the author of four poetry collections and won the Juniper Prize for Poetry in 2022. Her latest collection\, The Serious World\, is a deep and humorous reflection on depression\, therapy\, family\, and the struggling life of the artist. At turns provocative\, harrowing\, and serene\, these three authors bring comfort in dark times and inspire readers to shape and nurture their perspectives of connection. Join them as they discuss—and elevate—the genre they love.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public.\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:700d04821fa05a4e309bd5c5b56ea5b8 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/700d04821fa05a4e309bd5c5b56ea5b8 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T210000Z DTEND:20260418T230000Z SUMMARY:EWU MFA Publisher's Roundtable DESCRIPTION:Have you ever wondered how an indie press or magazine gets started? Have you ever been curious about the practical skills needed to create your own anthologies or zines? Please join us for a talk/Q&A with current MFA students and graduates of Eastern Washington University’s creative writing program on the ins and outs of independent publishing\; the discussion will include both getting your own work published\, and also becoming the publisher! EWU's MFA program offers many opportunities to gain practical skills that can help open doors in the world of publishing\, and our current students and alumni are here to help demystify the process. For one hour\, speakers will give an inner look into working with presses such as Willow Springs Magazine\, Willow Springs Books\, Banana Slug Books\, and Croak Lit Magazine. For the last hour\, there will be an opportunity for individual conversations\, connections\, and personal help with publishing or press projects—feel free to bring something you’d like to work on!\n\nThis event is free and open to the public\, but capacity is limited (30) so please arrive early to guarantee a seat.\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Second Floor Lounge\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:d68ecb808b9c8a82cf9d7a2998429b8b URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/d68ecb808b9c8a82cf9d7a2998429b8b END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T213000Z DTEND:20260418T223000Z SUMMARY:Writing the Prairie DESCRIPTION:Join former Montana Poets Laureate M.L. Smoker\, Melissa Kwasny\, and Tami Haaland for a reading and discussion exploring themes of time\, landscapes\, environmental change\, and the important role of Indigenous people in our region’s future. With writing that acts as both rich tapestries of natural beauty and as documents for posterity’s sake\, all three authors weave essential reflections on Montana and the wider northwestern region into their works. M.L. Smoker’s poetry collection\, Another Attempt at Rescue\, and her graphic novel Thunderous \;engage questions of Native American identity\, history\, language\, and culture. Tami Haaland’s latest poetry collection\, If I Had Said Beauty\, is dedicated to “known and unknown” ancestors\, exploring all that lies behind one’s sense of self while being grounded in encounters with wild and domestic life and intimate moments of loss and connection. Melissa Kwasny\, a recent Artist in Residence at American Prairie reserve\, is the author of The Cloud Path\, a poetry collection that reckons with personal and collective loss and grief\, and turns to the natural world for guidance and solace.\n\nThis event is free and open to the public.\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore! \n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Third Floor Ballroom\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:2954d1e65860100a203fdab74d42e1b3 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/2954d1e65860100a203fdab74d42e1b3 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260418T220000Z DTEND:20260418T230000Z SUMMARY:Worlds Beyond: A Reading and Discussion on Speculative Fiction DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to present three incredible fiction writers who will each read from their fantastical works and discuss craft moves they utilize to create distinctive speculative worlds and expand the imagination into the possible. Leyna Krow\, the winner of the 2026 PNBA award for her collection\, Sinkhole\, and Other Inexplicable Voids\, will lead a discussion with TJ Fuller\, author of Some Stupid Glow\, and Lindsey Drager\, author of The Avian Hourglass and the Shirley Jackson award-winning The Lost Daughter Collective. They will discuss how they add dimension to an idea through humor and voice\, while exploring the intersections of climate change\, politics\, family\, and place. \;\n\nThis event is free and open to the public.\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:FREE LOCATION:Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater\, 1019 W 1st Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:d4ddfd9cd65bcc069bf29480d9bed26d URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/d4ddfd9cd65bcc069bf29480d9bed26d END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T020000Z DTEND:20260419T033000Z SUMMARY:An Evening with Jess Walter and Willy Vlautin presented by Northwest Passages DESCRIPTION:In partnership with Northwest Passages\, the Spokesman Review’s book club and conversation series\, we are thrilled to present this headlining event featuring two legends of the Pacific Northwest. Jess Walter is a beloved Spokane writer and the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels\, several short story collections\, as well as Ruby Ridge: The Truth and Tragedy of the Randy Weaver Family\, which was a finalist for both the Pen/USA award and the Pulitzer Prize for nonfiction. Willy Vlautin is a celebrated novelist\, a guitarist and songwriter for The Delines based out of Portland\, and winner of the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Prize for his bestselling novel The Horse. Willy's new novel The Left and the Lucky examines how circumstances shape our lives\, and how unexpected friendship can save lives. \n\nA book club founded on building connections under the spotlights\, Northwest Passages has fostered a community of conversation through the support of the Spokesman-Review and the people of Spokane who gather for insightful discussions on writing\, music\, and art. We are thrilled to be partnering with them for this headlining event! \n\nTickets are on sale now and include VIP options and free tickets for students! Use this link to learn more about the event and secure your seat! \;\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller \;Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:TICKETED LOCATION:The Bing Crosby Theater\, 901 W Sprague Ave\, Spokane\, WA 99201\, USA SEQUENCE:0 UID:e02f6b765ce11c4e8e21e9bb61740837 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/e02f6b765ce11c4e8e21e9bb61740837 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T160000Z DTEND:20260419T170000Z SUMMARY:Magic for Memoirists: Using Flash Prose\, Fiction Craft\, Poetry\, and Hybrid Forms to Shape—and Complete!—Your Memoir DESCRIPTION:Focusing on lively short forms\, a panel of accomplished writers and educators will present fresh approaches to memoir-writing. By using writing techniques from different genres\, memoirists can find new energy\, inspiration\, and a practical vision to complete their projects. Learn to plot your memoir to hook your readers\, and discover how the unusual lenses of poetry reveal truths overlooked by ordinary prose. Many writers wonder how they can complete a lengthy\, complex manuscript. The answer is to write it as a series of flashes. Join writers Lita Kurth\, Amanda Williamsen\, and Keiko O’Leary as they offer craft tips\, suggested texts\, and community connections to help you work more creatively and maintain momentum.  \;\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here is the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:95c3041911594d96cd9943601deb1d78 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/95c3041911594d96cd9943601deb1d78 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T170000Z DTEND:20260419T180000Z SUMMARY:Authors of Alaska DESCRIPTION:This panel of celebrated Alaskan writers - Annie Wenstrup\, Erica Watson\, Jeremy Pataky\, John Messick\, and Susanna Mishler - will explore how the state has shaped and defined their work. From drawing upon dramatic natural environments to representing local communities across the country’s largest state\, these authors sketch portraits of a wild and wonderful Alaska in their writing. Join us for readings from their latest works and a conversation centered around place and belonging\, disruption and climate change\, and how to write about historical\, political\, and social ties to the land. Erica Watson’s writing bridges boundaries of the human nonhuman worlds and designated public lands\, and John Messick has worked both on the page and in wildlands to cultivate and share a more sustainable environment. Annie Wenstrup\, a Dena’ina poet and Indigenous Nations Poet Fellow\, poems contain the lived experiences of an Alaska Native person and the histories of unresolved colonial violence in “an authorial reckoning with what remains.” Susanna Mishler is the author of Termination Dust\, a poetry collection which foregrounds Alaskan image and lyricism\, which was a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Jeremy Pataky\, founder and publisher of Porphyry Press\, the most remote book publishing company in North America\, will lead the conversation.\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here is the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller \;Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:2780db3487e58b3baf6317cc8a313a7e URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/2780db3487e58b3baf6317cc8a313a7e END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T183000Z DTEND:20260419T193000Z SUMMARY:The Art of Writing a Picture Book DESCRIPTION:Join award-winning authors Annie Bailey\, Laurel Neme\, Annette Bay Pimentel\, and Melissa Seron Richardson for a virtual event exploring their picture book writing processes. These authors’ works span a wide range of topics\, including biographies\, the natural world\, and cultural literacy. The authors will discuss how they find topics and themes that resonate with young readers and how they collaborate with illustrators to create works of literature that dance between short story and poetry. These picture books show children their own reflections\, as well as worlds they may not yet have encountered\, cultivating a lasting relationship with literature.\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here's the link!\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:bb0ef201e9be1d92302120889cccc384 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/bb0ef201e9be1d92302120889cccc384 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T200000Z DTEND:20260419T210000Z SUMMARY:This Mortal Coil: The Poet in the Clinical Realm DESCRIPTION:The word “patient” in a medical context originates from the Latin “patiens\,” meaning “suffering.” But “patiens” itself is derived from “patior\,” meaning “to suffer\, endure.” Join us for a reading and conversation with three clinician-poets exploring how poetry can push against the passivity of the “patient” and lean into relationship and commonality. Michele Bombardier\, Risa Denenberg\, and Jed Myers\, all accomplished poets with decades of professional clinical experience\, will read to us from their most recent works and dive into a discussion exploring the relationship between poetry and compassion\, and what it looks like on a craft level to write about disability/illness\, death and dying\, and the complexities of the clinical relationship. \;\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here's the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:2cbd5a0e6100ef0409d30490a239f600 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/2cbd5a0e6100ef0409d30490a239f600 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T213000Z DTEND:20260419T223000Z SUMMARY:The Arctic Circle: Reflections on a Residency DESCRIPTION:Writing residencies are transformative settings for artistic inspiration and development\, no matter where they are or what you’re writing. Kathryn Nuernberger and Mita Mahato\, both writers with multiple residencies under their belts\, will share work made in response to their experiences with The Arctic Circle\, a small vessel voyage residency program in the Norwegian Arctic of Svalbard. Their conversation will touch on the benefits of the residency for their own work\, how it impacted their writing processes\, and the surprising lessons they learned along the way. Kathryn Nuernberger’s work often explores the complications of family and loss.\, Mita Mahato’s work centers ecosystemic death and renewal\, and both writers are deeply interested in climate change and salvaging something new out of what has been discarded. This conversation will be moderated by festival author Margaret Albaugh.\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here's the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:06307c73c9323443d4fea2ee979fbac9 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/06307c73c9323443d4fea2ee979fbac9 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260419T230000Z DTEND:20260420T000000Z SUMMARY:Writing the Campus Novel DESCRIPTION:In an era when the humanities\, historical inquiry\, and institutions of higher education under direct attack\, it’s more important than ever to discuss the limits and joys of higher education and the quest for knowledge. In doing so\, it's also important to acknowledge the traditionally Eurocentric and elitist ideals behind campus novels\, and how to navigate these issues in fiction. In this event you'll meet authors Zoe B. Wallbrook\, Charlene Wang\, Penny Zang\, and Lacey N. Dunham\, whose debut novels run parallel tracks of mystery and suspense\, each utilizing a campus setting to explore thematic threads of identity\, social hierarchies\, and the bonds of female friendship. This virtual discussion on crafting campus novels and their importance in our current political climate will explore what makes campus novels so compelling and how their role is shifting in current literary conversations.\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here is the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:b8c4121a560b9ef3b71609bd18b598c4 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/b8c4121a560b9ef3b71609bd18b598c4 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260420T003000Z DTEND:20260420T013000Z SUMMARY:Regional MFA Reading DESCRIPTION:We are thrilled to present one of our most longstanding festival events\, our Regional MFA Reading! This event features an exciting lineup of readers from five graduate programs across the Northwest. Each school has sent us one MFA candidate to read their work\, and students will be introduced by a creative writing faculty member. We are excited to get to know students and faculty members from these programs—this year we have Michelle DeLong from Boise State\, James Champion from Oregon State University\, Ardyn Ford from University of Idaho\, Jon Culp from Eastern Oregon University\, Dawn Klinge from Western Colorado University\, and Kirsten Van Zee from our own Eastern Washington University. We hope you’ll join us to hear fiction\, nonfiction\, and poetry readings from our region’s rising talents!\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Here's the link!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:e7680084681c1e90cdca44787cee60a2 URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/e7680084681c1e90cdca44787cee60a2 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTAMP:20260426T062230Z DTSTART:20260420T020000Z DTEND:20260420T040000Z SUMMARY:Making Myths\, Building Community: How Local Fiction Connects DESCRIPTION:Join Banana Slug Books for this discussion on their debut publication\, Spokane Campfire Stories: A Literary Anthology\, which includes a special reading from contributing authors. Sometimes witty\, sometimes lyrical\, sometimes heartbreaking and tragic\, the fiction collection shows every side of its hometown and how it connects us all. The Banana Slug editorial team of Aimee Brooks\, Dylan Cooper\, Morganne Elkis\, and Katy Shedlock will explore their love for literature\, and how it has deepened their relationship to Spokane. The discussion will illuminate the unique and fascinating aspects of our region\, capturing the Inland Northwest experience in all its beauty and mystery. Check out this panel for a conversation about how one place can inspire many different stories\, and stick around to hear readings that will illuminate the local Spokane literary scene! \;\n\n*This event is virtual and will premiere on our \;YouTube channel at the time scheduled above. Direct link coming soon!\n\nPurchase the authors' books via our official festival bookseller Auntie's Bookstore!\n\nSurvey feedback is crucial to our program in many ways\, including helping us obtain critical grant funding. Please take a few minutes to \;complete our official festival survey after you've attended any of our events! Feel free to also leave us feedback here on Sched on individual events\, but it really helps us immensely when people fill out our official survey!\n CATEGORIES:VIRTUAL LOCATION:YouTube\, Channel: EWU's Get Lit! Programs SEQUENCE:0 UID:817f83159848785f9e8f890232ca68ec URL:http://getlitfestival2026.sched.com/event/817f83159848785f9e8f890232ca68ec END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR