get your festival on

I love writing festivals and conferences. The fall seems to offer such an abundance of bookish events and there are two I wish to highlight today.

BookFest Windsor has already begun but there’s still time to get in on the fun. If you’re anywhere near the Windsor ON area, there are tons of authors to hear read, panel sessions to learn from, and books to explore. Friday’s events include a session called “Poetry Twist” with Susan Holbrook (author of Joy Is So Exhausting) and many other fine poets. There’s a great session on Saturday morning called “Publish or Perish” that includes reps from some very fine small presses including Brick Books. There’s also a “behind the scenes in book publishing” session presented by Janet Friskney and Leslie Howsman. Full event details and ticket information is available online at http://www.bookfestwindsor.ca.

Next week, November 12-14 Bowling Green State University will host the Winter Wheat 2009 Mid-American Review Festival of Writing. Saturday includes a monstrous book sale, but for those interested in workshopping or learning the latest news and trends in publishing, there are also so many wonderful sessions to chose from. The cool thing? You decide how much you pay for the event. I’m not kidding. Winter Wheat operates on a donation basis, so you decide what you can afford to contribute for attending the festival. That’s pretty incredible, especially in tough economic times.

Oh, the other cool thing about Winter Wheat? I’m presenting a session and workshop on Friday afternoon. The session is “Oh, Canada! Writing Without Borders” and includes a discussion of some contemporary Canadian literature, followed by a few writing prompts to tap into your inner Canadian, regardless of where you live. The full schedule of offerings is available here and it is recommended you register in advance. Let me know if you plan on making the trip to Bowling Green OH.

Thanks to those who came out to the Poets Follies reading last night. It was a lovely time sharing the mic with author David Matlin. Another MI reading is coming up soon, at Lawrence Street Gallery in Ferndale on Nov 20th, so if you missed last night you have another opportunity coming up soon. Plus, there’s an open mic so please bring along a poem or two to share with the audience.

Thanks for dropping by today. Have a great weekend and see you next time.