2021 Palouse Writers Festival

After launching our first writing festival in the midst of a pandemic last year, the Palouse Writers Guild is happy to announce that both the writers festival and Books & Brews will be in person this year!

Date: Saturday, June 26, 2021
Location: 1912 Center, 412 East Third St., Moscow, ID 83843
Registration is now closed for this event.

Simplified Steps to Self-publishing Successes

By breaking the many parts of self-publishing into manageable pieces, you’ll gain a solid foundation for a successful start: seeing yourself not only as a writer but also a business. You’ll learn about the essential parts of publishing a book (e.g., editing, book cover design, interior formatting, printing options, etc.) and gain tools to confidently move forward in the world of indie publishing.

Rachael Ritchey is a home educator by day and an author and creative jane-of-all-trades book designer by night—not to mention all the minutes she can snag between! Her works include the adventurous fantasy series Chronicles of the Twelve Realms and an illustrated children’s book. She is the publisher of The Crux Anthology by 16 international authors, a writing prompt host, book designer and graphic artist. She enjoys helping other authors through the independent publication process and educating on best practices for formatting works in progress for pre-publishing success. Rachael lives near Spokane, WA with her husband and four kids.

Location: Lecompte Auditorium, 9:00 am
Cost: $10

Budgeting for Publication

Authors dream of seeing their books in print and calculate the royalties they expect to earn once their baby hits the market. Few stop to consider how much capital is need up-front to cover pre-publication expenses. From professional editing to copyright registration, this workshop covers the cost of publication and includes budgeting worksheets authors can use to run the numbers for their own projects.

Khaliela Wright earned her Master’s degree in Economics from Washington State University. Combining her love of books and business, she founded the Palouse Writers Guild with the goal of bringing professional development to authors, championing indie books sales, and helping self-publishers navigate the business side of writing. When not immersed in business and economic statistics for work, she writes feature articles and columns as a freelancer. Khaliela lives in rural Idaho and delights in being anything but the quintessential small-town girl. Learn more at www.khalielawright.com.

Location: Arts Room, 10:00 am
Cost: $10

Independent Doesn’t Mean Alone

 From concept to publication and beyond, being an independent author is far from doing things on your own. Once you’ve written your book and you’ve found those editors, beta readers, proofreaders, cover artists, interior formatting, and a publishing platform, you need other authors. We wear many hats as independent authors, but there are times we need others to help us succeed where we are limited. Much is hired out, but all of it is about networking and building relationships in the industry. From online groups, in person (or zoom) writer’s groups, friendly word-count competitions, sharing and supporting each other’s releases there are so many ways to build industry relationships and lift others up as we progress in our writing journeys.

Morgan Wylie is an award-winning and USA Today Bestselling author with 15+ published titles within genres from YA fantasy to adult paranormal romance. Morgan published her first novel, Silent Orchids, one year after moving across the country with her family on a journey of new discovery. After an amazing three years in Nashville, TN and the release of two more books, Morgan and her family found their way back to the Northwest where they now reside. In her desire to create and share other’s stories of creation, Morgan began The Lotus Bloom Podcast where she gets to interview other creative women and more often than not, other writers. Morgan lives in Spokane, WA with her husband and 2 kids.

Location: Lecompte Auditorium, 11:00 am
Cost: $10

Q & A with a Bookseller

How do booksellers choose which books to carry? What do independent bookstores want from authors? What is the best way to approach a bookstore about hosting events, readings, or book signings? Bring a sack lunch and a list of questions to get the low-down on what booksellers want from authors.

Carol Price is a lifelong bookworm and has been the owner and manager of BookPeople of Moscow since 2011. She served on the board and as president of the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association for several years, completing her two-year term as past-president in 2020. She also chaired the PNBA book awards committee for two years.  She earned several college degrees in Literature and French and worked as a freelance writer and food studies academic for over a decade. She has lived on the Palouse since 2001 and now divides her time between Idaho, Washington, and Arizona.

Location: Reception Gallery, 12:00 pm
Cost: $10

Artist, Salesperson, and Auditor

Chadwick will discuss marketing basics that authors in pre-writing and post-writing stages can use to improve sales outcomes associated with their art. We will primarily focus on finding gaps in the competitive landscape, matching your work with its best audience, and providing/measuring evidence of viability for a particular project.

Dr. Chadwick Miller is an assistant professor in the Department of Marketing and International Business where he teaches undergraduates Intro to Marketing. His research focuses on how consumers choose between premium and basic products, make the decision to upgrade, and decide how much to upgrade. He is also interested in experiential purchases, feature preferences, and consumer-created rituals. In his research, Dr. Miller often finds that consumers do not actually know what they will prefer the most after consumption. His research has appeared in the Journal of Marketing and Information Systems Research. Prior to joining academia, Dr. Miller worked in the automotive industry in a variety of marketing and supply chain jobs.

Location: Lecompte Auditorium, 1:00 pm
Cost: $10

Two Sides of the Coin: Traditional versus Self-publishing

Diane Worthey is the author of In One Ear and Out the Other: Antonia Brico’s Amazingly Musical Life, a girl-power book about the first woman to conduct the New York Philharmonic. Diane is a member of the Moscow, Idaho SCBWI critique group. She has taught hundreds of private students to play violin and viola through the Suzuki Method. She currently teaches for the University of Idaho Preparatory String Division and performs in the first violin section of the Washington-Idaho Symphony. She lives in Pullman, Washington.

Wyoming native Guy Worthey traded spurs and lassos for telescopes and computers when he decided on astrophysics for a day job. Whenever he temporarily escapes the gravitational pull of stars and galaxies, he writes fiction. He lives in Washington state with his violinist wife Diane. He likes cats and dogs and plays keyboards and bass guitar. His favorite food is called creamed eggs on toast, but once in a while he heeds the siren song of chocolate.

Location: Arts Room, 2:00 pm
Cost: $10

Editing Panel Discussion

Whether you are self-publishing or sending manuscripts off to agents, editing is an integral part of the writing process. One of the biggest mistakes new writers make is neglecting editing. Is professional editing worth the cost? If so, when should you hand your manuscript over to an editor and when should you go it alone. This panel discussion looks at editing across perspectives.

Polly Buckingham teaches at Eastern Washington University and is editor of Willow Springs magazine and founding editor of StringTown Press. She is the author of The Expense of a View (Katherine Anne Porter Award 2016), A Year of Silence (Jeanne Leiby Award 2014), and The River People (Lost Horse Press 2020). She is the recipient of a fellowship from Artist Trust Washington, and her poetry, and short stories appear in The Gettysburg Review, Threepenny Review, The Poetry Review and elsewhere. 

Sanan Kolva is the author of the epic fantasy The Chosen of the Spears series and a steampunk fantasy series The Silverline Chronicles. Her short fiction appears in a number of anthologies. She works as a technical editor for an engineering firm and is a native of Eastern Washington. When not writing, she enjoys baking and decorating cakes, and appeasing her feline overloads. She can be found at www.SananKolva.com.

T.J. Tranchell was born on Halloween, has worked as a journalist, horror movie columnist, haunted house monster, college instructor, and other less glamorous jobs. Tranchell has his master’s degree in literature from Central Washington University with, naturally, a focus on the horror genre. Tranchell published his first novel, “Cry Down Dark,” through Blysster Press in 2016. In 2017, Blysster released a collection of short stories, poetry, and film criticism titled “Asleep in the Nightmare Room.” 2020 saw the release of a second collection, “The Private Lives of Nightmares,” followed soon by his second novel “Tell No Man,” which he published under his imprint LAST DAYS BOOKS. He has also published horror short fiction and was co-editor of GIVE: An Anthology of Anatomical Entries, a dark fiction anthology from When the Dead Books. He is a rising star among horror scholars, having presented work on Stephen King at the Popular Culture Association’s national conference, and in 2021 at the Ann Radcliffe Conference on the “Great American Horror Novel.” He currently teaches English at a community college in Washington state.

Location: Lecompte Auditorium, 3:00 pm
Cost: $15

Ten Steps to Make Your Business Legitimate in Idaho

Whether they’ve created their own publishing house or not, self-publishers are small business owners. This workshop provides a ten step overview to help with business registrations and licenses with government agencies, understanding LLC formation, tax obligations, free EINs, and SBDC resources. Time for questions will follow.

Jeanette A. Klobetanz is a Business Consultant for the North Central Office of the Idaho SBDC, and previously the Coordinator of Events and Conferences at Lewis-Clark State College.  Her areas of focus for consulting include Business Starts, Marketing, and Customer Relationships.  Jeannette holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Management from Grand Canyon University.  Her work experience includes owning and operating a whitewater and portrait photography business in Riggins, Idaho, for over 7 years.  Jeannette has a background in tourism related businesses including hotel marketing and event management, whitewater outfitting sales, as well as retail store fronts. She has served as board member for the North Central Idaho Travel Association and Visit Lewis Clark Valley.

Barbara A Leachman has a BS in Agribusiness and an MEd in Business Education from the University of Idaho. Her work experience in private for-profit business includes office management, sales, and bookkeeping. She has developed and managed apartments for a non-profit as well as consulting and teaching real estate, financial, and credit analysis. Barbara has experience with grants, economic development, appraising and government loan programs. She has been at the SBDC since 2011 and specializes in business planning, market research, website analysis, feasibility, human resources, raising capital, valuation and small business management.

Location: Fiske Room, 4:00 pm
Cost: $25 Workshop Canceled

Pop-Up Book Store

Peruse titles and support the Friends of the Library. The Latah County Library District had to cancel their annual book sales last year due to covid-19 concerns, however, those books are now available for purchase by donation. Proceeds support the LCLD Summer Reading Program.

Location: Zoom Room, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
Cost: Free

Books & Brews

Join us for a festive close to the Palouse Writers Festival. During Books & Brews, workshop presenters and other participating authors will be on hand to meet with the public and autograph their books. This event is FREE, family friendly, and open to the public. Beverages will be provided by Moscow Brewing Company. Winners of the Palouse Writers Guild writing contests will be announced promptly at 6:30 pm. Entries and judges score sheets will be available for pick-up after winners are announced.  Any entries not picked up the night of the event will be destroyed.

Location: Great Room, 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Cost: Free

Workshop registration opens Wednesday, May 5, 2021 and closes Wednesday, June 23, 2021. Late registrations will not be accepted. Anyone who becomes a member of the Palouse Writers Guild before May 1, 2021 will received a coupon for $10 off workshop registration. Becoming a member is fast, free, and user friendly. Simply enter your email address on our membership page and click submit. All ready a member? Your coupon will be emailed to you automatically.