Hiking Naked, Eco-Poetry, 3 Sides Water, and the oh-so-human foibles and wacky misadventures of Marty Wu – you’ll laugh, and be touched by awe, as four award-winning west-coast writers read in conversation at Leavenworth Library October 20.

 

Iris Graville’s memoir, Hiking Naked--A Quaker Woman's Search for Balance, is a personal narrative of what she learned in the remote mountain village of Stehekin, WA about work, community, and leadings of the Spirit. “Candid, lyrical… a story of optimism in the midst of disillusionment. Her courageous spirit and unforgettable experiences may just inspire you to embark upon an adventure of your own” says Melissa Hart. Graville, also the author of Hands at Work and Bounty, has received a Nautilus Gold, Indie Next, and other awards.

 

Peter Donahue, author of Three Sides Water, Clara and Merritt, and other award-winning books, creates lyric fiction steeped in the history of the Pacific Northwest--from a love story embroiled by 1930’s labor unrest, to a triptych of the Olympic Peninsula. In addition to his prize-winning novels, he has co-edited two PNW anthologies, teaches at Wenatchee Valley College in Omak, and is a columnist for the WA Historical Society.

 

Seesawing from sardonic to sincere, Yi Shun Lai takes on the pressures of modern life—work pressures, family pressures, identity, and dreams—and reminds us to laugh at what wants to break our hearts. Lai’s debut novel tells the story of Marty Wu, a compulsive reader of advice manuals who ricochets between the stress of New York and the warmth of extended family in Taiwan. Lai is the nonfiction editor for the Tahoma Literary Review, and a volunteer for ShelterBox disaster relief.

 

Leavenworth’s own Derek Sheffield, author of Through the Second Skin, is celebrated for his compelling poetry informed by an understanding of ecology. Winner of the Hazel Lipa, James Hearst, and other awards, Sheffield is the poetry editor at Terrain.org, and teaches at Wenatchee Valley College, where he works to infuse sustainability across the curriculum. Reviewers call Sheffield’s work “strong, delightfully unpredictable, and genuinely remarkable.”