WHAT HAPPENED IN 2023
General Information
This event is for readers of ALL ages.
Date: Saturday, September 23, 2023
Time: 10:00AM to 4:00PM
Place: Florence Events Center, 715 Quince St., Florence, OR
Admission: Expo Hall $2, Expo Hall + Workshops $5, Kids 13 & under free (Infant through Middle School are free)
Facebook: Click “Going” on FB and share with friends
Food: Delicious chef prepared food will be for sale (it’s worth coming just for the food!)
Make it a weekend and see all the beautiful sites in Florence.
2023 Schedule of Events & Information
| 10:00AM | Expo Hall Opens | Buy books and get them signed! |
| 11:00AM | Panel Discussion “It’s Time to Write Your Memoir” |
| 12:00PM | First Prize Drawing |
| 1:00PM | Workshop | Author Ned Hickson “Foundational Integrity—How to Outline” |
| 2:00PM | Second Prize Drawing |
| 2:30PM | Workshop | Author Robin Woods “The Dynamic Dozen: Tips for Your Writing Toolbox” |
| 4:00PM | Grand Prize Drawing & Expo Hall Closes |
| 4:30PM | Keynote Address | Author Judy Fleagle “FFOB, My Favorite ‘F’ Word!” |
Attending Authors & Publishers
Dozens of authors will be attending. We’re starting to list some of our returning authors. Please check back later.
Author websites are linked below, please check them out.
| Author | Bio |
|---|---|
| Judy Fleagle (Keynote Speaker) | Judy Fleagle, from Florence, taught first and second grades––22 years, worked as editor/staff writer at Oregon Coast and Northwest Travel magazines––21 years, written six-nonfiction books, and co-founded Florence Festival of Books. Her books include histories of Florence and Oregon’s iconic coastal bridges, guides to those historic bridges and to the UNEXPECTED on the Oregon Coast, and two personal books—about rescue animals that became great pets and surviving cancer. Seventh book out soon! |
| Ned Hickson (Workshop Teacher) | A retired journalist and syndicated columnist, I’m the author of three books as well as professional book editor. |
| Robin Woods (Workshop Teacher) | Robin Woods is a former high school and university instructor with two and a half decades of experience teaching English, literature, and writing. She earned a BA in English and an MA in Education. In addition to teaching, she has published seven highly-rated novels, an award-winning creative writing workbook series, and has multiple projects in the works. Click here to get a free book and access to her writer’s tool kit. |
| Dr. Veronica Esagui (Moderator & Panelist) | Dr. Veronica Esagui is the international author of the critically acclaimed “The Scoliosis Self-Help Resource Book,” “Veronica’s Diary” series, and “Mary Celeste.” She is a member of The Northwest Independent Writers Association. |
| Sue Fagalde Lick (Panelist) | Sue Fagalde Lick is a writer/musician/dog mom living with her dog Annie in the woods south of Newport, Oregon. Her books include “Stories Grandma Never Told,” “Childless by Marriage,” and “Love or Children: When You Can’t Have Both.” Plus two novels, “Up Beaver Creek” and “Seal Rock Sound” and two poetry chapbooks, “Gravel Road Ahead” and “The Widow at the Piano”. She blogs about childlessness at https://www.childlessbymarrige.com and life on the Oregon coast at https://www.unleashedinoregon.com. |
| David E. Larsen, DVM (Panelist) | Dr. David Larsen grew up on a farm in the Coquille River Valley of southwestern Oregon. Animals and their care have been a part of life from the very beginning. After four years in the Army, he returned to school, receiving a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine in 1975. He moved to Sweet Home Oregon where he started Sweet Home Veterinary Clinic. He was in practice for more than forty years in Sweet Home. |
| C. Edwin Fender (Panelist) | C. Edwin Fender (Ed) is a wordsmith. His first novel, “Infinite River”, was published in 2009, “The Legend of Fender’s Garage” in 2010, “Italy Calls” in 2014, and a children’s book, “In The Spooky Forest”, also in 2014, “Rio Infinito” in 2016. He was an Archaeology volunteer in Perú and wrote his adventure memoir, “Idyllic Perú”, in 2017. His most recent book, published in February 2019, is his autobiography, “Edified––sometimes a magical journey”. |
| Karen D. Nichols | Karen D. Nichols, author of: “The Ring,” “Death on the Pier,” “A Name by Any Other,” “Roots of an Oak”, “Triumph Over Fear,” “Second Chance Heart,” “Unexpected Gift,” “Thornton House.” All novels with romance, a dog story, mystery, adventure, suspense, and unexpected endings. “Moral of the Story” and “Moral of the Story Part 2,”––True tales experienced on the road of life that morphed into a newspaper column. These quirky, amusing, poignant stories carry interesting morals. |
| Jason A. Kilgore | Jason Kilgore is a multi-genre writer in speculative fiction, including horror, fantasy, and science fiction, as well as poetry and scientific publications. He lives in Eugene and loves hiking and camping in the mountain wilderness areas of Oregon. |
| Bob Welch | Longtime Register-Guard columnist Bob Welch, author of more than two dozen books, writes true stories of heart, humor and hope. His latest book is “Seven Summers (And a Few Bummers): My Adventure Hiking the 2,650-Mile PCT.” |
| Donna McFarland | Donna Gielow McFarland developed an early love for literature. She wrote her first book at age ten, and later contributed to her high school and college newspapers while working in book stores and libraries. She currently works as a freelancer doing ghostwriting and book design. Her new release is “I Lost My Elephant,” a picture book for preschoolers. She has written numerous books––for children, about playing the piano and music textbooks, and “KDP Formatting for Authors and Illustrators.” |
| Lori Tobias | Lori Tobias is the author of the memoir “Storm Beat – A Journalist Reports from the Oregon Coast,” published by OSU press in 2020; and the novel “Wander,” winner of 2017 Nancy Pearl Book Award for literary fiction. A journalist of more than 25 years, she writes for The Oregonian, Oregon Arts Watch, and many others. She lives on the Oregon Coast with her husband Chan and rescue pups, Luna and Gus. |
| Debra Whiting Alexander | Debra Whiting Alexander is the author of award-winning novels, “Zetty”Z and “A River for Gemma.” Her work has won numerous awards including the Will Rogers Medallion Award, Sarton Women’s Book Award, 2018 WILLA Literary Award in Contemporary Fiction, Eric Hoffer Award for Legacy Fiction, and many more. She lives near the hazelnut orchards in Oregon where she loves walking with the co-author of her most recent children’s book,”Eliza Jane Finds her Hero.” |
| Eliza Kelley | Eliza Kelly is the co-author of “Eliza Jane Finds Her Hero,” a children’s story about a quiet girl with Tourette syndrome who becomes her own best superhero. This is her first published book, written with her grandmother. Eliza loves to ride horses, climb trees, create art, play tennis, swim, and perform gymnastics. One day she hopes to live on a farm and become a horse trainer and teacher. She is nine-years-old. |
| Dan Armstrong | Dan Armstrong is a novelist and the owner and operator of the website mudcitypress.com, an online magazine focusing on the environment and sustainable agriculture. He has published thirteen novels and a collection of short stories through Mud City Press. |
| Joe R. Blakely | Joe R. Blakely has written 18 books all set in Oregon. His books include, “The Bellfountain Giant Killers,” “Lifting Oregon Out of the Mud,” “Oswald West, the governor who saved our beaches,” “The Drain Black Sox of Oregon vs The Alpine Cowboys of Texas.” His most recent book is “Saving the Great White Egret” based on research while writing a biography of William Finley, Oregon’s great conservationist. Blakely lives in Eugene. His books are listed on Amazon.com. |
| Lee Barckmann | Lee Barckmann grew up in New Jersey. He studied Economics and History at Kansas University. In 1985, he went to China for three years to teach English in Xian and Beijing. After returning with wife Mary and newly born son Zachary, Lee worked in IT, retiring as a technical consultant for IBM. He now lives in Wilsonville with Mary, runs 5Km races, and writes and babysits for granddaughters. |
| Suzanne Parrott | Suzanne Parrott published her first work “SEO Basics, Guide to Search Engine Optimation” in 2006. She has since published several works including the best-selling “Ebook Formatting and Publishing Guide” and “The Lost Sigil Ebook Editor Guide,” as well as several children’s titles. |
| Ron Lovell | Ron Lovell had a career as a magazine writer before joining the journalism staff at Oregon State University. The author of 14 textbooks, hundreds of magazine articles, 10 Martindale Mysteries and 4 Lorenzo Madrid Mysteries lives in Gleneden Beach, Oregon. |
| A.G. Cullen | A. G. (Gary) Cullen was born in St. Louis, Missouri. Moving frequently as a child, he grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, Billings, Montana, Portland, Oregon, and finally graduated from high school in Waldport, Oregon. He began college at Oregon State University, but his education was interrupted by a stint in the US Navy off the coast of Vietnam. After the navy, he received his BA from the University of Oregon and MA from the University of Missouri-Columbia. |
| Gary Lark | Gary Lark’s most recent collection is “Easter Creek,” from Main Street Rag. Others include, “Daybreak on the Water,” “Ordinary Gravity,” “River of Solace,” “In the House of Memory,” “Without a Map,” and “Getting By.” His work has appeared in Beloit Poetry Journal, Catamaran, Poet Lore, Rattle, The Sun, and ZYZZYVA. |
| GladEye Press | GladEye Press is a Pacific Northwest-based independent and traditional book publishing business specializing in fiction and nonfiction books. |
| Sharleen Nelson | Sharleen Nelson is an accomplished writer, editor, and award-winning photographer. She is a graduate of the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication and is currently employed as an editor and writer at the UO. She is the author of “The Time Tourists” and The Yesterday Girl,” and with Jeff Bolkan, co-wrote under the pseudonym K.J. Kolsen, “Dye. Run. Don’t Die,” an action-packed classic pulp-fiction style novel. |
| Patricia Brown | A former teacher, Patricia Brown is the author of Faith, Hope, Dying, the fifth book in her popular Coastal Coffee Club Mysteries series featuring amateur sleuth Eleanor Pengrose and her band of quirky coffee club friends. Other books in the series include A Recipe for Dying, Dying for Diamonds, Under a Dying Moon, and Dying to Win. |
| Cy Bishop | Cy Bishop enjoys life with his life-mate and little sprout in the Pacific Northwest. He obtained a degree in Counseling Psychology from Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington, which he use to create fully dimensional characters with unique personalities and quirks. When not writing, he can usually be found reading, watching movies, or wasting entirely too much time on the internet. |
| Roger McReynolds | After 32 years in the bookstore business, Roger retired and began updating mostly 19th century classics into modern English. Over the last ten years he has updated over fifty titles, including Charles Spurgeon, John Bunyan, Sherlock Holmes, and Philo Vance. |
| Christ Smart | Christ wrote his first book at age eleven, and the second of his children’s Sci-Fi novels at age twelve. Now nineteen, he has just completed the second in the Ranger Twins Mysteries, 12-year old boys solving cases in Northern California. |
| Reginald Martynique | Mr. Martynique takes thrillers and mysteries from the 19th century and “translates” them into Modern English. No more stumbling over archaic words, trying to decipher old-fashioned expressions, or wondering to what the characters are referring. Mr. Martynique clears all those up without interfering with the flow of the original narrative. Sherlock Holmes, Philo Vance (New York City’s Sherlock Holmes), Richard Hannay, Allan Quatermain, and one Aatha Christie mystery. |
| Steven C. Golly | Steven C. Golly is an ex-Navy Seal and retired Engineering Manager with a background in military operations and intelligence, satellite design, missile test, and the management of a large radar installation. He is also an avid sailor. |
| N.J. Hanson | N. J. Hanson is a member of the California Writer’s Club. He’s been writing and publishing professionally for nearly ten years, and has seven books to his name. His acclaimed series, the Ravenwood Hauntings, has been nominated both for an American Fiction Award and a RONE award from InD’Tale magazine. |
| Hope Hill | Hope Hill is a former foster kid. Her writing includes poetry, speculative fiction, and anything else that catches her fancy. A self-professed ‘pantser’ she usually has so many plots available that she rolls a twenty sided die to determine which one to work on next. Given her varied interests, one thing is certain: this is one author who will alternate genres. |
| Mike Salt | Mike Salt is a horror author of A Linkville Horror Series, originally self-published starting in 2019, until recently re-released with Darklit Press going forward. He won Inkshares Horror Competition in 2018 with his novel “Blind.” Mike is releasing his next novel, “Hollow,” about a haunted cave, in October 2023. |
| Dorothy A. Bell | Dorothy A. Bell is a long-time Oregon resident. Published through royalty publishers, eBooks, and now paperbacks, her twelve books include eleven Oregon historical fiction romances. |
| Darlene Weingand | Darlene Weingand writes about Tamara, who has a secret. Tracing her heritage leads her into dangerous journeys and mysterious outcomes. Join Tamara in exploring the emerging and surprising paths that confront her. |
| Sakre K. Edson | Sakre K. Edson’s “Final Choices: A Daughter’s Comparison of her Parents’ Final Journeys” (2022) is a personal story contrasting her mother’s doctor-directed struggle with her father’s patient-directed choice to use Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act. Side-by-side, she outlines her parents’ stages: hearing the diagnosis, finding a “new normal,” living in an interlude, the final endgame and the aftermath of death. Various leading authorities on grief, death, and dying are quoted, along with an extensive bibliography. |
| Ellana M.Fox | Lana M.Fox is a mystery writer who lives in Hood River, Oregon, where she and her family own cherry and pear orchards. When she isn’t writing, Lana loves to read, travel and spend time with her family. |
| Connie Strome Bradley | Connie Bradley has written three children’s books since retiring to Florence. A nurse and military wife for 65 years, she was one of the initial organizers of the Florence Festival of Books in 2011. |
| Eric Alan | Eric Alan is an author, photographer, lyricist, and meditation and workshop leader. His latest book is “Grateful by Nature,” which offers a path to gratitude through poetic stories and vivid photographs. His previous books include “Wild Grace: Nature as a Spiritual Path;” “Grace and Tranquility;” and “This is Our Time!” a book on the 2010 San Francisco Giants, co-written with Major League Baseball writer Chris Haft. |
| Leslie Compton | Leslie Compton is the author of three published books: “Dearest Minnie, A Sailor’s Story” during Teddy Roosevelt’s historic Great White Fleet tour around the world: “That’s Just the Way Life Is,” a memoir about her father; and “The Forgotten Artist,” a biography of her great-aunt, Evylena Nunn Miller. She gains pleasure in presenting her books as a way to enlighten others. Leslie has spent her life as an educator; an elementary teacher, a childbirth instructor, and a teacher of memoir writing and music. |
| Patsy Brookshire | Patsy Brookshire loves to tell stories. If that happens around a campfire or woodstove with other people sharing their tales, too, then she is soul-warming happy. Patsy lives on the Oregon coast surrounded by trees and water and wildlife. Each day is a new adventure. |
| Brandt Legg | Brandt Legg, USA TODAY bestselling author, uses his real life experiences to create page-turning novels. He’s traveled with CIA agents, dined with senators, mingled with astronauts, chatted with governors, had a private conversation with the Secretary of Defense, hung out with Oscar and Grammy winners, had drinks at the State Department, been pursued by tabloid reporters, and spent a birthday at the White House by invitation from the President of the United States. |
| Christi Krug | Christi Krug is a writing coach and the award-winning author of “Burn Wild: A Writer’s Guide to Creative Breakthrough.” She speaks throughout the Northwest and teaches for Lane Community College and Clark College, integrating poetry, breathing, story, memory, and movement. She often serves in parks and wild places as a creative resident, and she leads nature-centric writing workshops at the Oregon Coast, where she makes her home. |
| Lara Foster | Lara Foster is the author of “The Healing Gem of Arcadia,” a middle-grade adventure fantasy set on the Oregon Coast. She is a peak performance coach, inspirational host and presenter, and the creator of the “How to Be Human” podcast. |
| Roanne Legg | Roanne Legg, whole food chef, author, singer/songwriter, and poet, has had her writing published in literary magazines, anthologies, and books. The third book of her memoir trilogy: “Naked in Nepal,” “Naked in Greece,” and “Naked in Hawaii” will be out soon. Her cookbook, “For the Love of Eating” is vegan and macrobiotic. And, “Beautifully Torn”, a compilation of poems. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and son. |
| Pattie Brooks Anderson | Pattie Brooks Anderson is an artist and author. She has written two ecological themed children’s books: “Enchanted,” a story of an enchanted forest that is transformed by a benevolent Sorceress, and “Star and Raven’s Legend,” the story of the Great Bear Rainforest. She has also completed her first novel for women, “Sea Change,” set on the Oregon Coast. |
| Nancy Rhodes | Nancy Rhodes is an author of literary fiction. She published her first novel, “Blue Song” in 2021. Nancy’s novels share her passion for whales and travel. She is currently working on a sequel. |
| A. Lynn Ash | A. Lynn Ash was born and raised in Eugene. She earned a B.S. at the University of Oregon, and an M.A. at California State University. When she is not writing she enjoys birding and dancing to Latin Rhythms in her Zumba class. |
| Alexandra Mason | Alexandra Mason has lived a life devoted to reading, writing, teaching, and publishing. After retiring as a professor of English and Writing, she walked the beach at Seaside and found poetry spilling out. Since then, she has authored two experimental volumes of poetry, “Lost and Found” and “Poems Along the Way;” two imaginative novels, “The Lighthouse Ghost of Yaquina Bay” and “Shakespeare’s Pipe;” and more. Her most recent work is a collection of philosophical self-help essays on the power of love, “A Handbook for Love.” |
| C. Steven Blue | C. Steven Blue, author, publisher, and producer, wears many hats: author/poet/artist/musician. He is the publisher of twelve books. For decades he has produced and hosted literary and arts events in California and Oregon, giving countless opportunities to other creatives along the way. Steven is retired from a 27-year career in stage production in Hollywood. He currently lives in Eugene with his wife, Paulette, where he continues to pursue his artistic endeavors. |
| Sterncastle Publishing | Sterncastle Publishing is the Pacific Northwest’s newest and most dynamic publishing house. We are an author-focused traditional publisher specializing in fiction, folklore, poetry, memoir, and biography. Sterncastle’s primary mission is to uplift voices that are commonly marginalized in the mainstream literary landscape––particularly those belonging to Latino, Indigenous, Black, AAPI, Military Veteran, and LGBT+ authors. |
| The Northwest Independent Writers Association | The Northwest Independent Writers Association is a non-profit organization, made up of local PNW authors who write in a variety of genres and for all ages. While the table is staffed by three authors, the books on the table would include other members’ books as well. |
| Linda Ruzich | Linda Ruzich is a retired school teacher. When teaching fourth grade, her class read “Shiloh” a story about a boy and his beagle. Linda bought a “Shiloh” for her family and also a “Snoopy”. When moving to Florence, Linda wanted another beagle, so now she also has Ace. After taking many pictures of Ace, she decided to make a fun children’s book with the pictures. She was very excited to get it published! |
| Day of Greenleaf | Day Owen is the owner of Lighthouse Spiritual Bookstore in Old Town section of Florence (across the street from Mo’s) at 1411 Bay St. He publishes his books through the non-profit org he runs called Circle of Lovers. He teaches yoga and meditation. He is a well known environmentalist. |
| Robert Leo Heilman | Robert Leo Heilman is an award-winning author, essayist, and commentator who lives in Myrtle Creek, Oregon. He has been writing professionally for thirty-eight years and is a member of PEN America. |
| Elaine Correia | Elaine lives on the Oregon coast with her sweetheart, an Italian Greyhound. After years of exploring the healing arts, she decided to surrender her professional life in business and pursue her life-long dream of writing fantasy novels. When she is not editing and re-writing, she loves to walk through magical woods with her dog and eat cream puffs. |
| Luminare Press | Luminare Press offers a one-stop shop to meet all your self-publishing goals. Our services include book design and layout, custom covers, ebooks,editing, distribution, marketing, promo packages and more. We’re fast, friendly, affordable, and we produce first class books. |
| Jehovah’s Wirnesses | Jehovah’s Witnesses publish Bible and Bible based publications in print and electronic format. |
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Florence Festival of Books 