| Craigmont
holding Literary Festival
“Build it and they will come.” That line from a popular movie was never more evident than what is happening in the little prairie town of Craigmont after a park pavilion/band shell was recently completed using volunteer labor and a Forest Service Grant which made the construction possible. Following the third successful year of Jam’n in the Park concert series, the Gem Community is hosting it’s first Craigmont Literary Festival which is a celebration of the written word by promoting reading, book arts and an appreciation of area literary artists. What is a Literary Festival? Imagine sitting in the shade as you listen as authors read samples of the writings and talk about what inspired them. Maybe you have read their books and would like to ask questions. In between readings, you can visit with your neighbors or maybe make new friends as you listen to music being carried on the breeze. The Historic Craigmont Hotel will be introducing wines from the Camas Prairie Winery and you can sample some favorites from this Moscow Winery or just have a cold non-alcoholic beverage and sample treats while you mosey around and visit with the authors or perhaps purchase a signed copy of their work Authors are converging from all points to engage us with their wit and writings all under the shade of the city park and will be conducting readings and discussions as well as book signing. If you would like a relaxing, entertaining afternoon, come to Craigmont August 14th. Events start at 10:00 am and watch for a schedule of featured authors. For information call 924-5055 or 924-5432 Craigmont hosting Kim Barnes Inaugural Reading Once every three years, an Idaho Writer is selected to serve a three year term and honored with the title of Idaho-Writer-In-Residence. The selection is made from Idaho applicants whose anonymous submissions are judged by a panel of three notable out-of-state writers. Manuscripts are evaluated 60% for artistic excellence, 20% for contribution to the field and 20% for oral presentation. The panel’s choice is subsequently approved by the Governor of Idaho. 
In April, this year’s panel selected Idaho’s newest writer in residence, Kim Barnes, who was born in Lewiston in 1958 and currently resides in Moscow with her husband and children. She grew up in a lumber camp in Pierce, Idaho and earned her B.A. in English at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston. She then received an M.A. in English at Washington State University and ten years later, an M.F.A. at the University of Montana. Barnes memoir, In The Wilderness: Coming of Age in Unknown Country, was a finalist in 1997 for the Pulitzer Prize and received the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award that year. Her sequel, Hungry for the World, was published in 2001 and Finding Caruso in 2003. The Idaho Commission of the Arts is pleased to sponsor Kim in her inaugural reading at the Craigmont Literary Festival which will be held Saturday August 14th starting at 10:00 am. The festival will be a celebration of the written word and Kim will be joined by other area authors including Maxine Riggers, Joe Mieners, Monty Spears, Joyce Holt and others in reading their works and discussing the world of literature and what inspired them in their work and signing books. The Historic Craigmont Hotel will be there offering refreshments as well as wines from the Camas Prairie Winery. The event are free and open to the public. If you would like an day of relaxation, bring your chairs (seating is limited) and plan a day in Craigmont and meet Idaho’s newest Writer in Residence, Kim Barnes. For information call 924-5432 or 5055. A Gem Community Project. |
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