October 15-21
Festival at a Glance
Pre-Festival
Monday, September 24th
7:00 pm “American Islam: Challenges and Possibilities,” with Dr. Steve Fink, Eau Claire Room, L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
Monday, October 1st
7:00 pm “How a Fantasy Novel Offers Perspectives on African Culture and History,” with Dr. Louisa Rice, Eau Claire Room, L. E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
Festival
Monday, October 15th
7:00 pm “From the Birkie To Peru: How North America’s Greatest Ski Race Can be the Start of a Remarkable Journey,” with Walter Rhein, Calhoun Memorial Library, Chetek
7:00 pm “Ghost Stories: Five Writers Read Works on Historical Trauma” with Carolyn Holbrook, Margie Newman, Mai Neng Moua, Marcie Rendon, Joan Maeda Trygg, Eau Claire Room, L.E.Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
Tuesday, October 16th
6:30 pm “A Reading from the Novel The Back of the House”with Michelle Wildgen, Chippewa Falls Public Library
7:00 pm “When Good Characters Go Bad,” with Rebecca Makkai, Altoona Public Library
Wednesday, October 17th
12:00 pm “Odd Wisconsin: Wisconsin History You Didn’t Learn In School” and luncheon with Erika Janik, Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire
5:00 pm “Ideas are Everywhere,” with Pat Schmatz, G.E. Bleskacek Family Memorial Library, Bloomer
7:00 pm “The North Shore in My Fiction and My Life,” with Peter Geye, Menomonie Public Library
Thursday, October 18th
4:00 pm “Paws and Paperclips,” with Kathy Nimmer, Hibbard Humanities Hall 100, UW-Eau Claire
7:30 pm “The Quickest Path is Never a Straight Line,” with Ayad Akhtar, Schofield Hall Auditorium, UW-Eau Claire
Friday, October 19th
4:00 pm “The Nadine St. Louis Memorial Poetry Reading,” with William Stobb and Joyce Sutphen, Unitarian Universalist Congregation, Eau Claire
5:30 pm Reception at Eau Claire Golf and Country Club, Altoona
6:30 pm Dinner with Authors at Eau Claire Golf and Country Club, Altoona
8:00 pm “The Reluctant Journalist: How a Poet Becomes a Talk-Show Host,” with Jean Feraca, Eau Claire Golf and Country Club, Altoona
Saturday, October 20th
9:30 am “Vintage Wisconsin Gardens,” with Lee Somerville, Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
10:45 am “Stirring It Up With Molly Ivins,” with Ellen Sweets, Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
10:45 am “Everything I Learn I Put Into Picture Books,” with Rick Chrustowski, Chippewa Valley Museum, Eau Claire
1:00 pm “A Writer’s Sense of Place,” with Larry Watson, Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
2:15 pm “The Thin Line Between the Fantastical and Reality,” with Nnedi Okorafor, Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
3:30 pm “Why Writing Romance Isn’t At All Romantic,” with MaryJanice Davidson, Eau Claire Room, L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Eau Claire
3:30 pm “Recent Work: The Retiring Mind,” with Bruce Taylor, The State Theater Lobby, Eau Claire
Sunday, October 21st
1:30 pm “Young Writers of the Chippewa Valley,” with writing contest winners, Grand Little Theatre, Eau Claire
4:00 pm “Stories and Songs from Revival: A Folk Music Novel,” with Scott Alarik, Heyde Center for the Arts, Chippewa Falls
adults $10, seniors $9, youth $5
5:30 pm Coffee and conversation with Scott Alarik (free admission)