Joseph Powell

Monday, October 4, 2010, 7:30 pm

Mary Grupe Center

Joseph Powell grew up on a small farm in Ellensburg. He received his BA in English Literature from the University of Washington, an MA from Central Washington University, and a MFA from the University of Arizona. His first book of poems, Counting the Change, was selected by Ted Weiss to be published in the Quarterly Review of Literature; his second, Winter Insomnia, was published by Lex Runciman's Arrowood Books; his third, Getting Here, was also chosen by Weiss for the Quarterly Review of Literature. He has also co-written a book with Mark Halperin on meter in poetry: Accent On Meter: A Handbook for the Readers of Poetry, published by NCTE. He published a book of stories in 2007 titled Fish Grooming & Other Stories from March Street Press which was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award. His latest book of poems, Hard Earth, was published in 2010 by March Street Press. In his spare time, he enjoys flyfishing, gardening, gathering mushrooms and berries, playing ping-pong and tennis. Joe teaches writing at Central Washington University.

Jess Walter

Monday, October 18, 2010, 7:30 pm

Music Building Recital Hall

Jess Walter is the author of five novels, including The Zero, a finalist for the 2006 National Book Award and Citizen Vince, winner of the 2005 Edgar Allen Poe Award for best novel. He has been a finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize and the PEN USA Literary Prize in both fiction and nonfiction. His books have been New York Times, Washington Post and NPR best books of the year and are translated into twenty-two languages. He lives with his family in Spokane.

William Pack

Monday, November 1, 2010, 7:30 pm

Mary Grupe Center

William Pack grew up in poverty in rural Montana, became emancipated from his parents at age 15, slept on floors and worked odd jobs until landing a job as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch. He used hard work, business prowess, and an uncanny intuition for timing market swings to quickly rise to prominence. At 36 he became the youngest EVP/divisional director at Citigroup Smith Barney. Pack also served as an arbitrator and an appellate arbitrator while serving an appointment on the District Conduct Committee of the NASD, a secruities regulation enforcement partner of the SEC, where he studied and resolved securitites schemes. His first book, The Bottom of the Sky , is published by Riverbend Publishing of Helena, Montana. It was an award-winning finalist, Best Book 2009 Awards, in the category of Literature and Fiction: General (USA Book News). When not in Montana, Pack lives in Northern California.

Tod Marshall

Tuesday, January 18, 2011, 7:30 pm

SURC Theatre

Tod Marshall grew up in Kansas. His first collection of poetry was Dare Say (University of Georgia Press, 2002). He has also published a collection of his interviews with contemporary poets, Range of the Possible (Eastern Washington University Press, 2002) and an attendant anthology of work by the interviewed poets, Range of Voices (EWU Press, 2005). His latest book is The Tangled Line (Canarium Press, 2009). He lives in Spokane, Washington, and teaches at Gonzaga University.

Buddy Levy

Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7:30 pm 

SURC Theatre

Buddy Levy is the author of the forthcoming River of Darkness: Francisco Orellana's Historic Descent of the Amazon (Bantam Dell, 2011) and Conquistador: Hernan Cortes, King Montezuma, and the Last Stand of the Aztecs (Bantam Dell, 2008), which was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association Award, 2009. His previous books include American Legend: The Real-Life Adventures of David Crockett (Putnam, 2005, Berkeley Books, 2006); and Echoes On Rimrock: In Pursuit of the Chukar Partridge (Pruett, 1998). As a freelance journalist he has covered adventure sports and lifestyle/travel subjects around the world, including several Eco-Challenges and other adventure expeditions in Argentina, Borneo, Chile, Ecuador, Europe, Greenland, Peru, Morocco, and the Philippines. His magazine articles and essays have appeared in Backpacker, Big Sky Journal, Couloir, Discover, High Desert Journal, Poets & Writers, River Teeth, Ski, Trail Runner, Utne Reader, TV Guide, and VIA. He is associate professor of English at Washington State University, and lives in northern Idaho with his wife and two children.

Marjorie Sandor

Tuesday, April 5, 2011, 7:30 pm

SURC Theatre

Marjorie Sandor is the author of The Late Interiors: A Life Under Construction, Arcade Publishing (May 2011), Portrait of My Mother, Who Posed Nude in Wartime, Sarabande Books (2003), and The Night Gardener, The Lyons Press (1999) as well as A Night of Music, Ecco Press (1989). She won an award from the Rona Jaffe Foundation for fiction in 1999, the Oregon Book Award for Literay Nonfiction in 2000 and the National Jewish Book Award in Fiction in 2004. She earned her MFA from the University of Iowa in 1984 and her BA from the University of California at Davis in 1979. Marjorie is a professor at Oregon State University where she teaches creative writing and literature.

Susan Rich

Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 7:30 pm

SURC Ballroom, Section A

Susan Rich is the author of three collections of poetry, The Cartographer's Tongue / Poems of the World, Cures Include Travel, and The Alchemist's Kitchen. She has received awards from PEN USA, The Times Literary Supplement, and Peace Corps Writers. Her fellowships include an Artists Trust Fellowship from Washington State and a Fulbright Fellowship in South Africa. She lives in Seattle.

Allen Braden

Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 7:30 pm

SURC Ballroom, Section A

Poet Allen Braden is author of A Wreath of Down and Drops of Blood (University of Georgia Press 2009) and a fine letterpress accordion book, Detail of the Four Chambers to the Horse's Heart. He received an NEA fellowship for creative writing and was awarded a residency at the Poetry Center and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Braden's recent work appears in Orion Magazine, Subtropics, Poetry International, Water-Stone Review and three textbooks. He lives in Tacoma and teaches poetry and creative writing at Tacoma Community College