Our speakers are lined up for the 2016 Terroir Creative Writing Festival, happening Saturday, April 16 in McMinnville, OR
Susan Blackaby has worked in educational publishing for over 30 years. On the clock, she specializes in early literacy. On her own time she dabbles across genres in children’s literature. Works include Nest, Nook & Cranny, Brownie Groundhog and the February Fox, and The Twelve Days of Christmas in Oregon.
Kate Carroll deGutes is the author of Objects In Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award. She has received fellowships from the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, the Anderson Center, Artsmith, and Centrum. You can learn more about Kate and read her critically acclaimed blog, “The Authenticity Experiment,” at http://www.katecarrolldegutes.com.
Barbara Drake’s newest collection of essays is Oregon Book Awards finalist Morning Light: Wildflowers, Night Skies, and Other Ordinary Joys of Oregon Country Life, (OSU Press). Previous books include Peace at Heart (essays), Driving One Hundred (poetry) and Writing Poetry (textbook). A retired Linfield College Professor, she lives with her husband in rural Yamhill County.
Ed Edmo is a Shoshone-Bannock poet, actor, playwright, performer, traditional storyteller, tour guide, and lecturer on Northwest tribal culture. He adapts Native legends for the theatre and performed with Ken Kesey, Mason Williams, and Allen Ginzberg in 1977 before 10,000 people in Eugene. Ed lives in Portland with his wife, children, and granddaughter.
Emily Grosvenor’s first blog, Desperately Seeking Salem, won Best Salem Blog the year it launched and became a beloved column for the Statesman-Journal. An independent magazine journalist in McMinnville, she writes for The Atlantic, Sunset, Portland Monthly and Salon.com and currently maintains five blogs, including our festival blog.
Lisa Ohlen Harris is the author of the Middle East memoir Through the Veil and The Fifth Season: A Daughter-in-Law’s Memoir of Caregiving. Both books were finalists for the Oregon Book Award. Harris teaches online for Creative Nonfiction Foundation and works as a freelance editor and writing mentor. Her self-published craft book, Creative Nonfiction Toolbox, is available exclusively at the Terroir Creative Writing Festival book table. http://www.lisaohlenharris.com
Purchaser by day, writer by night, Gina Fluharty is an author of sexy paranormal romance. Her books will come with warning labels. She lives in Portland, which serves as inspiration for many of her paranormal characters.
Award winner and storycatcher Yvonne Kohano writes contemporary romantic suspense, psychological thrillers, and nonfiction tips on creativity, when she’s not gardening, cooking, traveling, reading, or learning. Follow on Facebook as Yvonne Kohano, and on Twitter @yvonnekohano to learn what tickles her about being a writer.
Morgan Kennedy is an author of contemporary romance, futuristic, and steampunk novels and short stories. In her day job, she is a marketing and business development professional focused on smart building technology. Morgan is the co-author of the book and blog Author Marketing 101. She lives in Portland, OR.
Terri Reed’s inspirational romance and romantic suspense novels have appeared on Publisher’s Weekly top 25 and Nielsen’s Bookscan top 100, have been featured in USA Today, Christian Fiction Magazine and Romantic Times Magazine, and have finaled in RWA’s RITA contest, National Reader’s Choice Award contest, and ACFW’s The Carol Award contest. Contact Terri @ www.terrireed.com
Shawn Levy is the bestselling author of Paul Newman: A Life and Rat Pack Confidential. He’s the former film critic of the Oregonian and teaches film studies at Portland State University. His eighth book, Dolce Vita Confidential, about film, fashion and paparazzi in 1950s Rome, will be published this fall. www.shawnlevy.com (Twitter = @shawnlevy)
Stephen Long was a dock worker, truck driver, inventor, and entrepreneur. He fulfilled the dream of becoming an author when a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation led to his debut novel There’s a Somebody. Stephen has since completed a follow-up novel All Hat, and is working on an as yet unnamed third novel.
Poet Laureate of Colorado from 2010-2014, David Mason is a native northwesterner, author and editor of many books, including Ludlow: A Verse Novel, Sea Salt: Poems of a Decade, and Davey McGravy: Tales to be Read Aloud to Children and Adult Children. His work appears in The New Yorker, The Nation and many other magazines.
Josiah Phillips has been a stage actor since the seventies. His career started in Portland. After moving to San Francisco, he toured in Margit Roma’s New Shakespeare Company and acted with Berkeley Repertory Theater. In 1987 he returned to Oregon and has acted with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for 22 years.
Kate Ristau is an author and folklorist who writes young adult and middle grade fiction. In her ideal world, magic and myth combine to create memorable stories with unforgettable characters. Until she finds that world, she’ll live in Portland, Oregon with her husband, her son, and her dog. http://www.kateristau.com
Samuel Snoek-Brown teaches writing and serves as production editor for Jersey Devil Press. Online, he lives at snoekbrown.com. A 2013 Oregon Literary Fellowship recipient, he is the author of the chapbooks Where There Is Ruin and Box Cutters, the novella In the Pulse There Lies Conviction, and the novel Hagridden.
William L. Sullivan is the author of 18 books about Oregon hiking, history, adventure, and mystery. He grew up in Salem and completed degrees at Cornell and the UO. In 1985 he hiked over 1000 miles across Oregon, an adventure recounted in Listening for Coyote, a finalist for the Oregon Book Award.
Brian Tibbetts is a literary agent, writer, freelance editor, musician, and printmaker living in Portland, Oregon with his children and dog. He is the former Acquisitions Manager for Ooligan Press and the former Editor-in-Chief of Portland Review. He holds a Master’s Degree in Book Publishing from Portland State University. http://www.macgregorliterary.com
Terroir Creative Writing Festival 
