The 26th Get Lit! festival draws writers

The 2024 Get Lit! Festival hosts writers from around the region and world with free, ticketed and virtual options.

The 26th anniversary Get Lit! Festival hubs in Spokane, Cheney and Coeur d'Alene are at the Central Library and Montvale Event Center, with venues at Spark Central, Emma Rue's and Hogwash Whiskey Den, said Kate Peterson, festival organizer.

Get Lit! opens with a panel at 11 a.m., Thursday, April 11, at the PUB in Cheney with writers Lauren Kay Johnson, a former military public affairs officer and Afghanistan veteran; Abby Murray, editor of Collateral, a journal on the impact of violent conflict and beyond combat zones; Shannon Huffman Polson, a poet, nonfiction writer and veteran, and MaxieJane Frazier, a veteran. They will discuss the humanity of war, the impact of war on women and experiences of veterans and their families.

At 7 p.m., Friday, April 12, at Saranac Art Projects, 25 W. Main, there will be a presentation on art inspired by writers with Mary Farrell, Lena Lopez Schindler, Mariah Boyle and Josh Hobson.

At 8 p.m. at the Magic Lantern, Rebekah Wilkins-Pepiton will moderate a discussion on "Artistic Process and Inspiration."

Fiction writer Alma Garcia and poet Luther Hughes will teach craft classes.

A book fair will take place all day Saturday at Montvale Event Center.

"We offer opportunities for attendees to speak and share their work with two open-mics, multiple workshops, a silent reading party, writing time with Spark Central and virtual conversations on books and writing," said Kate.

Carmen Maria Machado, author of the memoir In the Dream House, will read at 7 p.m., Saturday, April 13, at the Bing, followed by conversation with Spokane author Sharma Shields. They will discuss women at the forefront of re-imagining fiction.

Sunday events are virtual.

At 2:30 p.m., authors Jeffrey Dale Lofton and Greg Marshall will share about homophobia and ableism.

At 3:30 p.m., writers Sarah Ghazal Ali and Cori Winrock will discuss being a woman, motherhood, erasure, silencing and telling stories in the midst of violence and grief.

At 6 p.m., authors Sofia Ali-Khan and Jennifer Lunden will reflect on sociopolitical, personal, scientific and historical intersections related to industrial capitalism and social justice.

For information, visit GetLitfestival2024.sched.com