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Writers and Readers Descend Upon Washington Island

This weekend (Oct. 4 – 6), Washington Island will host their first ever Literary Festival, featuring something for everyone – poetry, fiction, mystery, and more.

Entitled “Writing Wisconsin: Facts and Fictions,” the event will feature author and former Wisconsin Public Radio host Jean Feraca, novelists Dale Kushner and Martha Egan, Wisconsin Poet Laureate Bruce Dethlefsen, WPR host and author Norman Gilliland, writer and editor Mary Fons, cookbook author Terese Allen, director of Write On! Door County Jared Santek, and local authors Sharon Auberle, Ralph Murre, and Richard Purinton.

The event will feature Feraca’s presentation “From Poetry, To Memoir, To Fiction: A writer’s journey.” She will also lead a panel discussion on the topic: “Why Write?” Panel members include Kushner, Egan, Dethlefsen and Gilliland.

Fons, a nationally ranked slam poet who got her chops slamming at Chicago’s legendary Green Mill, will present an afternoon workshop for festival participants about how to turn reading aloud into performance art. On Oct. 5, she will host both an open mic and slam poetry contest in addition to reading from her own work. This portion of the festival will be free and open to the public.

The registration fee is $90 and includes all events, coffee breaks, Saturday dinner and Sunday morning trip to Rock Island. For more information, contact Mari Anderson ([email protected] or 920.847.2579) or Betsy Wallman ([email protected]), and visit truebloodpac.com.