Get Lit! Festival 2025

Join us for our annual Book Fair at the Montvale Event Center, which includes access to 12+ festival events featuring dozens of authors including Maggie Smith, Danez Smith, Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Tara Campbell, Rena Priest, and many others! Events include readings, panel discussions, reading and writing sessions, an open mic, and so much more! The Book Fair will host 20+ local and regional booksellers, small presses, non-profits, and other bookish organizations. DOMA Coffee Roasting Company will be serving FREE coffee from 9am-12pm. This pass covers the full day of events and Book Fair and allows you to come and go as you please!

Here's who you'll find at this year's Book Fair!

Girl Noise Press, Talking River Review, Makeout Creek Books, Melanie Hewitt AKA LibroBuch, Washington Center for the Book, Books to Prisoners, Latah Books, Willow Springs Magazine, Willow Springs Books, Rock & Sling, Spokane Print and Publishing Center, Lost Horse Press, Lynx House Press, Western Colorado University, Fugue, Spark Central, Spokane Arts, SpokAnimal, Page 42 Bookstore, Spokane Public Radio, Jupiter’s Eye Book Cafe, Foray for the Arts, Gray Dog Press, and Wishing Tree Books. 

Check out this map for some lunch options in walking distance!

Are you a novelist looking for a critique group? A poet looking for other poets to share prompts and inspiration? Are you a reader and want to talk about the books you can't get out of your head? Join us for our fourth-annual Conversations Over Coffee! This event (inspired by an Unconference format) offers participant-driven conversations that cover a range of topics--essentially anything you’d like to talk with others about! Bring your expertise and your hopes to connect on any question or topic, and we'll create in-the-moment groups so people can talk about their interests with others. This is a great space to form lasting connections with other readers and writers in town!

Must Read Fiction began because reader and writer Erin Popelka believes that her life is better when she’s got a novel in hand. In 2017, she started Must Read Fiction, a social media community to meet other readers who feel the same way. The result: a vibrant place for readers to connect to their next great read, hear the story behind the story with author interviews, and receive free books!

*DOMA will be providing free coffee in the Book Fair from 9-12pm. Make sure to arrive early to make time to grab a free coffee before heading to the second floor!

Writing requires the writer to locate a narrative voice and plumb its depths, pursuing the story it has to tell. But what about pursuing the silences, portraying the voiceless, and revealing the unspeakable? Four writers of differing genres will discuss their experiences of finding meaning in silence. Hear from Pacific Northwest authors Margot Kahn, Kirsten Sundberg Lunstrum, Molly Olguín and Kristen Millares Young, whose poems, essays, and short fiction have been published in magazines such as the New England Review, The Sun, and The Guardian. They have also individually won several literary awards like the AWP Intro Awards Prize, PEN/O. Henry Prize, and the Nautilus award. These writers, through their variety of experience as well as publications, share practical strategies for structure and technique while also revealing their intuitive work to uncover the mysteries held in the silent spaces. Understanding the complexities of writing silence is essential to authentically telling the stories of the marginalized, recounting the way power uses silence to extract more power, and–perhaps counterintuitively—finding the divine. Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore!

In the mood to be around other people but not interact? Do you need a few minutes in the middle of the festival to take a few quiet moments to regroup? Join our silent reading party with host Kathie McAuliffe to sit together and enjoy some quiet book time! If this appeals to you, you’re in luck - there are two Silent Book Club Chapters in Spokane right now. Join us and get more information for future parties!


Please fill out our festival survey after you have attended this event. The information you provide will help us obtain critical grant funding and will help make next year’s festival even better!

From zombie invasions to nuclear wars, the end of the world has been envisioned again and again in any number of terrific and unsettling ways. How can authors keep the genre fresh and entertaining for an ever-wider audience? Join authors Tara Campbell and Laura Jean McKay as they discuss their processes in crafting fictional apocalypses that feel relevant and insightful to readers in a post-pandemic world. Tara Campbell writes crossover sci-fi, speculative fiction off the warp-drive path; her themes are not about technology and machines, but what happens when an ordinary person (or creature) faces extraordinary circumstances. Laura Jean McKay’s writing blurs the line between humans and animals in humorous and transcendent ways; her work shows a keen mastery of prose and a remarkable awareness of our relationship with the natural world. Join these two speculative fiction writers in a reading and discussion of craft, process, and genre! Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore.

We are very sad to announce that Laura Jean McKay is no longer able to make it to this event! Tara Campbell will graciously read an excerpt from Laura's work and incorporate her themes into her discussion. Make sure to join us to support Tara! And you'll still be able to catch Laura in her virtual event on Sunday and interact with her in the live chat! 

Authors and journalists Tiffany Midge, Rena Priest, and Betsy Gaines Quammen gather to discuss writing about and to the Western United States. These writers often find themselves retelling, revising, and rewriting recurring narratives about who they are and what it means to live, work, and write in the West where they report on the animals, places, and issues we all care about. Tiffany Midge is a poet and journalist whose work blurs the line between genres and explores identity in the PNW with a sense of humor. Rena Priest’s work spans nonfiction and poetry and celebrates the natural beauty, history, and cultures of the West. Betsy Gaines Quammen is a historian and writer who collects stories to make sense of a place defined by colonization, extraction, rebellion, myth, beauty, and land. Don't miss this reading and conversation on rewriting the West! Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore!


Please fill out our festival survey after you have attended this event. The information you provide will help us obtain critical grant funding and will help make next year’s festival even better!

We are thrilled to be partnering with our favorite local non-profit animal shelter SpokAnimal to bring a space to the festival where folks can spend some quality time with adoptable animals! SpokAnimal will be bringing cats and kittens into the third floor lounge for a few quiet hours of decompression during the busy festival day. Research shows that petting our animal friends can lower cortisol and increase oxytocin and other happy hormones! Make sure to stop by to lower your heart rate and learn more about the important work SpokAnimal is doing in our community. SpokAnimal will also be hosting our special open mic in the second floor lounge featuring Jessica E. Johnson following this event.

Aspiring writers unite! You're invited to be a part of Spark Central’s supportive writers' community. If you found yourself struck by inspiration during a festival event, desperately jotting down notes for your own work, look no further than this uninterrupted hour of focused writing time! You are also encouraged to bring works in progress to share, or get inspired with creative prompts. Hosted by local writer and Spark central volunteer, Jenny Davis.

Join us in celebrating the release of Dan Morris' Tree, Moss Fungus, and Fern, published by Willow Springs Books. This event will be a reading and discussion of writing in the Northwest, featuring Dan Morris, John Keeble, and Jonathan Johnson, in celebration of Willow Springs Books' John Keeble Series in Rural American Writing. Tree, Moss Fungus, and Fern is the second publication in this series.

Writing can sometimes feel like a lonely art: the solitary act of creation between the writer and the page. But that doesn’t have to be the case. While academia often offers writers an opportunity to share and shape one another’s work, there can be many avenues for finding a creative community exchanging process methods, and sharing avenues for inspiration. Join authors Maggie Smith, Molly Olguin, Tara Campbell, Jennifer Yu, and Lauren Westerfield in a discussion about the beauty of artistic community and writerly connections, both inside and outside academia. Maggie Smith is an award-winning poet and nonfiction author whose latest book, Dear Writer, is a practical guide to the writing life for artists of all experience levels and backgrounds. Molly Olguín is a Seattle-based fiction writer whose debut collection The Sea Gives Up the Dead is forthcoming from Red Hen Press. Tara Campbell writes a broad variety of genres, including poetry, essays, short stories, and vivid speculative fiction novels; she currently teaches creative writing at Hugo House, John Hopkins University, and Clarion West, among other places. Jennifer Yu is a young adult novelist currently studying and teaching at the University of Idaho; her most recent book, Grief in the Fourth Dimension, explores how identity and community affect the way our lives (and deaths) are remembered. Lauren Westerfield, is a local poet, essayist, and professor whose debut collection Depth Control is forthcoming from Unsolicited Press. Don’t miss this powerful discussion on creativity and community. Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore!


Please fill out our festival survey after you have attended this event. The information you provide will help us obtain critical grant funding and will help make next year’s festival even better!

Since its inception in 1975, Lynx House Press has published more than 200 poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction titles: 172 poetry collections, 19 volumes of fiction, and nine nonfiction titles. Lynx House has sought always to publish work of outstanding verbal intensity, aesthetic merit, and social engagement and, as a result, has gathered the work of authors from a wide distribution of national and ethnic backgrounds. Come join us to peruse over 200 books which will be on display to celebrate the breadth and depth of amazing work that has been published by Lynx House Press over the last 50 years. This is a casual reception which may include short readings from local and regional writers published by Lynx House Press.

“[U]ltimately, the place but is only a name, the City [...] a universe of rented spaces haunted by a nowhere or by dreamed-of places.” Drawing from this quote from Michel de Certeau, four authors join to explore their interactions with place and displacement — and the haunting spaces that those experiences create. From migrations across oceans to collective memory and trauma to the threat of climate disaster, these writers contend with what it means to make and remake a home. Hear short stories from Seattle residers Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Diana Xin, and Juan Carlos Reyes, and poems from Josh Fomon, all exploring movement across a city, from the known to unknown, the strange to the familiar, the secret hidden spaces, and the points of connection and meaning that echo something out of reach. From Fomon’s work with Black Ocean publishers to Tam-Claiborne’s debut novel to Xin and Reyes’ debut short story collections, this is a panel you won’t want to miss. Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore!

Although transgender people have existed in world cultures from time immemorial, what is new today is the way trans and nonbinary folx are languaging themselves into being. In this panel, trans and nonbinary poets of different ages discuss how their access to broader language for their gender and sexual expression comes through their and others’ poetry. Subhaga Crystal Bacon is a nonbinary, transmasc queer elder with multiple publications including her newest book, Transitory, which brings greater awareness to the death and mistreatment of trans folk. Tennison Black is a queer transmasc nonbinary writer whose poetry, as seen in their multi-award-winning book, Survival Strategies, focuses on defiance and displacement via the body politic. Newer to the writing community are writers Juno Williams, Gwendolyn Owens, and Fig DePaolo, all queer Spokane writers who contribute to the larger creative conversation through fiction and poetry, adding surprising elements of their personal life as well as the genre they specialize in. This intergenerational panel means to emphasize how, especially at this juncture in history, intersectional community is the key to bolstering one another and our work. Purchase the author's books via Auntie's Bookstore. 

Join us for an open mic that celebrates the bond between humans and animals, and shines a light on animal rescue efforts in our community and beyond! This event will begin with a reading by our special featured author Jessica E. Johnson, whose poems and essays have been featured in publications like The Paris Review, Tin House, Prairie Schooner, and Cascadia Field Guide: Art, Ecology, Poetry. Jessica will be reading from a new series of poems that center around her two cats and their rescue story. Following Jessica’s reading, the community is encouraged to sign up to read an original work of 1-5 minutes in length, preferably including the themes of animals, pets, rescue, wildlife, or nature. This event will be hosted by Yvonne Leach, a poet and alum of the Eastern’s MFA program, and a volunteer with SpokAnimal. Join us to learn more about the great work SpokAnimal is doing in our community, and celebrate the joys of animals!


Please fill out our festival survey after you have attended this event. The information you provide will help us obtain critical grant funding and will help make next year’s festival even better!

Join us for a salon-style discussion centered on the power of poetry and its place in the world. Our annual Salon is a chance for 4-5 poets to sit down together to discuss their craft—how they came to it, how they sustain it, and what gifts it can bring to those they share it with. Each poet brings a unique perspective and vast experience to the table, and every year we are stunned at the magic that takes place within these conversations. This year’s Salon includes poets with award-winning debut collections alongside seasoned veterans with several collections and impressive accolades. Our 2025 Salon includes Danez Smith, author of four poetry collections, multi-award winner and MFA professor at Randolph College; Tennison S. Black, winner of the National Poetry Series of 2023 with their book, Survival Strategies; Subhaga Crystal Bacon, the author of four poetry collections including Transitory, a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award; Margot Kahn, co-editor of a New York Times Editors’ Choice anthology and author of three other collections; and Rena Priest, who uses her published nonfiction poetry to address history and culture. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from some of the most talented contemporary poets from our region and beyond!


Purchase books by these poets via Auntie's Bookstore!

Get Lit! is thrilled to welcome two award-winning, groundbreaking writers, Maggie Smith and Danez Smith, to Spokane. Maggie is the author of seven books of poetry and prose including her most recent craft book, Dear Writer, a New York Times bestselling memoir titled You Could Make This Place Beautiful, and poetry collections like Good Bones, and Goldenrod. Danez is the author of four award-winning poetry collections, including Bluff and Homie. A poet, performer, and cultural critic, Danez has been featured in Vanity Fair, The New York Times, The New Yorker, GQ, and more. Maggie and Danez are two of the most engaging and celebrated voices writing today, and we are thrilled to present this opportunity to put them on stage together for both a reading and a discussion. Maggie and Danez will join poet EWU MFA alum Aileen Keown Vaux for a rich conversation on creativity and craft. And stick around after the event for a book signing with Auntie's! You can also purchase books from Auntie's ahead of time using this link!

Foray for The Arts is a traveling multidisciplinary event that was founded by Greg Bem and Sarah Rooney. The event is intended to provide a place for local artists of all kinds to perform with each other in order to collaborate, network, and gain experience. This event series travels to local businesses in hopes to celebrate the unique variety of venues that Spokane has to offer while providing opportunities to connect with different parts of the community. This Foray event hopes to give the writers a flexibility to showcase their writing as well as pair it with possible other creative talents. This special festival edition of Foray is composed of 2025 festival authors Lauren Westerfield, Juan Carlos Reyes, Kristen Millares Young, Josh Fomon, Daniel Tam-Claiborne, Diana Xin, and Tiffany Midge alongside Spokane writers Margaret Albaugh, Shraya Singh, and Taylor Waring. 

Purchase books by these writers via Auntie's Bookstore.

This event is free and open to the public. Attendees will enter the event via Emma Rue's, but readings will take place on the People's Waffle side through an interior curtain near the bar. Thank you to Foray and Emma Rue's for their partnership!

Please fill out our festival survey after you have attended this event. The information you provide will help us obtain critical grant funding and will help make next year’s festival even better!