Novice writers from across the Palouse attended the Palouse Writers Guild’s first Palouse Writers Festival in Moscow yesterday. PWG hosted the event to inspire future writers by teaching writing skills to the community through workshops by local authors.
These workshops included information on revising stories, writing dialogue, finding story inspiration and creating characters. The festival also held panels for attendees to interact with the authors, book signings and the announcement of the PWG First Chapter Contest winners.
At first, PWG intended for the festival to be held in person, but the organizers had to adapt due to COVID-19. The organizers eventually decided on a hybrid option – in-person workshops and Zoom panels so at-risk populations could attend remotely.
“Switching has been difficult and we’ve constantly had to adjust,” said Khaliela Wright, organizer of the festival. “To have your inaugural year in the middle of a pandemic is (a situation) where anything done is a success. We’re learning in a pandemic and we’re using it to look towards next year.”
The festival strongly encouraged attendees to wear facemasks and provided extras to those without one. Workshop and panel sessions by writers, which originally would have been held in the 1912 Center, moved to Zoom. Some events had a hybrid option where participants could choose to attend either in-person at the 1912 Center or remotely.
The in-person options spaced seating options to account for social distancing. Tables and chairs were spread apart across the workshop room. Zoom workshop options were offered for those not comfortable attending in-person. Several attendees requested to switch their reservations from in-person to exclusively online, Wright said.
Paula Coomer, a writer, workshop instructor and former registered nurse, spoke to participants in a pre-recorded video which was broadcast on Zoom. Before starting her workshop on character dialogue, she said she chose not to attend the festival in-person because of her age, noting she was at “relatively high risk.”
A writer and participant of the festival, Sonya Bramwell, attended Coomer’s workshop in-person. She decided to attend in person because she did not have respiratory issues and needed time to focus away from her young children at home.
“It’s different, of course. Seating’s apart and limited,” Bramwell said. “But I’m glad that they stuck with it and with the guidelines.”
After the workshops and panels, the festival hosted Books & Brews, a session where members of the public could interact with authors over drinks. Authors could promote their published books and sign copies for attendees. The winners of the First Chapter Contest were announced later in the evening.
“Anytime you get to see authors who have done some excellent books like the people around us have, it’s always nice to see there are people in your community who write and publish books,” said Devin Becker, University of Idaho faculty and writer. “Having events like this are good for communities and getting people together.”
Corinna Nicolaou, an author based in Pullman, expressed surprise at the number of people who attended the festival in person.
“I don’t know what (PWG) expected, but the fact that (the festival) exists at all and that people showed up in the middle of a pandemic speaks to strength of the literary interest in the Palouse,” Nicolaou said. “I’ve been talking to people and it’s been wonderful and beautiful to be here in this room.”
Although the effects of COVID-19 on future events is difficult to determine, Nicolaou said the high attendance made her hopeful for future events.
Richard Pathomsiri can be reached at [email protected]
Corinna A Nicolaou
Great article, Richard. It was a pleasure speaking with you at the festival!