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FEATURED AUTHORS
Cheryl Strayed is the author of the #1 New York Times bestselling memoir Wild, the New York Times bestsellers Tiny Beautiful Things and Brave Enough, and the novel Torch. Wild was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as her first selection for Oprah's Book Club 2.0. Strayed's books have been translated into nearly forty languages around the world and have been adapted for both the screen and the stage.
The Oscar-nominated movie adaptation of Wild stars Reese Witherspoon as Cheryl and Laura Dern as Cheryl's mother, Bobbi. Tiny Beautiful Things was adapted for the stage by Nia Vardalos, who also starred in the role of Sugar/Cheryl. The play was directed by Thomas Kail and debuted at The Public Theater in New York City.
Strayed is the host of the New York Times hit podcast, Sugar Calling and also Dear Sugars, which she co-hosted with Steve Almond. Her essays have been published in The Best American Essays, the New York Times, the Washington Post Magazine, Vogue, Salon, The Sun, Tin House, The New York Times Book Review, and elsewhere. Strayed holds an MFA in fiction writing from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. She lives in Portland, Oregon.
Anis Mojgani is the current Poet Laureate of Oregon. A two-time individual champion of the National Poetry Slam and winner of the International World Cup Poetry Slam, he has been awarded residencies from the Vermont Studio Center, Caldera, AIR Serenbe, The Bloedel Nature Reserve, The Sou’wester, and the Oregon Literary Arts Writers-In-The-Schools program. Anis has done commissions for the Getty Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, and his work has appeared on HBO, National Public Radio, and as part of the Academy of American Poets Poem-A-Day series; and in the pages of the NYTimes, Rattle, Platypus, Winter Tangerine, Forklift Ohio, and Bat City Review.
Known for his performances and well regarded for them the world over, Mojgani has performed at hundreds of universities across the U.S.; festivals around the globe such as the Sydney Writer’s Festival, Jamaica’s Calabash festival, and Seoul’s Young Writer’s Festival; and for audiences as varied as the United Nations and the House of Blues. The author of five books of poetry and the libretto for Sanctuaries, his first children’s book is forthcoming from Chronicle Books.
Originally from New Orleans, Anis currently lives in Portland Oregon.
Born and raised in Reno, Nevada, Vlautin started playing guitar and writing songs as a teenager and quickly became immersed in music. It was a Paul Kelly song, based on Raymond Carver’s So Much Water So Close to Home that inspired him to start writing stories. Vlautin has published five novels: THE MOTEL LIFE (2007), NORTHLINE (2008), LEAN ON PETE (2010), THE FREE (2014), and DON’T SKIP OUT ON ME (2018).
Vlautin founded the band Richmond Fontaine in 1994. The band produced eleven studio albums, plus a handful of live recordings and EPs. Driven by Vlautin’s dark, story-like songwriting, the band, now retired, achieved critical acclaim at home and across the UK and Europe.
In 2014 Vlautin formed The Delines with members of Richmond Fontaine and singer Amy Boone (The Damnations). The band has released two albums, Colfax (2014) and The Imperial (2018).
Vlautin currently resides in Scappoose, Oregon.
Who IS this Bart King guy, anyway? Wait, since I’m him, I guess I can answer that. Let’s see: I love to read, I’m a longtime teacher, and my writing’s been in literally hundreds of birthday cards.
Also, I’ve written over 25 books, and one of them was once Amazon’s #5 overall bestselling title. Together, my titles have sold nearly a million copies. And I’m delighted to say that my books have won the Oregon Book Award, the Newbery Award and the Pulitzer Prize in Literature!
(But remember, being “delighted to say” something doesn’t make it true.)
I have a Master’s degree in history, and I’ve been the keynote speaker at the Oregon Writers Festival a number of times. In addition to books, I also sometimes write articles and educational content.
Oh, and one more thing: I like turtles.
I am on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, GoodReads, and Instagram.
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