WordWave returns to South Lake Tahoe: Workshops, plays and Steampunk all rolled into one weekend

Word Wave, a festival for readers, writers, and lovers of story has returned to South Lake Tahoe. The three day long Word Wave will feature readings, workshops, panels, music, and plays from October 21-23, 2016 at Tallac Historic Site.

Every culture has used, and continues to use, story to entertain, educate, preserve history and tradition, and connect and WordWave will celebrate those words and the story in all its forms for the second year on the South Shore.

Events are free and open to the public unless otherwise noted.

Friday, October 21

The Tall Timber Ball - Steampunk in the Woods kicks off the festival gets underway on Friday, October 21 with from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. in the Valhalla Grand Hall.

Pull on your funkiest flannel, dust off your bowler hat, lace up your high-heeled boots, style it steampunk or go gorgeous grunge under the timber beams of the Grand Hall while a DJ spins from the massive stone fireplace. Cool prizes will go to the most interesting looks of the night!

Buy tickets for the reception and dance party or just the dance!

6-7 pm - Champagne reception with Galadrielle Allman, author of the rock and roll memoir Please Be With Me, A Song for My Father Duane Allman, chosen by Amazon as the best book of the year when it was released.

7-10 pm - Join DJ Damien for a dance party in the woods! Heavy appetizers and beer and wine will be served. We’ll also have a steampunk photo booth and quite unusual silent auction items. Our costume contest will top off the revelry.

Saturday, October 22

10:00-10:45 a.m. - Opening blessing and storytelling with Ralph Burns in the Valhalla Grand Hall. For more than two decades, Ralph Burns has taught the Numu (Northern Paiute) language to tribal students, local high school students, and community members, and developed a language curriculum to teach both Native American and non-Native American people. In the Paiute language and translating to English, Burns will re-tell many traditional stories that not only stretch back many generations, but also relate to environmental issues occurring today.

11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Galadrielle Allman in the Valhalla Grand Hall. Galadrielle Allman is the author of the memoir, “Please Be With Me: A Song for My Father Duane Allman,” published by Spiegel & Grau. It was chosen by Amazon as a Best Book of 2014. Her story, “Only Women Bleed,” is included in the forthcoming anthology Crime + Music. This collection of twenty short stories of music-themed noir was edited by Jim Fusilli, music critic for the Wall Street Journal. Galadrielle studied writing at Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Berkeley. She is presently working on a novel about teenage love and punk rock music.

11:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. - Novel Writing Camp for Kids in the “Groom’s Room,” Valhalla Grand Hall. A longtime creative writing teacher and the author of three novels for young readers (including Steinbeck’s Ghost) Lewis Buzbee will lead young writers ages 9-12 through his “Amazing, Fool-Proof Start Your Own Novel Kit.” In this sixty minute-session Buzbee will coach kids on not only how to start a novel, but also how to choose your narrator’s voice, how to move from the big picture of your novel to the small picture of your setting, and how to jump to the ending and then work back.

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Lunch Break. Author meet-and-greet and book sales. Lunch available for purchase from Tacos Por Favor.

1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. - “Craft and Courage (and the Twelve Years it Took for My First Book Deal),” Melissa Cistaro discusses what sustained her through the long journey of writing her memoir, and the publishing experience that made it all worthwhile. Cistaro is the author of the memoir “Pieces of My Mother.” Her essays, interviews, and stories have appeared in The New Ohio Review, Brevity, The Huffington Post, PBS: To the Contrary, Good Housekeeping and the anthologies Love & Profanity and Cherished. She also works as a writing mentor and an event coordinator at Book Passage, the esteemed independent bookstore in Northern California, where she has introduced hundreds of authors.

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. - Alice Anderson poetry workshop in the “Bride’s Room,” Valhalla Grand Hall. Alice Anderson is the author of “Human Nature: Poems”, awarded both the Best First Book Prize from the Great Lakes Colleges Association and the Elmer Holmes Bobst Prize for Emerging Writers from NYU. Former Bobst Prize winners include Toni Morrison, Eudora Welty, and Joyce Carol Oates. “Human Nature: Poems” earned a starred review from Publishers Weekly, and raves in Library Journal, Kirkus, and The Boston Review of Books. A recipient of a prestigious Haven Foundation Grant, Anderson lives in Sacramento and is currently at work on a third poetry collection and a novel.

2:45 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. - Melissa Cistaro workshop in the Grand Hall. Melissa Cistaro is the author of the memoir Pieces of My Mother. Her essays, interviews, and stories have appeared in The New Ohio Review, Brevity, The Huffington Post, PBS: To the Contrary, Good Housekeeping and the anthologies Love & Profanity and Cherished. She also works as a writing mentor and an event coordinator at Book Passage, the esteemed independent bookstore in Northern California, where she has introduced hundreds of authors.

3:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. - Novel Writing Camp for Kids in the “Groom’s Room,” Valhalla Grand Hall. A longtime creative writing teacher and the author of three novels for young readers (including Steinbeck’s Ghost) Lewis Buzbee will lead young writers ages 9-12 through his “Amazing, Fool-Proof Start Your Own Novel Kit.” In this sixty minute-session Buzbee will coach kids on not only how to start a novel, but also how to choose your narrator’s voice, how to move from the big picture of your novel to the small picture of your setting, and how to jump to the ending and then work back.

4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. - Agent Pitch Sessions, on the side balcony of the Valhalla Grand Hall. Fuse Literary Agents meet one-on-one with writers. Sit down and spend ten minutes pitching your book idea to a top literary agent. Get professional feedback and suggestions on your project and who knows, you might even get signed as a client.

6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. - Poetry readings from Alice Anderson and Julie Bruck

7:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. - In the Boathouse Theatre, the One-Act Play Competition Winners Performance. Over one hundred entries from all over the country were received, and the Tahoe-based jury chose the three best for a staged reading of the winning WordWave one-act plays. Tickets are limited, and just $10. Purchase here.

Sunday, October 23

11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - “Mysterious Morning.” A conversation with Todd Borg, James Rollins, and Galadrielle Allman.

Muffins and coffee from Sweet Rosie’s Bakery
Booksales in the dining room