Writers Returns to Squaw Valley with a Great Line-Up of Literary Events

Every summer writers of all stripes — poets, novelists, screenwriters and writers of memoirs, histories, essays and short stories — descend on Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe for a week of intensive literary activity. The valley buzzes with metaphors flying and manuscripts flapping, as over 250 writers, editors and publishers convene in two separate week-long workshops in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, memoir and screenwriting.

The Community of Writers at Squaw Valley invites the public to attend the dozens of literary events and readings taking place as part of its Writers Workshops now through July 14, 2012. Go here to view the full list of readings and events open to the public.

The oldest writer’s conference in the Western United States, the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley was founded in 1969. The writer’s workshops in Squaw Valley are now among the most prestigious in the country. Alumni of the Community of Writers include Pulitzer Prize-winners Michael Chabon, Jennifer Egan and Richard Ford, bestselling novelists such as Anne Rice, Janet Fitch, Alice Sebold, and Amy Tan, and many others of today’s well-known literary artists. The staff, which includes some regulars and some newcomers each year, features renowned authors, editors and agents. This year’s lineup includes fiction writers Ron Carlson, Mark Childress, Glen David Gold, agents Michael Carlisle and B.J. Robbins, screenwriters Tom Rickman and Pamela Gray, and poets Robert Hass and Sharon Olds, to name only a few.

Prior to the evening readings, literature lovers can enjoy dinner in The Village at Squaw Valley. With options ranging from fine dining to exquisite sushi and gourmet pizza, there are cuisines sure to please any palate. Go here for more information about The Village at Squaw Valley.
As events can be quite popular, guests are encourage to reserve seats in advance by calling (530) 581-5200.

Highlights of this summer’s week include:

Sunday, July 8; 8 p.m. (Olympic Village Lodge)
Reading, book signing and No-Host bar ($10 / $5 students)
Writers read and talk about their work, including:

Dana Johnson, “Elsewhere, California”
Victoria Patterson, “This Vacant Paradise”
Gregory Spatz, “Inukshuk”
Lisa Tucker, “The Winters in Bloom”

Monday July 9; 8 p.m. (Olympic Village Lodge)
Film Screening and No-Host Bar (Free)
Judith Rascoe will screen and speak about her 2011 film, “The Bang Bang Club.”

Tuesday, July 10; 8 p.m. (Olympic Village Lodge)
Reading, Booksigning and No-Host Bar (Free)
Readings by our Recently Published Alums, including:

Ramona Ausubel (’07), “No One Is Here Except all of Us”
Heather Donahue (’08), “Growgirl: The Blossoming of an Unlikely Outlaw”
Susan Henderson (’09), “Up from the Blue”
Krys Lee (’10), “Drifting House”
Ismet Prcic (’07), “Shards”
Scott Sparling (’86, ‘92), “Wire to Wire”
Mary Volmer (’03, ‘04), “Crown of Dust”
Thursday, July 12, 8 p.m. (Olympic Village Lodge)
Reading, Booksigning and No-Host Bar ($10 / $5 students)
Writers read and talk about their work, including:

Ron Carlson, “Room Service”
Bernard Cooper, “The Bill from my Father”
Varley O’Connor, “The Master’s Muse”
Amy Tan, “Saving Fish from Drowning”