The Aspen Writers’ Foundation Announces the Line-up for the 30th Annual Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival

(May 24, 2006) Aspen, CO … The Aspen Writers’ Foundation is pleased to announce the schedule and line-up for its upcoming 30th annual Aspen Summer Words Literary Festival. The six-day celebration of words and ideas takes place June 24-29 and is headquartered at The Gant. In honor of the organization’s 30 years of bringing readers and writers together, the Festival will feature 30 speakers, chief among them 20 award-winning and bestselling American authors.

Under the banner “Voices of the West: Crossing the Great Divide,” Aspen Summer Words will trace the Continental Divide and explore the stories of our own backyard, the North American West, as told by some of the legendary writers who crafted them. Festival speakers include:

Denise Chávez: Director of the Border Book Festival and author of Loving Pedro Infante and Face of An Angel, winner of the American Book Award
Gretel Ehrlich: Award-winning novelist, nature writer, and author of 13 books, including The Solace of Open Spaces and The Future of Ice
Tony Hillerman: Mystery maestro, “Special Friend” of the Navajo Tribe, and author of Skinwalkers, winner of the Silver Spur Award for Best Western Novel
William Kittredge: Award-winning author whose credits include Hole in the Sky, The Best Short Stories of William Kittredge, and “A River Runs Through It”
N. Scott Momaday: Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, poet, and author of The House Made of Dawn and In The Bear’s House
Annick Smith: Acclaimed filmmaker, memoirist, and author of Homestead and Big Bluestem, winner of the Oklahoma Book Award
Stewart Udall: Former Secretary of the Interior, lifelong conservationist, and author of The Quiet Crisis and Forgotten Fathers
Luis Alberto Urrea: Latino Literature Hall of Famer and author of The Hummingbird’s Daughter and The Devil’s Highway, a Pulitzer Prize finalist
And many more, including literary agents and editors from William Morris, HarperCollins, and Vanity Fair

Aspen Summer Words features an inspiring array of author readings and talks, interviews and Q&As, publishing industry panel discussions, and social gatherings. Headlining the Festival’s program of 18 literary events are:

Aspen Prize Ceremony (Sunday, June 25, 6 pm): The 2nd annual Aspen Prize for Literature will be awarded to N. Scott Momaday, one of the West’s literary treasures, who will give a reading and talk during this not-to-be-missed tribute.

Writing in Place (Monday, June 26, 7 pm): Three acclaimed authors whose writing is based on an intimate relationship with the land — Gretel Ehrlich in Wyoming, Annick Smith in Montana, and William Kittredge in Oregon — will discuss how the characteristics of a certain geography have infused their words with an unmistakable sense of place.

La Frontera (Tuesday, June 27, 7 pm): Denise Chávez, Luis Alberto Urrea and Ted Conover — three award-winning authors who have experienced and documented life between Mexico and the United States — explore how the border issues that are making headlines today have informed and inspired their writing for decades.

Defenders of the West (Wednesday, June 28, 7 pm): Two of the West’s elder statesmen, Tony Hillerman and Stewart Udall, will engage in a conversation about how they have each fashioned words on the page, in distinctive and different ways, to champion the Western causes that are their lives’ work.

The week kicks off with the 1st annual Local Writers Round-Up, held June 24 from 3:30-5 pm on the grounds of the Aspen Historical Society’s Wheeler/Stallard House Museum. A dozen acclaimed authors will participate in this free community event featuring literary readings and refreshments. Guest speakers include: Janet Guthrie, Scott Lasser, Karen Glenn, Dexter Cirillo, John Boslough, Jonathan Wells, Bruce Berger, Kurt Brown, and more to be announced.

Festival passes, good for all Festival events including three exclusive parties, are $200. A limited number of Early Bird Local’s Passes, offering a 52% savings off of single ticket prices to residents of the Roaring Fork Valley, are available for $139, while they last. Both can be purchased from the Aspen Writers’ Foundation at 970.925.3122 and online at www.aspenwriters.org. Single tickets, $15-$20, go on sale June 1 at the Wheeler Box Office (970.920.5770).

The Aspen Writers’ Foundation, Colorado's oldest non-profit literary organization, has been bringing readers and writers together since 1976. The organization’s mission is to provide programs that encourage writers in their craft and readers in their appreciation of literature. Through its repertoire of year-round programs, the Aspen Writers' Foundation serves 17,000+ literary enthusiasts of all ages annually.

Information
970.925.3122
www.aspenwriters.org

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