Lane County Fair: Oregon authors debut books written during pandemic
The pandemic that canceled author tours had a silver lining: Oregon authors had time to write interesting new books. Now that restrictions have lifted, 34 authors will be at the Lane County Fair from Wednesday to Sunday, discussing and autographing their latest works.
This year “Zetty,” a novel by Eugene mental health therapist Debra Whiting Alexander, won the national Eric Hoffer Award for legacy fiction. Her recently released sequel, "A River for Gemma," is already earning top reviews, and for the same reason: Alexander understands that women who are pigeonholed as “intellectually disabled” can possess surprising strength, genius, and emotion. Set in the Willamette Valley, the new book follows Gemma, whose wish to have a child collides with her family’s hidden past.
Set partly in Eugene during the counterculture 1960s, Micah Thorp’s debut novel “Uncle Joe’s Muse” follows the long strange trip of a fictitious rock band. The story begins when a 12-year-old girl shows up at the house where the aging, dissolute band members have crashed, announcing that she has been sent to live with her father – although she doesn’t reveal which band member it is, and none of them remembers her mother. Eventually, Jerry Garcia’s guitar, Woodstock, and Ken Kesey’s bus all come into play.
Lauren Kessler, well known for 15 books of biography and narrative nonfiction, has turned her attention to the 2.3 million American citizens who are incarcerated. In “A Grip of Time: When Prison Is Your Life” she interviewed the “lifers” who will never be released. Her new book, “Free: Two Years, Six Lives, and the Long Journey Home” tells the stories of those who have returned to society. She marvels at the rate of success, although prison has poorly prepared these people for the outside world, and the outside world isn’t entirely welcoming.
A tall magician who tends to wear black hats and long black coats, Taylor Ellwood moved to Eugene to perform a different kind of magic – writing novels about zombies. The three he’s published in the past year deal with Sam, who thinks his new job as customer support rep for the Zombie Apocalypse Call Center is a joke, until telepathic alien super zombies actually start showing up. Ellwood previously published the "Learning How to Be a Hero" series of graphic novels. That trilogy charts the progress of Nelson, a shy superhero who has to learn to fly, escape bad guys, and ultimately save the world.
This year the Oregon Authors Table at the Lane County Fair will be in the Performance Hall beside the doors to the glass-roofed atrium. Because the table only has room for about eight authors at a time, check the schedule if you want to meet a specific author.
Debra Alexander (novels): 1-5 p.m. Saturday
Curt Angeledes (photography): 5-7 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday
Dan Armstrong (historical novels): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday
A. Lynn Ash (travel memoirs): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday; 3-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Ken Babbs (Merry Prankster memoir): 1-3 p.m. Saturday
Joe Blakely (history, novels): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Friday
James Burke: 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
Carola Dunn (mystery): 1-5 p.m. Thursday
Pat Edwards (Lane County history): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Thursday
Taylor Ellwood (graphic novels): 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, 3-5 p.m. Sunday
Michael Foster (novels): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday
Robert Heilman (essays): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday
Ken Helphand (Oregon history): 5-7 p.m. Thursday and Saturday
Evelyn Hess (memoirs): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
Ann Herrick (young adult): 1-5 p.m. Thursday
Lauren Kessler (biographies): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday
Jason Kilgore (scifi/fantasy): 3-7 p.m. Wednesday, 5-7 p.m. Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. Saturday
Dan Liberthson (spy novel): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday
Donna McFarland (self-publishing): 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday
Marli Miller (Oregon geology): 3-5 p.m. Sunday
Ron Miner (WWII novels/memoirs): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday
Sharleen Nelson (time travel novels): 3-7 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Michael Pace (WWII novel): 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday
Amy Palatnik (romance memoir): 3-5 p.m. Friday, 1-3 p.m. Saturday
Mike Pungercar (WWII history): 1-3 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday
Jerry Rust (mystery): 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday
Brenda Sanders (children’s books): 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, 3-7 p.m. Friday
Mary Sharon Moore (writing memoirs): 1-3 p.m. Wednesday
Dorothy Soper (children’s books): 1-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
William Sullivan (hiking, novels): 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Micah Thorp (novel set in Eugene): 1-5 p.m. Sunday
“Dr. T” Tshionyi (African folk tales): 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
David Turner (Lane County history): 1-5 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday
Judith Van (adventure novel): 5-7 p.m. Wednesday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
David Wagner (nature/gardening): 3-5 p.m. Wednesday, 1-3 p.m. Friday
Tom Warner (US geography): 3-5 p.m. Sunday
Ken Woody (sports): 11 a.m.-1 p.m. and 5-7 p.m. Friday, 5-7 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday
Edwin Wollert (novels): 3-7 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday
Lane County Fair
When: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday
Where: Lane Events Center, main entrance at 13th Avenue and Jefferson Street.
Getting there: Parking is $5 per car, cash only. Also consider using Eugene's bike share system, PeaceHealth Rides, www.PeaceHealthRides.com; Lane Transit District buses (Downtown LTD Eugene station directly served the fairgrounds via routs 33, 36, 41 and 43); or taxi and rideshare (drop-off location at Orange D gate access at main entrance).
Tickets: $9, $7 for 65 and older, first responders and military personnel, $6 for ages 6 to 12 and free for 5 and younger. There are also deals and group packages for tickets at www.atthefair.com/tickets-and-deals.
More information: www.atthefair.com
This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: Oregon authors at Lane County Fair to debut, discuss new books
