The annual festival celebrating words took place last weekend
By Lucille Rollins
The annual Wordstock festival, celebrating just about everything book bound, featured local as well as national, authors in a setting that allowed for easy access, easy buy and easy-going conversation.
At a $5 admission fee for the Book Fair, no one could complain. The Convention Center's Exhibit Rooms were filled from wall to wall with little booths for individual exhibits and a lot of space for the big seller Borders. People aged newborn through 90 filled the room, some ready to buy and others simply happy to poke around and window-shop.
Sophomore Mary Jane Freemont attended the Book Fair with a friend.
"I liked the solidarity - everybody was a bookworm," the English major said.
Samples of peppermint mochas, candy and free school supplies were the little perks. The opportunity, however, to converse with various publishers and explore workshop opportunities were the real rewards.
Wordstock offered a surprising number of opportunities for writers through workshop exhibits and prospects for networking, though at first it seemed like a baiting opportunity for authors and their lucky publishers.
"VoiceCatcher," a women's anthology, exclusively features Portland writers. The third edition of the anthology is coming out this spring, and they accept applications from amateur writers. The Willamette Writer's Conference was also calling for applicants for a more-than-a-day long workshop that happens next fall. The Attic, a workshop that takes place in a studio overlooking Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard, offers ongoing workshops throughout the year for writers interested in honing their skills.
Outside of written word, the Baby Tattoo corner, a striking collection of banners portraying gothic-like showgirls and an eclectic collection of illustrated books by popular contemporary artists, turned heads. The company is currently run by Bob Self, a hearty fellow who chatted freely with interested passers-by.
And interested passers-by were numbered by the dozen for just about every booth, even the ones selling $8 charms for "book jewelry."
