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Spokane, Wash. - Eastern Washington University's Get Lit! Festival - a week-long celebration of reading, writing and storytelling for all ages - presents a variety of free panels, talks and readings around the theme, "Telling the American Story." The festival runs April 13-17, but Saturday, April 16 is a day you won't want to miss. With more than 35 events at multiple downtown Spokane venues on Saturday, plus multiple events throughout the week, there truly is something for everyone.

For those interested in nonfiction, Get Lit! offers a panel on freelance journalism as well as a reading by Jack Hamann, who shares an overlooked part of history - the unjust murder allegations brought against 43 African American soldiers - in his true story On American Soil: How Justice Became a Casualty of WWII. Earlier in the week, on Thursday, April 14, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, journalist Margaret Regan will share more than a decade of stories she has collected related to immigration at our southern border. Or, you can come to the Kress Gallery at the River Park Square Mall to watch comedian Heather Gold perform her coming-out story in the kitchen in "I Look like an Egg, but I Identify as a Cookie."

Environmental enthusiasts will want to check out water-rights activist Maude Barlow, who is speaking at a free event at SCC on Wednesday, April 13. There is also a Saturday panel on the art of nature writing, followed by a reading from Bruce Bjornstad and Jane Fritz, who share insight into the historical stories of our region. Benjamin Percy will then share his book The Wilding, which explores the dilemmas of land development in a way that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Plus, John Laursen will be here to showcase our region through photographs of the Columbia River Gorge.

To explore the variety that this year's theme encompasses, writers of various genres will offer their perspectives writing the American story in a panel on Saturday. There will also be readings on how the West captures and shapes its inhabitants by Ruth McLaughlin, author of Bound Like Grass: A Memoir from the Western High Plains, and Heather Sharfeddin. After that, Jonathan Evison, author of West of Here, and Brenda Peterson, who wrote the memoir I Want to Be Left Behind: Finding Rapture Here on Earth, explore new ways to look at American landscapes, people, traditions and connections between past and future. In addition, Julie Otsuka will be reading at the River Park Square Mall on Saturday in collaboration with Japan Week. Her novel, When the Emperor Was Divine, describes the travails of a Japanese American family's internment in a Utah enemy alien camp during World War II.

Also on Saturday, Get Lit! Programs will be celebrating the Native American culture and traditions at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture. First, there will be a panel where Gloria Bird, Victor Charlo and Laura Tohe will discuss incorporating their heritage into their writing. Later, families and children of all ages are invited to hear three storytellers - Taress Alexis, Marilyn James and LaRae Wiley - share traditional songs and oral stories of the First Americans. Kindergarten and pre-school students from the Salish School of Spokane will also perform a skit and sing songs in their native language.

For the writers, this year's workshops, panels and talks are designed to encourage you to share your version of the American story. Saturday topics include the ins and outs of the publishing process as well as poetry chapbooks. Artist and writer, Danica Novgorodoff, will also be here to explain how she turned a book into a graphic novel. Friday panels, held at local college campuses, are also open to all. They will explore: life becoming art through poetry, perfecting perspective, using place as character and finding themes in your life story. Then, if you or anyone you know is interested in sharing your work, Get Lit! welcomes you to the community reading on Sunday, April 17. It is open to readers of all ages and genres.

If you like a mixture of poetry, fiction and nonfiction, the EWU Alumni reading, the Regional MFA student reading and the EWU Faculty reading are all a good bet on the weekend. The Inlander will once again be hosting their 101-Word Fiction Showdown on Sunday with the eight finalists from their short fiction contest. And for the poetry lovers, the popular Poetry Salon After-Hours will be held on Friday night, April 15, at the Montvale Hotel atrium, complete with fireplace and couches (Just like it was in the salons of old). Poets like Lowell Jaeger (We) and Kathleen Flenniken (Famous) will gather with others to share their work and their thoughts about writing with you.

The 13th annual Get Lit! Festival features more than 50 events at various venues including the Bing Crosby Theater, Auntie's Bookstore, The Lincoln Center, Barrister Winery and the Riverpoint Campus Phase One Building (where the majority of Saturday's events will take place.) The Montvale Hotel, another venue, is also offering a festival rate, starting at $99. The full schedule with details on all of the participating authors can be found at www.ewu.edu/getlit. This year, the complete festival guide is also available for download online!

Headlining event tickets and passes can be purchased at TicketsWest outlets, by phoning 1.800.325.SEAT, or visiting www.ticketswest.com. Headliners that require a ticket include: Sam Kean, Sena Jeter Naslund, Ani DiFranco, Tim O'Brien and Matthew Dickman. Space allowing, students get in free with current high school/college ID to these events (except the DiFranco concert).

The Get Lit! Programs coordinator is Danielle Ward. She can be reached for media inquiries at 509.359.6977 or dward@ewu.edu. Festival authors are also available for interviews, please contact the Get Lit! Programs coordinator for details.

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