In October 1997, Eastern Washington University Press held a book reading at The Met Theater in Spokane, WA, for their newest release, Awen, by Susan Mayes. It was a nasty night: pouring rain and gusty winds. What had started as a hopeful event turned out to muster only the reader, Associate Director of EWU Press Scott Poole and Managing Editor Christine Holbert, three homeless men who came in to get out of the weather and eventually fall asleep, two open mic participants, and an angry board member. Despite the rain and low turn out, Mayes read and an idea started to grow in the minds of Scott and Christine. If they could get three sleeping bums, two open mic readers, and an angry board member to come together on an excessively wet evening, just think what they could do if they gave the event a snappy name, brought even more readers, and spread the event out over an entire weekend. Get Lit! eventually became the only literary gathering of its kind in the Inland Northwest. 

Since its inaugural year in 1998, Get Lit! has continued to grow. Each year the festival adds more days, events, venues, and prestige with a number of national, regional, and local authors. Promotion for the first year consisted of a handful of free ads, word of mouth, and brief news coverage at the opening event. What started out as a simple weekend of readings has blossomed into a literary extravaganza, which includes workshops, literary panels, youth poetry slams, Writers in the Schools Day, music performances and film screenings. All of which will be included in this year’s festivities. In addition, local writers have been touring rural schools in Eastern Washington since January. The authors spend a day talking with students about writing and the writing process. This is the first year of the program, and it has been a huge success. Schools from Lind to Northport welcome the chance to have authors, who would not normally come to their schools, encourage their students’ writing.

In the past, writers such as Denis Johnson, Quincy Troupe, Marvin Bell, Robert Wrigley, David Wagoner, Madeline Defrees, Chris Crutcher, Kim Barnes, William Kittredge, Gillian Conoley, Annick Smith, and Kim Addonizio have graced the stages of Get Lit! Last year’s keynote speaker, bestseller author David Sedaris, sold out The Met Theater three weeks before the event. This year will bring even more. Headliners include Garrison Keillor, host of A Prairie Home Companion fame, American literary icon Kurt Vonnegut, humorist Dave Barry, and writer Sarah Vowell. Get Lit! has staked its claim in the Spokane area and it does not look like it will be leaving anytime soon.