Florence Festival of Books

08/23/2026

Talk to Suzanne and discover First Steps Publishing at Table #11 at the 26 September Festival of Books.

"At First Steps Publishing, we believe in empowering authors with multiple publishing choices. We offer traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing options to suit individual needs. We also provide self-publishing authors with the best of both worlds – a comprehensive design package that allows the author to remain in full control of both their work and 100% of their royalties."

Suzanne Parrott’s career (graphic designer, production artist, editor) spans over four decades. Parrott has built a deep knowledge of craft across publishing and illustration. With a gift for character voice and mystery, she has written over 12 children/ middle grade books and several adult literary genres. Her current penchant is researching emerging technology and how authors can navigate it without losing their human creativity. She currently resides in Oregon. SuzanneParrott.com

08/22/2026

Rising Star Award winner Jeff Cates leads the Valley Writers Group. He’s a former sixth grade teacher, track coach, and forest firefighter. Nearly eighty of his paid stories and articles have been published in North America and Europe.
Published titles include science-fiction “The Reb Riley Files” and “The Dread Naughts”; MG and chapter books include “The Honey Hunters” and “The Boy Who Loved Dragons.”
For More About Jeff Cates Visit JeffCatesAuthorShowcase.com.

08/20/2026

Karen D. Nichols: Author/Artist Two illustrated children’s books. Ten novels set in Oregon: Thornton House, Unexpected Gift, Second Chance Heart, Triumph Over Fear, Here There Gone, Death on the Pier, A Name by Any Other, The Ring, Friends, Then There were Three containing a dog story, love story, mystery, adventure, and an intriguing ending. Also two memoirs based on The Moral of the Story. karendnichols.com, backstreetgallery.com and on Amazon.

08/20/2026

THANK YOU Western Lane Community Foundation for supporting our FACE Florence Festival of Books for the third straight year! Grant recipients at Rotary Luncheon on 02 June 2026.

08/20/2026

Mud City Press founder Dan Armstrong is the owner and operator of this online magazine focusing on the environment and sustainable agriculture as well as the publisher of his sixteen novels and a collection of short stories. Dan was a board member of the Lane County Farmers’ Market from 2011 to 2014 and a member of the Lane County Food Policy Council from 2008 to 2011.

Mud City Press is an electronic publishing company and online magazine operating out of Eugene, Oregon. We feature articles and commentary about the environment and the economics of sustainability. We also offer in-house fiction in the form of short stories, an array of book reviews, and an online b...

08/20/2026

Ink Drop Press N.J. Hanson of Ink Drop Press lives in Northern California. A member of the California Writer's Club, he has been writing seriously since high school. His love of science fiction and fantasy has led him down this path with his first book, the award-winning The Last Stand of the Dragon, being released at the age of twenty-four.

Seafoam Green Hope Hill is an author and poet. Her works include Dancing on the Ceiling, Dancing in a Minefield, Into the Shadow Realms, and Secrets Under the Skin. For Hope, writing means getting to create something that wouldn't exist otherwise -- to look at things in a whole new light. And she firmly believes that no one should purchase a tote or purse too small to carry at least one book.

08/19/2026

Rose Estes: At TSR Hobbies - the Dungeons & Dragons creators - Rose began “the ride of her life” in 1974 as the 13th employee when the game was launched and shot from obscurity to world wide fame. Rose created and wrote the first nine books of the series"Endless Quest." This multiple choice-style book, geared to ages 9 to 14, encouraged readers to direct the course of the story with their imaginations. The series sold 21 million books and was translated into 28 languages worldwide.

The books explained the game in a way that no written instructions could, and encouraged young people (mostly boys) to become active readers and imaginative gamers. Working alongside the founders and creators of the game as well as famous artists and writers, she was in a unique position to witness the rise and fall of the company. Her work opened the door for the fantasy authors who followed.

After leaving TSR, Rose signed with Random House and has also written for Bantam, Putnam-Berkeley, TOR Publishing, and Warner Books. Her 38th book; "Different: The Quest Continues," is available on Amazon. She is currently working on the second book of the "Different" series, and living on the Oregon Coast -- where she owns Hauser Gallery Dragon Emporium in Seal Rock, Oregon.

Meet Rose at Table 6 at the FACE Florence Festival of Books, find out more about her journey, and ask her "How did you tame your dragon?" https://roseestesdragonemporium.com/pages/rose-estes

08/18/2026

Ned Hickson Author and Workshop Leader -- Ned is an award-winning nationally syndicated columnist and retired journalist. His first suspense novel, 'No Safe Harbor" features Shane McPhearson, PI; with the sequel "Harbinger of Truth" just released. Ned will provide a workshop geared to fiction writers: "Creating Believable Characters." He will also facilitate the Siuslaw Middle School Writer’s Club story reading session -- more than a dozen eager young authors who wrote a short story at his Summer Enrichment Program in July 2026. Ned teaches workshops at Lane Community College, is a featured speaker at book-centric events, and coaches aspiring writers via his Easy Writer consultancy -- sometimes but not always from the back of his Harley. Visit him in person and ask his opinion of seagulls at Table #5 on September 26th at the Florence Festival of Books! Ned Hickson - Author.

08/17/2026

Eric Alan - Audio Engineer -- wants you to GIVE AUDIO A CHANCE! Eric will record a two-minute reading of attendees’ work of choice for all who stop by his Audio Lab. At noon, he’ll be recording students’ readings of their work from the Siuslaw Middle School “Plot Twisters," a.k.a. Ned Hickson’s Summer Enrichment Writer’s Club.

Eric is a multi-faceted author, photographer, lyricist, audio tech, event producer, meditation/ workshop leader, and is an integral part of Oregon’s music scene -- including as house emcee for the FACE Florence Winter Music Festival.

His most recently published book, "Grateful by Nature," explores gratitude as a transformative practice. At FFoB26 Eric will provide a space for attendees to give audio a chance during the Exhibition Hall hours.

Check out the sound waves at Table 4 on Saturday, 26 September 2026.

04/30/2026

In Florence now ...

🌊 Career Opportunity: Executive Director
📍 Western Lane County (Siuslaw Region) | 💻 Remote + Flexible
🗓 Now hiring, apply by May 1, 2026 (5 PM PST)

Siuslaw Vision is looking for its next Executive Director to lead the organization into the next decade of community building work.

If you love the Siuslaw region, are passionate about connecting with people to help make our community better, and are adaptable and creative, we’d love to hear from you. The position includes supervising part-time employees and contractors, managing the organization’s finances, and working with a volunteer Board of Directors to ensure compliance with our nonprofit policies.

This role is central to helping our community turn shared vision into real impact.

👉 Apply now at https://siuslawvision.org/career-director/
⏳ Deadline: Friday, May 1 at 5 PM PST
📩 Questions? See our listing for more details. Contact [email protected]

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