Utah Humanities Book Festival returns for the 26th year! As the oldest statewide Utah literary festival, communities such as ours come together to celebrate literature. The Utah Humanities Book Festival always generates personal stories about how an author or book has generated conversation, insight, and understanding. Join us as we celebrate. There is a little something for every reader – or author – to enjoy at our local celebratory events! There are events all over the state, view these on the Utah Humanities Book Festival website.
Karen Odden Book Discussion & Author Event
October 26th, 4pm
Meet and hear from the talented Karen Odden, the author of Under a Veiled Moon (an Inspector Corravan Mystery). Come ready to learn and discuss the book. Borrow a copy of the book from our Book Club Collection.
Writing Workshop with Karen Odden: Crafting Secondary Characters – Beyond Friends, Foils, and Foes
October 28th, 10am
Well-drawn, diverse, complex secondary characters can add nuance, humor, and conflict to a novel or short story.
This workshop will present different types of secondary characters—beyond merely friends, foes, and foils—and explore how to create them so they sing for themselves while also harmonizing with a main plotline.
Using familiar books such as the Harry Potter series and The Queen’s Gambit as sample texts, we draw upon the psychologist Dan McAdams’s concept of the “personal myth” to examine economical ways to develop all three elements of the myth—backstory, world views, and desires—for secondary characters.
Referring to their current work-in-progress, participants will respond to several writing prompts and leave with exercises in hand.
Wasatch Back Local Author Celebration
October 28th, 12:30pm
An annual celebration of authors who either live in the Wasatch Back or have written content pertaining to the Wasatch Back. The event includes authors’ reading, a Q&A, and a reception. This year we celebrate Colie Belieu, Bonnie Park, Jenya Lee, and Daniel Paisner. Read more about their books on our blog.
Personal Essays Workshop with Amy Eskind
October 28th, 2pm
We all have a personal story to tell, whether for publication or posterity. This class will teach you how to tell that story, where to begin, what to include, how to keep readers engaged, and how to conclude. Let’s master the personal essay in a fun, supportive group. Bring a laptop or notebook for writing.
Taught by Amy Eskind, a professional journalist who has had personal essays published on a wide variety of. topics. Amy Eskind has been a published author since 1986.