Tahoe Literary Festival

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10:00am PDT

The Art of Fiction

Saturday October 10, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT

Join novelists Kim Culbertson (Other People's Kids), Karen Nelson (The Last Summer at Feather River), and Laura Newman (The Darling of the Black Rock Desert) for a conversation about the craft of fiction. From developing compelling characters and immersive settings to exploring the emotional truths that drive a story, these authors discuss their creative process, the inspiration behind their novels, and the challenges and rewards of bringing fictional worlds to life. Whether you're an avid reader, aspiring writer, or simply love a great story, this panel offers an engaging look inside the novelist's craft. This panel is great for people that love to read.

Speakers

Kim Culbertson

Presenter

Kim is the award-winning author of five YA novels with Sourcebooks and Scholastic. Her first novel for adults Other People’s Kids (Sibylline 2025) was named a finalist for the California Independent Booksellers Alliance (CALIBA) 2025 Golden Poppy Award in Fiction. Kim is a founder of the Flash Fiction Institute, sits on the Writers Council for National Writing Project, and works as a fiction mentor with Dominican... Read More →

Karen Nelson

Karen Nelson is the author of the novels The Last Summer at Feather River and The Sunken Town. She is also the co-founder of the nonprofit Writing By Writers where she hosts writing workshops taught by nationally-known, award-winning authors. Her travel writing has appeared in Co... Read More →

Laura Newman

Laura Newman is the author of The Franklin Avenue Rookery for Wayward Babies and The Darling of the Black Rock Desert, Delphinium Press. Laura's writing has been printed in The Saturday Evening Post, Literary Hub, Failbetter, Apricity Magazine, New Plains Review, as well as ear... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 10:00am - 11:00am PDT
SNOW Sports Museum

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers

11:15am PDT

The Living Landscape: California Then, Now, and Next

Saturday October 10, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT

Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema

Join acclaimed California authors Obi Kaufmann, author of California Inside Out and Laura Cunningham, A State of Change for a thought-provoking conversation about the past, present, and future of the Golden State. Drawing on themes from California Inside Out and A State of Change, the discussion will explore how California's landscapes have been shaped by geology, ecology, climate, and human influence across millennia. Kaufmann's sweeping vision of the state's interconnected watersheds, biodiversity, and public lands complements Cunningham's richly illustrated account of California's ecological history and the species and habitats transformed over time. Together, they will examine what has been lost, what endures, and what can still be restored in an era of rapid environmental change. Through storytelling, science, art, and conservation, this engaging dialogue offers fresh perspectives on California's remarkable natural heritage and the choices that will define its future. Audience Q&A will follow, inviting participants to join the conversation about stewardship, resilience, and hope.

Moderated by Mike Rogge

*This author conversation is great for people that love to read non-fiction books and care deeply about the environment.

Speakers

Obi Kaufmann

Obi Kaufmann is the author of The California Field Atlas (#1 San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller), The State of Water, The Forests of California, The Coasts of California (San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller), The Deserts of California (San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller), and The State... Read More →

Laura Cunningham

Laura Cunningham is an artist-naturalist who studied paleontology and biology at the University of California, Berkeley and the author of A State of Change: California's Forgotten Landscapes. She has worked field biology jobs for the California Department of Fish and Game, the United States Geological Survey, and various universities, gaining experience with such species as Owens Valley pupfish, salmon and steelhead trout, Yosemite toads, Panamint alligator lizards, a... Read More →

Mike Rogge

Mike Rogge is a writer and magazine editor. He resurrected the historic Mountain Gazette, an independent magazine focused on mountain culture, in 2020. Rogge, a passionate advocate for mountain communities, has been profiled in The New York Times, Fast Company, and NPR for his role... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 11:15am - 12:15pm PDT
Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema 475 N Lake Blvd

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers

12:30pm PDT

Author Conversation: Parvati Shallow & Priya Hutner

Saturday October 10, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT

Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema

Join Parvati Shallow and Priya Hutner for a unique author conversation as they discuss their memoirs and the experiences that shaped them. Both women were raised in the same spiritual cult, each forged different paths after leaving. Both navigated abusive relationships, motherhood, and the difficult decision to walk away from a life that no longer served them. This intimate conversation explores identity, belief, grief, vulnerability, and how writing became a tool for making sense of their past.

*This author conversation is ideal for readers.

Speakers

Priya Hutner

Priya Hutner, author, teacher, and co-founder of the Tahoe Literary Festival and Truckee Literary Crawl. A journalist and writer, her work has been featured in the Tahoe Guide, Moonshine Ink, Muse Magazine, Monday Night Poetry Anthology and several other publications. Priya is... Read More →

Parvati Shallow

Parvati Shallow is a mother, a National Bestselling author, the winner and five-time competitor of the hit TV series Survivor, and the breakout star of Peacock's The Traitors. In her acclaimed 2025 memoir, Nice Girls Don't Win: How I Burned It All Down to Claim My Power, she explores themes of radical self-acceptance, resilience, and healing from trauma. Parvati holds advanced certifications in yoga, meditation, and breathwork, and is a passionate student of various healing and therapeutic modalities, including structural integration, Somatic Experiencing... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 12:30pm - 1:30pm PDT
Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema 475 N Lake Blvd

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers

1:45pm PDT

The American West: Uncovering Hidden Histories and the Enduring Relationship Between People and Place

Saturday October 10, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT

SNOW Sports Museum

Join acclaimed authors Greg Sarris and Josh Weil for a conversation about history, identity, and the enduring relationship between people and place. Sarris discusses The Last Human Bear, an epic novel inspired by Native Pomo traditions that explores family, resilience, love, and the power of ancestral stories. Weil shares What Came West, set in the Sierra Nevada on the eve of the Gold Rush, where ambition, survival, and the collision of cultures reshape both the land and those who inhabit it. Together, they explore how fiction uncovers hidden histories, gives voice to overlooked perspectives, and deepens our understanding of the American West.

Speakers

Greg Sarris

Greg Sarris is an enrolled member of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria and is currently serving his seventeenth consecutive elected term as chairman of the tribe. He is the author of several books, including the novel Grand Avenue, which he adapted for an HBO miniseries and co-executive... Read More →

Josh Weil

Josh Weil is the author of the novel The Great Glass Sea, the novella collection The New Valley, and the story collection The Age of Perpetual Light. He is a Fulbright fellow and has been awarded the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a “5 Under 35” award from the National Book Foundation, the California Book Award, and a Pushcart Prize. For th... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT
SNOW Sports Museum

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers

1:45pm PDT

The Power of Poetry: Poet Laureates in Conversation

Saturday October 10, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT

Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema

Join California Poet Laureate Lee Herrick and Nevada Poet Laureate Shaun Griffin for an inspiring conversation on the transformative power of poetry. Together, they explore how poems help us make sense of the world, deepen our connection to place, and give voice to our shared humanity. Drawing from their own creative journeys, Herrick and Griffin discuss craft, community, and the role of poetry in cultivating empathy, resilience, and belonging. Whether you're a lifelong poetry lover or simply curious about the art form, this engaging conversation offers fresh insight into why poetry matters now more than ever.

Speakers

Lee Herrick

Lee Herrick Lee Herrick is the California Poet Laureate. He is the author of four books of poems: In Praise of Late Wonder: New and Selected Poems (Gunpowder Press, September 2024); Scar and Flower, finalist for the 2020 Northern California Book Award; Gardening Secrets of the Dead... Read More →

Shaun Griffin

Shaun T. Griffin co-founded and directed Community Chest, a rural social justice agency for twenty-seven years. His new book of poems, No Charity in the Wilderness, is out from the University of Nevada Press. Southern Utah University Press just released River Ask Me Why—Into... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 1:45pm - 2:45pm PDT
Tahoe Art Haus & Cinema 475 N Lake Blvd

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers

3:00pm PDT

Author Conversation with Cara Benson and Karen Terrey

Saturday October 10, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT

Tahoe City Library

An Armsfull of Birds: A Personal Field Guide to Love, Loss, and Commitment
Join poet, essayist, and storyteller Cara Benson for a discussion of her new memoir with Karen
Terrey, Nevada County Poet Laureate. Building on a long writing friendship that started in
graduate school, this intimate conversation will explore questions of why a vulnerable and
individual human voice matters in the evolving world of AI, how to discover the intersection of
the larger planetary story within our personal lives, and methods for keeping our hearts in the
game of manifesting change as we collectively take care of the more than human. Benson will
also touch on the project of writing about her personal tragic loss, finding an agent, and
ultimately a publisher for her memoir.

*This author conversation is ideal for readers.

Speakers

Cara Benson

Presenter

Cara Benson’s writing has been published in The New York Times, Boston Review, Orion, Sierra
Magazine, The Los Angeles Review of Books, Electric Literature, and selected for Best American
Poetry. Her first book, (made), is a collection of prose poems that was praised by The
Huffin... Read More →

Karen Terrey

Karen Terrey serves as Poet Laureate for Nevada County, CA, where her mission is to support a
welcoming arts community that encourages collaboration and growth. She's an editor and
writing coach, offering creative writing workshops online and in Truckee through her business,
Tangled
... Read More →

Saturday October 10, 2026 3:00pm - 4:00pm PDT
Tahoe City Library 740 N Lake Blvd, Tahoe City

In-Conversation, Great for Booklovers