Tag: Octagon Center for the Arts

Swift Literary Festival—Fall 2025

Screenshot

Join the Ames Writers Collective at our
4th Annual Swift Literary Festival
at the Octagon Art Festival
Sunday, September 28th from 10 to 4 PM

Stop by, mingle, buy books, and contribute to our Community Story. We look forward to meeting you on the 28th.

Stephen Brayton—Fiction, A Cold New Year
Tina Cho—Youth Lit, God’s Little Oceanographer
Kelli Fitzpatrick—Captain Marvel: Carol Danvers Declassified
Douglas Myeong’il Gentile—Lessons Learned at a Buddhist Monastery: Hwadu Slogans
Lois Kennis—Women’s Fiction, Rise on Eagles Wings
Deb Kline—Memoir, Forgetting to Remember
Ana McCracken—I Found Myself at Lake Okoboji | Discovering words, wonder, dreams, and inspirations (An anthology)
Linda Skeers—Youth Lit, Women Who Dared
Miles Tritle—Horror/Sci-fi, The Warning in the Woods
Elise Wayland—Fiction, Rivals to Lovers
Denise Williams—Romance, Just Our Luck
J. Susanne Wilson—Historical Fiction, The Death and Life of Iphigenia

2024 Contributors to the Swift Literary Festival Community Story

Octagon Center for the Arts

City of Ames

Octagon Third Thursday Poetry Slam

The Octagon in partnership with the Ames Poetry Slam & the Ames Writers Collective is hosting its first ever poetry slam!

Come hear original work from local poets of all ages and styles. The event on Thursday, August 21st will begin at 5:30pm and poets will take the stage at 6:00pm. This is a free event, for attendees and poets alike. We prefer that poets sign up in advance at this link: Poet Registration. However we will allow same-day sign up at the event.

This event is held at the Octagon Center for the Arts at 427 Douglas Avenue, Ames IA 50010.

We hope you’ll join us, as a poet or a spectator, and support the poets in our community.

Categories
In The Media News

Swift Literary Festival | Sunday, Sept 22nd | 10 to 4

Screenshot
Join the us this Sunday, September 22nd from 10 to 4 at the Octagon Art Festival for our 3rd Annual Swift Literary Festival in Ames, Iowa. Meet our authors, and learn about Ames Writers Collective exciting upcoming news. Look for our tent on the corner of Douglas Avenue and Main Street in front of AVEC Design+Build.
Featured Authors & Poets
10 to 11:30
Marilyn J Baszczynski—Poetry
Paul Brooke—Poetry
Charlie R. North—Poetry
Dawn Terpstra—Poetry
Pat Underwood—Poetry
11:30 to 1
Paul Brooke—Poetry
Charlie R. North—Poetry
Dawn Terpstra—Poetry
Pat Underwood—Poetry
Deb Kline—Memoir
1 to 2:30
Stephen L. Brayton—Mystery & horror
Shannon K. Evans—Spiritual nonfiction
Kim Mosiman—Christian nonfiction
Ice Cube Press
2:30 to 4
William Bortz—Poetry
Charles R. Kniker—Nonfiction
Jennifer L. Knox—Poetry
Eva Newcastle—Magical realism
Ice Cube Press
Categories
In The Media News

3rd Annual Swift Literary Festival

On Sunday, September 22nd, the Ames Writers Collective will host the 3rd Annual Swift Literary Festival—a pop-up event held annually at the Octagon Art Festival.

During the festival, festival-goers can visit with and purchase books from local Iowa authors and poets.

 

Current List of 2024 Swift Literary Festival Authors

Marilyn J Baszczynski | Stephen L. Brayton | Paul Brooke
William Bortz | Shannon K. Evans | Deb Kline
Charles R. Kniker | Jennifer L. Knox
Kim Mosiman | Eva Newcastle
Charlie R. North | Dawn Terpstra | Pat Underwood
Ice Cube Press

Thank You
Octagon Art Festival for hosting us at your annual event
Authors and poets, who joined us
Ames Community and visitors to Ames, who purchased books and dropped by to say hello

 

Swift Literary Festival—Pop-Up Event

Join the Ames Writers Collective at our
2nd Annual Swift Literary Festival
at the Octagon Art Festival
Sunday, September 22nd from 10 to 4 PM

2024 Contributors to the Swift Literary Festival Community Story

Under our tent located in front of 409 Douglas Avenue, we will feature local authors. If you would like to be a featured author, click here to email us.

LOCAL AUTHORS TBD

10 to 11:30

11:30 to 1

1 to 2:30

2:30 to 4

ALL DAY

  • Writing-prompt free-writes
  • A chance to contribute to our Community Story