The Word on Wordstock Coming in October

Dear Wordstocker, At the Wordstock offices we're working wildly to make the next few months, ahem, chalk full of word encounters: from the musical and literary festival, Rox in Sox, to an urban art experiement with chalk, poetry and YOU. We're bringing our best game. Want to join us?

Star Wars Reads at Wordstock. Fans of reading and a certain galaxy far, far away have reason to rejoice: Star Wars Reads Day, a day-long celebration of literacy, Jedi, Sith, Wookiees and all things Star Wars is returning. The best news? Star Wars Readswill be celebrated at Wordstock this year! With acclaimed Star Wars writer Timothy Zahn and newcomer Ian Doescher’s Shakespearean twist on the acclaimed saga plus a special appearance by Cloud City Garrison, a chapter of the 501st Legion of Stormtroopers. Be there Sat.10/5 and may the (literary) force be with you! Chalkstock: an urban art experiment. What is Chalkstock? It's a chance to unite the community of Portland around the power and beauty of the written word in a down to earth way.   “How?” you ask. Here are the basics: Gather hundreds of friends on August 6th at Irving City Park. Give them chalk and a portion of sidewalk. Let them write (no swearing or explicit sexuality, let’s keep it family friendly). Watch people wake up to a world of verse. Leave the chalk out and encourage people to add their own. Want to know more? Click here to sign up.  Community spotlight: Portland street fairs. Wordstock is lucky to be a part of a city that loves to celebrate art, culture and community. That's why we have joined the Mississippi Street Fair,Belmont Street Fair, and Alberta Street Fair to hit the streets. This summer we're breaking out our red chairs and touring Portland's street fairs to spread awareness of Wordstock and inject some wordy fun into the summer before our big event in October. On July 13, the Wordstock team set up camp at the Mississippi Street Fair toting along our red chair and a selection of free books from Title Wave Bookstore. Our volunteers had fun sparking great conversations about writing and sharing Wordstock's mission to use the power of writing to effect positive change in people’s lives. Find out where we’ll be next! Wordstock 2013 needs volunteers! We'll provide the snacks, if you provide the awesome. Over 300 volunteers make the festival run each year—we couldn’t do it without you! Volunteers work the festival, escorting authors, answering questions and running the show, really. Join the team this year! It's easy. Sign-up and tell us a little about you. Our volunteer coordinators can't wait to find the right spot for you this year! Click to be a volunteer this year.  Under the red chair: a glimpse into the festival to come. Susan Choi 2013 festival headliner Susan Choi's latest novel is My Education. She has published three previous novels: The Foreign Student, American Woman, and A Person of Interest. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and sons.  For more information about the author, click here.    MK Asante 2013 nonfiction feature MK Asante is an award-winning writer, filmmaker, hip-hop artist, and professor of creative writing and film at Morgan State University. For more information about the author, click here.  What's that? Who else, you ask? Click here. Educators! End your summer with a bang of inspiration and creativity.  Teacher as Writer Mon-Fri, August 19-23 8AM-4:00PM at the University of Portland Teachers, sign up for the course that will feed your creativity and prepare you to help your students articulate their ideas. More and more state, national and global education standards require students to demonstrate their knowledge across curriculum in writing--be it math, science or reading. During TAW, Step I you'll work on a 2-page personal narrative, receive coaching from a professional writer and gain strategies you can use in the classroom for years to come.  Click to register or forward this email to a teacher in your life. Words around town: a well fed writing life. Tuesday, August 6th 6:45 PM - 8:15PM Collective Agency 322 NW 6th Ave. #200 PDX Love to write but hate to starve? Creating a Well-Fed Writing Life Through Lucrative "Commercial" Freelancing In today’s downsized business world, companies of all sizes pay freelancers handsomely to handle many writing tasks involved in communicating with prospects, clients, and employees. But how to successfully navigate this new terrain? Doors open at 6 for networking/food; Peter speaks at 6:45, Q&A until 8:15, followed by more networking. Friends of Wordstock get $10 off with the coupon code WORDSTOCK. Click here for more information.    Wordstock and Rox in Sox. Rox in Sox Saturday, August 3rd 10AM - 7PM West End Building 4101 Kruse Way, Lake Oswego Wordstock will be taking part in the first-ever free family festival Rox in Sox, this Saturday August 3rd from 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. on the front grassy lawn of the West End Building. Families are asked to bring donations of children’s books, new socks or new shoes to distribute to kids in need in Portland, Kenya and Jamaica. The festival will be a musical and literary celebration showcasing performances  by Aaron Nigel Smith and his One World Chorus members, Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band, “kid-hop” artist Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, PBS-TV’s “Between the Lions” as well as Red Yarn Productions, who will roam the festival with his musical puppets. Click to read more about this exciting project. For quick info, check our Kids' Corner side bar!   DONATE follow us like us wordstock office 810 SE Belmont St. Studio 5 Portland, OR 97214 contact ph (503) 477-4361 fx (503) 549-7869 info@bewordstock.org   Wordstock is a literary art and education nonprofit organization. Our mission is to use the power of writing to effect positive change in people's lives.       kids' corner   Rox in Sox (cont.) Looking for some wordy family fun this weekend? Come to Rox in Sox in Lake Oswego on August 3rd. 10:40 Shelby Bach  12:05 Deborah Hopkinson  1:00 Trudy Ludwig  1:50 Matt Holm  2:45 Greta Pederson 3:35 Noel MacNeal  4:25 Victoria Jamison  5:20 Ray Ballantyne   Other activities will include family yoga, hula hooping, drumming, hands-on arts and crafts and face painting. Food and beverages will be provided by Joe’s Burgers and Marley Coffee.  At least 20 vendors will provide activities and other goodies.   For more information visit the website, updates will be posted regularly at