Media Contact:
Derek Sheffield, WVC English faculty, 509-682-6737
Libby Siebens, community relations executive director, 509-682-6436 (Mon.-Thurs.)

There will be a Visiting Writers Series reading on Wednesday, March 6, at 2 p.m. in The Grove Recital Hall, Music and Art Center (MAC). Writers are Suzanne Matson, Edward Harkness and WVC at Omak instructor Peter Donahue. This event is sponsored by the Wenatchee Valley College English Department,  the Alcoa Excellence in Teaching Award, Icicle Creek Center for the Arts, Write on the River and the WVC Foundation.

The reading is free and open to the public.

Suzanne Matson’s fourth novel, “Ultraviolet,” was published last September, with a starred review from Publishers Weekly. Her first novel, “The Hunger Moon,” was a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick. Her third, “The Tree-Sitter,” was short-listed for the PEN New England/L. L. Winship Award. Her books of poems are “Durable Goods” and “Sea Level.” Originally from Portland, Oregon, Matson received her bachelor’s from Portland State University, and her master’s in creative writing and doctorate in English from the University of Washington. A 2012 fiction-writing fellow from the National Endowment for the Arts, Matson has also received creative writing fellowships from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the American-Scandinavian Foundation. She teaches at Boston College.    

Ed Harkness is the author of three full-length collections of poems, “Saying the Necessary,” “Beautiful Passing Lives,” and most recently, “The Law of the Unforeseen,” released in 2018. He has published several chapbooks, including “Ice Children” and “Watercolor Painting of a Bamboo Rake.” His poems have appeared in many online and print journals, including most recently, Miramar, Raven Chronicles and Terrain.org. He lives with his wife and cycling partner, Linda, in Shoreline, Wash.

Peter Donahue is the author most recently of “Three Sides Water,” a trilogy of short novels. He is also the author the novels “Clara and Merrit” and “Madison House,” and the short story collection “The Cornelius Arms.” Peter has degrees in English and creative writing from the University of Washington, Virginia Tech, and Oklahoma State University. He lives in the Methow Valley on the eastern slope of the North Cascades and teaches English at Wenatchee Valley College-Omak in the Okanogan Valley.

Parking for the event is free in the MAC, Wells Hall, Wells House and Fifth Street visitor parking lots.

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Wenatchee Valley College enriches North Central Washington by serving educational and cultural needs of communities and residents throughout the service area. The college provides high-quality transfer, liberal arts, professional/technical, basic skills and continuing education for students of diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Visit our website, wvc.edu.

Wenatchee Valley College is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and student enrollment. All programs are free from discrimination and harassment against any person because of race, creed, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, or the use of a service animal by a person with a disability, age, parental status or families with children, marital status, religion, genetic information, honorably discharged veteran or military status or any other prohibited basis per RCW 49.60.030, 040 and other federal and laws and regulations, or participation in the complaint process. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policies and Title IX compliance for both the Wenatchee and Omak campuses:

• To report discrimination or harassment: Title IX Coordinator, Wenatchi Hall 2322M, (509) 682-6445, title9@wvc.edu.
• To request disability accommodations: Student Access Coordinator, Wenatchi Hall 2133, (509) 682-6854, TTY/TTD: dial 711, sas@wvc.edu.