In its fifth year the Ithaca Literary Festival, Spring Writes, presents a weekend full of workshops, readings, and performances. Check the calendar for the full schedule of activities. Here’s a few highlights to entice to you to one of the dozen venues downtown to participate in the festivities. There are more than 30 events to inspire you. Sponsored by the Community Arts Partnership in Tompkins County, all events are free and open to the public. Friday, May 2, 5:30pm-7:00pm at Buffalo Street Books The Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts presents an all-local group of past and current Saltonstall Fellows. They include Sarah Jefferis (2014 Non-fiction), Fran Markover (2010 Poetry), and Bob Proehl (2013 Fiction). Saturday May 3, 10am-11:45am at Buffalo Street Books If you’ve ever heard the expression “Write what you know” and thought, “Hey, I don’t know anything worth writing about,” this is for you! Especially geared to teens with an interest in storytelling, three local fiction writers — Anne Mazer, Shawn Goodman, and Rob Costello — will lead a fun and freewheeling workshop designed to introduce some of the basic writing tools that can help any writer spin a good story out of practically anything. Pen, paper, and imagination are all that’s required! * Anne Mazer is the author of 45 books for young readers: The Salamander Room, The Oxboy, The Amazing Days of Abby Hayes series and more. * Shawn Goodman is the award-winning author of the Young Adult novels, Kindness for Weakness, and Something Like Hope. * Rob Costello has an MFA in Writing for Children and Young…

Alice McDowell has accepted an offer of publication for her new book, Dance of Light: Christian, Sufi, and Zen Steps to Spiritual Realization, from Wisdom Editions, an imprint of Calumet Editions, to be released in April 2022. Dance of Light offers practical wisdom for the contemporary spiritual seeker. Whether beginner or advanced, readers will receive guidance on the dynamics of the spiritual journey, learn how to further develop their inner life, and find ways to move forward when unmotivated, stuck, or lost. Teachings of mystics across time and place will inspire readers to stay true to their calling. Instructive tales and humorous stories from each tradition add light and insight to the reader’s journey. Now more than ever, people search for answers to the current uncertainty and confusion. Alice McDowell, Ph.D., is an author, spiritual director, retreat guide, senior teacher, and founder of the Hidden Treasure Program—a three-year training in personal and spiritual growth. She co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991 where she continues to guide individuals and groups on their spiritual journeys. She is author of Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self (She Writes Press, 2017). As a professor of religious studies at Ithaca College for eighteen years, she taught courses in mysticism, world religions, depth psychology, and women’s studies, and received the Dana Fellow for Excellence in College Teaching. McDowell has a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University and has trained with Sufi and Buddhist teachers, Christian…

After years of research and writing, author Sharon Yntema has published her latest book, Ithaca Area Bookstores: Two Hundred years of Bookstore History in Tompkins County 1819-2019. A compendium of retail operations dedicated to purveying books offers a history of a reading community through the lens of bookstores. Sharon agreed to an interview about her new release. Q: When were the first bookstores opened in Ithaca? The first bookstore in Ithaca was opened in 1819 by Ebenezer Mack, who also founded the Ithaca Journal. His bookstore was small, and located in the area where the Tompkins County Public Library now stands. He imported a few books, according to Ithaca Journal ads at the time, but also owned a paper mill and published books at his printing press. Cornell University was founded in 1865, forty-six years later. Q: How long have you lived in Ithaca and what was the first bookstore you visited in Ithaca? I moved to Ithaca in 1975. The first bookstore I visited was McBooks, which was also the first bookstore I worked in. The owner, Alex Skutt, taught me how to do bookkeeping for the store which served me well in jobs over the next 50 years. In 1980, McBooks Press published the first book I wrote, Vegetarian Baby, which was translated into 6 other languages. I owe my introduction to all levels of a bookstore to Alex. [McBooks Press is now an imprint of Globe Pequot, the trade division of Roman & Littlefield.] I have worked in bookstores since 1978, starting…