Eight local authors shared their work and insight into the literary process in a writers extravaganza during a community event to raise money to support library services and programs in Seaside and the surrounding area.

The third annual Write On Seaside!, a fundraiser for the Seaside Public Library Foundation and Libraries Rural Outreach in Clatsop County, was held April 14 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.

“Libraries are one of the last places on the planet where you can get things for free,” said Melissa Eskue-Ousley, chair of the foundation’s board. She referenced several of Seaside’s services and programs, such as checking out books, DVDs and audio books; attending storytime and Teen Tuesday, featuring a slate of engaging projects for youth; and using computers and accessing the Internet.

“Libraries really do serve the entire community,” Eskue-Ousley said. “They serve all of us. That’s one of the reasons I support libraries.”

The local authors who participated in the writers extravaganza during the fundraiser hail from across the Pacific Northwest, including the Long Beach Peninsula, Gearhart, Nehalem and in between. Throughout the evening, the writers read excerpts of original work while guests bid on the opportunity to name various story characters. Winning bidders also were to receive a printed copy of the book featuring everyone’s work.

James A. Tweedie, who read an excerpt from his work “Just Looking,” has written 10 books across various genres, including poetry, theology, and a series featuring a private eye set in Manhattan. His latest collection of stories, “Long Beach Short Stories: Possibly Untrue Tales from the Pacific Northwest,” is set on the Long Beach Peninsula, where he’s resided for about 10 years.

“All of that is derived from my experiences there and stories I heard from other people who live there,” he said.

Tweedie worked in a public library for six years and was accepted for graduate school in library science, before life took a different route. However, his mother was a librarian and he also worked with his wife at a library before they were married, which caused him to have a long-lasting “love affair with libraries and an appreciation for them.” The story he read at the fundraiser was based on an event he experienced when working at the library, but he set the plot in Seaside.

Other authors who presented during the evening and their work include:

• Andy Barker, “A Precarious Nest”

• Bruce Bushing, “Used Books”

• Tom Lackaff, “Teachable Moment”

• Pamela Mattson McDonald, “The Substitute”

• Dayle Nelson, “What Sets Us Free”

• Kay Stoltz, “Between the Pages”

• Kayleigh Armstrong, “Something Purple”

In addition to the writers extravaganza, the event also featured a live auction and paddle bid for donated items, including six little free libraries, designed for individuals and businesses to use as small-scale book exchanges for the public. The libraries, created by local craftsmen, came in a variety of shapes and styles, such as a rendition of the Terrible Tilly Lighthouse perched atop the rock, a Bavarian Haus, and a DIY library with materials and instructions to put it together.

Nettie-Lee Calog, the Warrenton Community Library site manager, also was recognized for her work in the community and advancing the institution. Calog, who is retiring at the end of 2019, helped establish the nonprofit Libraries ROCC program–a collaboration between the three public libraries, five school districts, corporate sponsors, and the local communities.

The organization’s mission is to bridge the gaps between funded and unfunded youth services in rural areas by placing a library card in the hands of every child who wants one; providing courier services between the schools and libraries for library materials; and to support the annual countywide summer reading program. Since being establish in 2009, the outreach program has served about 2,900 students

“Because of this effort, kids that are now in high school have had a library card for the entire time they’ve been in school,” Astoria Library Director Jimmy Pearson said. “What a powerful message we send, when we talk about literacy for children, when we give them books that open their minds by opening their access to reading.”

Eight local authors shared their work and insight into the literary process in a writers extravaganza during a community event to raise money to support library services and programs in Seaside and the surrounding area.

The third annual Write On Seaside!, a fundraiser for the Seaside Public Library Foundation and Libraries Rural Outreach in Clatsop County (ROCC), was held April 14 at the Seaside Civic and Convention Center.

“Libraries are one of the last places on the planet where you can get things for free,” said Melissa Eskue-Ousley, chair of the foundation’s board. She referenced several of Seaside’s services and programs, such as checking out books, DVDs and audio books; attending storytime and Teen Tuesday, featuring a slate of engaging projects for youth; and using computers and accessing the Internet.

“[Libraries] really do serve the entire community,” Eskue-Ousley said. “They serve all of us. That’s one of the reasons I support libraries.”

The local authors who participated in the writers extravaganza during the fundraiser hail from across the Pacific Northwest, including the Long Beach Peninsula, Gearhart, Nehalem and in between. Throughout the evening, the writers read excerpts of original work while guests bid on the opportunity to name various story characters. Winning bidders also were to receive a printed copy of the book featuring everyone’s work.

James A. Tweedie, who read an excerpt from his work “Just Looking,” has written 10 books across various genres, including poetry, theology, and a series featuring a private eye set in Manhattan. His latest collection of stories, “Long Beach Short Stories: Possibly Untrue Tales from the Pacific Northwest,” is set on the Long Beach Peninsula, where he’s resided for about 10 years.

“All of that is derived from my experiences there and stories I heard from other people who live there,” he said.

Tweedie worked in a public library for six years and was accepted for graduate school in library science, before life took a different route. However, his mother was a librarian and he also worked with his wife at a library before they were married, which caused him to have a long-lasting “love affair with libraries and an appreciation for them.” The story he read at the fundraiser was based on an event he experienced when working at the library, but he set the plot in Seaside.

Other authors who presented during the evening and their work include:

• Andy Barker, “A Precarious Nest”

• Bruce Bushing, “Used Books”

• Tom Lackaff, “Teachable Moment”

• Pamela Mattson McDonald, “The Substitute”

• Dayle Nelson, “What Sets Us Free”

• Kay Stoltz, “Between the Pages”

• Kayleigh Armstrong, “Something Purple”

In addition to the writers extravaganza, the event also featured a live auction and paddle bid for donated items, including six little free libraries, designed for individuals and businesses to use as small-scale book exchanges for the public. The libraries, created by local craftsmen, came in a variety of shapes and styles, such as a rendition of the Terrible Tilly Lighthouse perched atop the rock, a Bavarian Haus, and a DIY library with materials and instructions to put it together.

Nettie-Lee Calog, the Warrenton Community Library site manager, also was recognized for her work in the community and advancing the institution. Calog, who is retiring at the end of 2019, helped establish the nonprofit Libraries ROCC program–a collaboration between the three public libraries, five school districts, corporate sponsors, and the local communities.

The organization’s mission is to bridge the gaps between funded and unfunded youth services in rural areas by placing a library card in the hands of every child who wants one; providing courier services between the schools and libraries for library materials; and to support the annual countywide summer reading program. Since being establish in 2009, the outreach program has served about 2,900 students

“Because of this effort, kids that are now in high school have had a library card for the entire time they’ve been in school,” Astoria Library Director Jimmy Pearson said. “What a powerful message we send, when we talk about literacy for children, when we give them books that open their minds by opening their access to reading.”