# Event Details - **Event Name**: 2026 Sierra WordFest - **Event Start and End Date**: Wed, 04 Mar, 2026 at 12:30 pm – Sat, 07 Mar, 2026 at 05:30 pm - **Event Description**: Featuring Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) and centered on “Power of Place,” the 2026 Sierra WordFest welcomes all who love literature.About this EventFeaturing well-known writers such as Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket) and centered on the theme “Power of Place,” the 2026 Sierra WordFest welcomes the community for a multiday event spanning three Sierra College campuses.Seize this moment in this place. Join us for several days of presentations and workshops that feed your soul, inspire your craft, and connect you with your community.Click on the 'Check availability' button to view ticket discounts for OLLI members and Sierra College staff and students.March 4th?: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PMPoetry as Human Experience - Rocklin CampusHost: Tongo Eisen-MartinInfo: Through the sharing of poems and brief workshop on writing strategies we will journey with the idea that your poetry is a part of your one human experience taking place in and revealed by an interconnected reality. The view of craft as component can wall away potential insight and inhibit writing. Writing strategies that flow from the reality that craft does not have to be a metaphysical, separate entity from you strengthens all internal processes of liberation, importantly including your art. From political to unpopulated realities of the world, all continuums of existence can emerge together in a line of poetry within a cooperation to produce insight. You can let the infinite, natural occurring unities of reality do the work for you on the page.?: 02:30 PM - 04:00 PMPlace-Based Writing - Rocklin CampusHost: Sarah PapeMarch 5th?: 12:30 PM - 02:00 PMJaime Cortez Presentation - Rocklin CampusHost: Jaime Cortez?: 02:30 PM - 04:00 PMDecolonizing through Poetry and Storytelling - Rocklin CampusHost: Dr. Melissa Leal?: 05:00 PM - 06:30 PMSpirit of Place - Online and Tahoe Truckee CampusHost: Sierra College Tahoe Truckee CampusMarch 7th?: 09:15 AM - 10:15 AMReciprocity in Place - Nevada County Campus Host: Josh JacksonInfo: This talk explores how our emotional bonds with landscapes — what psychologists call ‘place attachment’ — shape identity and well-being. Drawing from history, philosophy, and lived experience in the oak woodlands, rivers, and canyons of the Sierra Nevada, it traces how ordinary people have defended these lands against threats, and asks how we, in turn, can give back. At its core, it is a call to transform love of place into reciprocity: to move from consuming nature to caring for it, so that people and landscapes can flourish together.?: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMStill Standing Guard Panel - Nevada County CampusHost: Rebecca GreggInfo: Still Standing Guard is the second volume of oral histories recalling the incarceration of all persons of Japanese ancestry in WWII from Placer County. Published by Sierra College Press in 2025, the book is dedicated to the 'Spirit of Community.' As a joint effort between the community and college, the stories, energy, and effort to publish the book are inspiring –perhaps especially in these troubling times. Writers on the panel will share their approach to the narratives and capturing the salient stories. Panel Members: Rebecca Gregg, moderator; Randy White, teacher, poet, publisher; Tricia Lord, English Professor.?: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMLayering Creativity and Trusting Intuition - Nevada County CampusHost: Allison ChanInfo: Layering Creativity and Trusting Intuition explores how ideas evolve across different forms of artistic expression. In this talk, author, illustrator and director, Allison Chan, shares the journey of trusting one's instinct and layering creativity to transform ideas far beyond what was originally imagined. ?: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AMMastering Critique - Nevada County Campus Host: Catharine Bramkamp and Marty Coleman-HuntInfo: How can you get (and give) the best feedback in a critique group? Author Marty Coleman-Hunt and Writing Coach Catharine Bramkamp will demonstrate the how-tos and the never-dos for critique groups and beta readers that will lift your work from good to great. Bring a 1,000-word sample of your writing to session one for peer feedback. Rework your submission for further refinement in session two.?: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PMThe Power of AI and the Knife Edge Future We’re Shaping - Nevada County CampusHost: Lisa Redfern and Joan GriffinInfo: What is AI? How does it affect the climate and what are the energy and health costs of using it? What about creative theft, security, privacy, trust and human relationships? How are people using it, and how do you know the difference between AI hype and its usefulness? Through a combination of expert interviews (video) and in-person conversation, we’ll discuss these issues and form fortified personal guidelines for navigating through this new technological territory. This class includes a resource guide PDF with links to explore the various topics in depth. ?: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PM"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better” - NCCHost: Ernesto GarayInfo: Let’s gaze outside our window and attest how nature is a spiritual storyteller, entwining complex patterns and vibrations that form our world. This workshop calls writers to ground their creative process by eliciting inspiration from Mother Earth and her “womb.” Embracing the universal brilliance found in nature—such as the depth of the ocean, the upstream of rivers, the expansiveness of the day or night sky, and the four seasons—we’ll sense how these natural vibrations can form our poetic flows of writing. Through mindful practice (breath exercises), readings, imagination, intuition, memory, discussion, and writing. We’ll see how essence in our world can inspire free verse poetry, invoking invigorating vantage points to symbolism, metaphor, and structure. Poets will have the opportunity to create and share in a safe space inspired by the natural world, as well as in the classroom. Pamela Heyda said, “Nature gets into our souls and opens doors to hidden parts of ourselves.” We can tap ?: 11:45 AM - 12:45 PMMastering Critique, Part Two - Nevada County CampusHost: Catharine Bramkamp and Marty Coleman-HuntInfo: How can you get (and give) the best feedback in a critique group? Author Marty Coleman-Hunt and Writing Coach Catharine Bramkamp will demonstrate the how-tos and the never-dos for critique groups and beta readers that will lift your work from good to great. Bring a 1,000-word sample of your writing to session one for peer feedback. Rework your submission for further refinement in session two.?: 01:45 PM - 02:45 PMKidlit Demystified: Publishing in the Middle Grade Space - Panel Discussion Info: Publishing in the Middle Grade space can often look a bit different than in other areas. First, Middle Grade literature has an unusually wide readership range, and includes everything from early chapter books, the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey, and then The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan. Middle Grade authors also often have to promote their work to parents, teachers, and librarians rather than directly to the readers themselves. As a result, this can make for a different kind of marketing plan than usual and can sometimes include more school and library visits. Come and hear four Middle Grade authors talk about their experiences in Middle Grade publishing, ranging from the “Big 5” publishers to small presses and self-publishing. Panel Members: Karen McCoy, Catherine Arguelles, Jenny Lunquist, and Lisa Frenkel Riddiough?: 01:45 PM - 02:45 PMHow to Write Historical Fiction - Nevada County Campus Host: Julia Park TraceyInfo: This workshop will address writing historical fiction, where you start, and what lights the flame. ?: 01:45 PM - 02:45 PMThe Intersection of Character and Place: Setting in Fiction and Memoir - NCCHost: Sands HallInfo: Where a reader finds a character does essential work. That’s true whether that character is yourself, as in memoir, or one you’re creating, as in fiction. What we call “setting” can be employed to convey information not only about the physical location of a given character, at a given time, but about their history and culture; it can also be used to deliver emotional and psychological details. Wielding setting wisely helps a writer vividly unfold vital details about their characters. In this workshop, with the help of excerpts from memoir and fiction, we’ll examine what their authors accomplish, and what we can learn from them. Prompts allow you to put this valuable piece of craft into practice.?: 03:00 PM - 04:00 PMDaniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, in Conversation - Nevada County CampusHost: Daniel Handler with Kim BatemanInfo: Daniel Handler will share his thoughts about A Series of Unfortunate Events, his extraordinary journey as a writer, his memoir and career, and the enduring magic of literature in conversation with Dr. Kim Bateman, writer and Dean of Sierra College’s Tahoe-Truckee Campus.?: 04:15 PM - 05:30 PMBook Signing and Post-Event Celebration - Nevada County Campus - **Event URL**: https://allevents.in/grass-valley/2026-sierra-wordfest/100001923958695249 - **Event Categories**: art, literary-art, workshops, business, health-wellness, fine-arts, storytelling - **Interested Audience**: - total_interested_count: 0 ## Ticket Details - **Ticket Price Range**: min: 0, max: 65, currency: USD ## Event venue details - **city**: Grass Valley - **state**: CA - **country**: United States - **location**: Sierra College Nevada County and Rocklin Campuses - **lat**: 39.2360146 - **long**: -121.0473714 - **full address**: Sierra College Nevada County and Rocklin Campuses, 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley, United States ## Event gallery - **Alt text**: 2026 Sierra WordFest - **Image URL**: https://cdn-az.allevents.in/events7/banners/3e9d15d6470709db82badf6e27f7124fc413a7d92510d138db29cd824b042e91-rimg-w1200-h630-dcffffff-gmir.jpg?v=1762448350 ## FAQs - **Q**: When and where is 2026 Sierra WordFest being held? - **A:** 2026 Sierra WordFest takes place on Wed, 04 Mar, 2026 at 12:30 pm to Sat, 07 Mar, 2026 at 05:30 pm at Sierra College Nevada County and Rocklin Campuses, 250 Sierra College Drive, Grass Valley, United States. - **Q**: Who is organizing 2026 Sierra WordFest? - **A:** 2026 Sierra WordFest is organized by Sierra College and Sierra College Press. - **Q**: Who is this event for? Is it right for me? - **A:** 2026 Sierra WordFest is ideal for art lovers, collectors, creatives, and anyone inspired by visual arts, installations, and exhibitions. Whether you're a first-time attendee or a longtime enthusiast in Grass Valley, this event is thoughtfully curated to deliver a standout experience worth every moment. 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