Here's a few of the authors we're excited about—there's something for everyone, though, so make sure you hit wordstockfestival.com for a complete list of authors, as well as information on workshops and panel discussions.

Jay Allison

NPR regular Jay Allison curates the This I Believe series, which features everyday folk (and a few famous ones, too) reading essays about their core beliefs.

Diane and Jacob Anderson-Minshall

Diane Anderson-Minshall edits Curve magazine, while her husband Jacob writes the widely syndicated column "TransNation" (the two were married in 2006 after Jacob's transition from female to male).

Lynda Barry

Hotshot cartoonist Lynda Barry recently edited The Best American Comics 2008 anthology, and she is reportedly one of the funniest, most charming speakers around.

Aimee Bender

Aimee Bender needs no introduction, but let's give her one anyway: The author of the short-story collections The Girl in the Flammable Skirt and Willful Creatures, as well as the novel An Invisible Sign of My Own is rightfully beloved for her distinctive voice and fantastical yet empathetic storytelling.

Molly Gloss

The Oregon Book Award-winning Molly Gloss is up for the honor again this year, for her historical fiction The Hearts of Horses.

David Guterson

The author of Snow Falling on Cedars and, more recently, the well-received The Other.

Blake Nelson

Blake Nelson's Girl is an absolutely definitive coming-of-age novel set in Portland in the mid-'90s—his subsequent novel Paranoid Park was the basis for the Gus Van Sant film of the same name.

Ann Packer

Ann Packer writes with an uncanny eye for detail and ear for language, channeling Anne Tyler in her ability to write about women and relationships without ever creeping into chick-lit territory.

Sandra Tsing Loh

Funnywoman Sandra Tsing Loh is a regular NPR commentator, performance artist, and writer whose recent work in The Atlantic has advocated persuasively for increased parental involvement in public schools.