Winners of the Oregon Book Awards have been touring the state, with readings next week in Baker City and LaGrande. The events are a cross cultural exchange, giving readers a chance to hear some of Oregon's best homegrown writers, and giving the authors a close-up view of life East of the Cascades.

OPB Morning Host spoke with two authors on the tour, who represent widely diverse background and styles.

Linda Crew, is an award winning children's author from Corvallis, whose most recent novel is the historical tale of young Lovisa King's harrowing journey on the Oregon Trail,"A Heart for Any Fate". Research for the book made Crew well-acquainted with Eastern Oregon. She and her husband made two lengthy car trips to explore where the King family and their party appear to have lost their way. Still, she says she jumped at the chance to make another trip east.

Hear the long version of our interview.

We also recorded two excerpts of Linda reading her work:
Excerpt #1
Excerpt #2

Author Marc Acito is breaking new ground on the tour. His book, How I Paid For College, is a semi-autobiographical novel about a bisexual kid who schemes to steal his college tuition when his father refuses to foot the bill for an education. Talking with April, Marc spoke at length about why he wanted to go east.
We also asked him to read from the book. The first excerpt talks about why his protagonist had trouble holding down a traditional job, and turned to a life of crime. The second is a scene in which the main characters find themselves giving a very unexpected performance on a trip to the big city.

For more information about the Oregon Book Awards tour, click here. For more info on
We've also added links with more info on Marc and
Linda.