A terrific line up of authors and publishing professionals are coming to this year’s Idaho Writers and Readers Rendezvous. One of the best is James David Duncan
Duncan is a father, a renowned fly fisher, a practitioner of what he calls “direct, small-scale compassion-activism,” and the author of the novels The River Why and The Brothers K, the story collection River Teeth, and the nonfiction collections My Story as Told by Water and God Laughs & Plays. He is also co-author of two fast-response activist books, The Heart of the Monster (2011, co-written with Rick Bass) and Citizen’s Dissent (2003, co-written with Wendell Berry).
Duncan’s work has won three Pacific Northwest 
Booksellers Awards, three Pushcart Prizes, a Lannan Fellowship, the Western States Book Award for nonfiction, a National Book Award nomination, an honorary doctorate from University of Portland, the American Library Association’s 2003 Award for the Preservation of Intellectual Freedom (with co-author Wendell Berry), and inclusion in more than forty national anthologies including Best American Essays, Best American Sports Writing, Best American Catholic Writing, and Best American Spiritual Writing (six times).
In a new Afterword written for this twentieth-anniversary edition, David James Duncan reflects on the genesis of his book and on the surprising link between fishing and wisdom.
Leaving behind a madcap, fishing-obsessed family, Gus decides to strike out on his own, taking refuge in a remote riverbank cabin to pursue his own fly-fishing passion with unrelenting zeal. But instead of finding fishing bliss, Gus becomes increasingly troubled by the degradation of the natural world around him and by the spiritual barrenness of his own life. His desolation drives him on a reluctant quest for self-discovery and meaning—ultimately fruitful beyond his wildest dreams.
Stylistically adept and ambitious in scope, The River Why is a touching and powerful novel by an important voice in American fiction.
In the early nineteenth century the Rendezvous was the event of the year on the western frontier. Mountain men and Native Americans trapping along the streams and valleys of the Rocky Mountains gathered annually to sell their furs, trade for supplies, and tell stories. In that tradition, we welcome you to our annual gathering of writers and readers…
C. J. Box
educators, publishers, and other industry professionals
- Author panels
- Writing workshops
- One-on-ones: Manuscript and pitch sessions
- Contests (cash awards!): Short story, poetry, short screenplay, and exciting new “collaborative story telling” categories
- Open mic nights
- Book signings and marketplace
- Small-group dining with an agent, editor, or author
- Saturday night awards banquet
- PLUS Pre-Conference Interactive Workshop on Thursday afternoon
CONTESTS FOR SHORT STORIES, SHORT SCREENPLAYS
