208 Youth Writing Contest
Is creativity a thing of the past? As an English teacher of 12 years, I have read many young writers’ attempts to create original, cohesive or at least comprehensible writing. Think back and you...
Category: Books
208 Fiction 2026 contest results
Here we present the winners of the fifth annual Sandpoint Reader 208 Fiction contest, in which we invited writers to submit a work of fiction totaling exactly 208 words for consideration by a panel...
Afraid to turn away
By Ben OlsonReader Staff With the publication of our fifth annual 208 Fiction winners and honorable mentions in this edition (see Pages 14-16), I thought I’d share one of my own short stories. I...
Local author releases final installment of The Mysterious Pend Oreille Paddler
By Reader Staff Author Whitney Rae Palmer has released The Mysterious Pend Oreille Paddler, Part 3, a conclusion to her comical series about the local water serpent set along the scenic shores of Lake...
Man bites back at dogs
By Zach HagadoneReader Staff Among the quickest ways to get yourself in trouble is pointing out that all dogs are not God’s perfect creatures, nor do they belong in every space where humans conduct...
A quiet, brooding masterpiece
Train Dreams is a film that captures the Gothic desperation of North Idaho By Ben OlsonReader Staff Underneath the paved streets, the brick buildings, real estate offices and fast-food joints, there exists another North Idaho. It’s...
Debut kids’ book from locally-raised author is a heartfelt exploration of family separation
By Zach HagadoneReader Staff Kids’ books can be for entertaining, learning and explaining hard topics — and often all three. My House in the Sky, published in 2025 by Jeff Tedd Bock, is entertaining...
In praise of ‘performative reading’
By Zach HagadoneReader Staff The New Yorker carried an interesting piece on its website Dec. 2 titled “Now Watch Me Read,” in which Brady Brickner-Wood explores the idea of “performative reading.” That is, the...
Emily Articulated: Fantasy, reality
By Emily EricksonReader Columnist The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, was released in 2008 to mass appeal. It nearly instantly hit The New York Times Bestseller list, where it remained for more than 60...
Rhinos Are Winos book reading at the Pend d’Oreille Winery
By Reader Staff Spokane author Kevin Capuchin wants to take readers on a “booze cruise” through the zoo with his picture book Rhinos Are Winos, which guides wine connoisseurs on their “first ABC adventure.”...
