The Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center will host The Grand Mesa Writers’ Symposium on Aug. 8-10 at 195 W. Main St. in Cedaredge. The symposium will feature large and small group presentations by award-winning and best-selling writers who specialize in fiction, nonfiction and poetry.

The featured writers are Colorado residents, including novelist Shelley Read, historian Dr. Timothy Winegard and poet Wendy Videlock.

Read’s debut novel, Go as a River, has won critical acclaim and worldwide attention and has been translated into 34 languages. Read is a former senior lecturer at Western Colorado University in Gunnison. A fifth generation Coloradoan, she lives with her family in the Elk Mountains.

Winegard has a PhD from the University of Oxford and is an associate professor of history at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. The New York Times bestselling author has written six books including his most recent work, The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity. His writing has been published globally in more than 15 languages.

Videlock lives on the outskirts of Palisade and serves as poet laureate of Western Colorado. She’s authored five books of poetry, a children’s book and a collection of essays. One of her latest poetry collections can be found in her book Wise to the West.

Organizers encourage interested individuals to register early to reserve an opportunity to interact with a featured writer in a small group setting. The registration fee for the entire symposium is $125. For an additional fee, symposium attendees can meet with one of the featured writers during that author’s office hours.

Attendees are invited to share their writing in a free open microphone event, and they can meet local and regional authors and purchase signed books at the symposium’s Western Colorado Pop-Up Bookstore. Those not attending the symposium can purchase a ticket for “A Celebration of Writing” panel presentation by all three featured writers.

The Grand Mesa Writers’ Symposium offers fourteen unique workshops presented by published novelists, poets and nonfiction authors. A full schedule, including workshop descriptions and other details as well as registration information can be found at the symposium website: www.grandmesawriters.org.