The Authors & Artists Fair is bringing 52 authors to Eugene for an autograph party on Saturday, Dec. 13 at the Lane Events Center. 

Admission is free to the festival from 10 am to 5 pm, but donations are accepted and a portion of book sales benefits the Lane Library League, a nonprofit group working to improve and expand library service in rural areas.

Lane County is one of the few counties in the nation that does not offer a county-wide library card. The league uses profits from the book fair to support children’s programs and volunteer libraries in the county’s otherwise unserved areas.

Of the authors debuting new books this year, here’s a closer look at five.

Miriam Gershow sold her first novel to a New York publisher in 2009. Her latest work hits closer to home. Closer is the title of her novel set in a small Oregon town. In the book, racial tensions erupt after white students harass a Black student. Also new this year is Survival Tips, a collection of Gershow’s short stories.

Linda Ziedrich of Lebanon is a cook and a gardener. Her latest book combines her two specialties. The Curious Kitchen Gardener: Uncommon Plants and How to Eat Them describes 33 little-known garden plants and how to make them delicious. Also new for Ziedrich this year is First Fruits: The Lewellings and the Birth of the Pacific Coast Fruit Industry, a nonfiction history of three Quaker brothers who came West in 1847 to found the area’s fruit and wine industry.

Debra Alexander’s granddaughter, Eliza Kelley, has Tourette syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes sudden involuntary movements and/or sounds called tics. Alexander and her granddaughter collaborated to write Eliza Jane Finds Her Dog Squad, a sequel to their previous children’s book, Eliza Jane Finds Her Hero. Alexander is perhaps best known for her novels Zetty and A River for Gemma, the latter about a young woman who is underestimated by a world that labels her as intellectually disabled. 

Is Jennifer Chambers of Veneta obsessed with murder? Two years ago, she published Murder and Mayhem in the Willamette Valley. New this year is The Murder of Sheriff W.W. Withers and Other Historic Eugene Cases. Rumor has it she’s writing an entire series of mysteries about Withers, a genuine Eugene sheriff from the early 1900s.

Alan Contreras writes bird books, right? He’s done Birds of Lane County and History of Oregon Ornithology. His latest book, Queens Ambit: Poems from the Gay Experience, takes a different slant. It follows his previous book, The Gay Imagination, which covered the often overlooked works of gay authors and musicians.

Here’s the full line-up of authors and artists at the Saturday, Dec. 13 fair in the Lane Events Center. Specific times are given for the authors who will be attending only part of the day.

Debra Alexander: Eliza Jane Finds Her Dog Squad (2025), a novel about a girl with Tourette Syndrome

Valarie Anderson: Between the Lines (2025), a novel based on the true story of a Navajo code talker’s WWII romance.

Dan Armstrong: Creatures from the Interzone (2025), the fourth in a psy-fy/fantasy series set in Eugene

A. Lynn Ash: The Heat of the Fireman, stories.

Joe Blakely: Oregon history, sports history, novels and a memoir.

Tyler Burgess: Walking guidebooks and travel adventure narratives.

Vicki-Ann Bush (10 am to 1:30 pm): Alex McKenna: Death Is Not the Beginning (2025), the final book in a young adult paranormal detective series.

Melody Carlson: Welcome to the Honey B&B (2025) and more than 200 other novels.

Jennifer Chambers: Murder and Mayhem in Eugene (2025), and other nonfiction history.

Georgia Cockerham: Murder at Ferry Creek, book six in the Oregon Coast Murder Mystery series.

Alan Contreras: Queens Ambit: Poems from the Gay Experience (2025).

Gregory Covert (1:30 pm to 5 pm): Six thrillers in the Hawkeye Ridge series about a retired Navy commando.

Joan Gold Cypress: Children’s books.

John Daniel: Novels and poetry.

Melissa Darby: Thunder Go North: The Hunt for Sir Francis Drake’s Fair & Good Bay (2025), a nonfiction history.

Steve Davala: The Soulkind Awakening, the third in a series of fantasy novels.

Mireya DeYoung: Children’s books.

Carola Dunn (10 am to 1:30 pm): Cozy murder mysteries set in England.

Pat Edwards: Lane County history.

Mark Fearing: Brandon and the Totally Troublesome Time Machine and other illustrated children’s books.

Tim Fox: Four books in The Afterlands Convergence sci-fi series.

Miriam Gershow (10 am to 1:30 pm), Closer (2025), a novel about racial tensions in a small Oregon town.

Melissa Hart (10 am to 1:30 pm), Down Syndrome Out Loud (2025), uplifting stories about people with disabilities.

Ann Herrick: Boss of the Whole Sixth Grade and other young adult novels.

A.B. Herron: Wooden Wolves (2025), a tangent novel to the Elemental Wolf series of urban fantasy romances.

Nina Kiriki Hoffman (1:30 pm to 5 pm): Fantasy/scifi stories and a writing how-to guide.

Donna Hues (1:30 pm to 5 pm): Broken Spur (2025), a young adult novel about orphans tracking their parents’ murderer in the early 1900s.

Paty Jager: Western romance and mystery, including Wolf Moon (2025) and a Christmas mystery, Merry Merry Merry Murder.

Leigh Anne Jasheway (10 am to 1:30 pm): Chickenzie and the Bully (2025), a young adult novel about a boy who rescues a chicken from a petting zoo.

Kristine Jensen: Wednesday Club (2025), a novel about a city girl dumped on a South Dakota farm.

Lauren Kessler (10 am to 1:30 pm): Nonfiction women’s biographies, history and memoir.

Jason Kilgore: First Nova I See Tonight (2025), a scifi novel about star pirates, alien lovers, tentacled mafiosos and smugglers.

David Lewis: Tribal Histories of the Willamette Valley. 

Howard Libes: What you Will, book three of the Seeder series of sci-fi novels.

Mary E. Lowd: Animal Voices, Unicorn Whispers and other furry scifi novels.

Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays: The Restaurantland series of romance novels set in Portland in the 1990s.

Donna McFarland: I Lost My Kangaroo (2025) and other children’s picture books.

Marli Miller: Oregon Rocks! and other nonfiction books about geology.

John Mitchell: Adventure novels and a memoir.

Sharleen Nelson: The End of Time, the final book in a series of time travel novels.

Paul Neville: The Garbage Brothers, a coming-of-age novel.

OSU Press: Over 100 books of Oregon interest.

Dawn Prochovnic: Where Does a Pirate Go Potty? and other children’s books.

Arlene Sachitano: 14 cozy murder mysteries with a quilting theme, set in the Pacific Northwest.

Frank Scalise: A Hard Favored Death (2025) and many other crime fiction thrillers

L.J. Sellers: Missing And/Or Dead (2025), Eugene’s mayor is murdered in the 18th book of the Detective Jackson mystery series.

Dorcas Smucker (1:30 pm to 5 pm): Coming Home to Roost and other collections of her newspaper columns.

William Sullivan: Hiking guidebooks and historical novels.

Micah Thorp (1:30 pm to 5 pm): Aegolius Creek (2025), an environmental novel set in Lane County.

Brian Trapp: Range of Motion (2025), a semi-autobiographical novel about growing up with a disabled brother.

David Wagner: Oregon Nature Calendar 2026 and A Lane County Almanac. 

Bob Welch: Writer: How to craft nonfiction stories that touch your readers’ hearts, souls & funny bones (2025).

Linda Ziedrich: The Curious Kitchen Gardener: Uncommon Plants and How to Eat Them (2025).

Eight artists will also be displaying their work at the Dec.13 fair from 10 am to 5 pm at the Lane Events Center

Kay Beckham: ornaments, cards and prints.

Michael Fromme: whimsical ceramic birds and animals.

Dave Imus: maps and cartographic art.

Rogene Manas: mixed media artwork, cards, and prints.

Lynn Peterson: ceramic tree ornaments, tiled mosaics, art books, and tiny ceramic houses.

Janell Sorensen: paintings, prints, watercolors and cards.

Valley Calligraphy Guild: calligraphy, note cards, gift tags and quotations.

Debbie Weber: art resin hangings and ornaments.

William L. Sullivan is the author of 27 books, including The Ship in the Ice and the updated 100 Hikes series for Oregon. Learn more at www.OregonHiking.com.