An all-star lineup of local writers — including Advertiser columnist and playwright Lee Cataluna — will lead this year's biannual Try 4 Write!, the Bamboo Ridge Writers Institute, Oct. 13 and 14 at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa's Campus Center.

The opening Friday-night reading will highlight some first-time literati pairings — such as Chris McKinney and Lois-Ann Yamanaka.

More than 50 authors and educators will participate in Saturday's packed schedule of readings, panel discussions and writing workshops. Perhaps the most sought-after spots will be in Lois-Ann Yamanaka's master workshop. She is accepting only five students, who will be chosen first-come, first-served. People with completed manuscripts (of short stories or excerpts of novels) need to submit their work a couple of weeks in advance, and Yamanaka will give individual feedback.

Other master workshops will cover screenwriting, poetry, oral history, creative nonfiction and performance poetry.

The workshops "run the gamut," says Joy Kobayashi-Cintrón, Bamboo Ridge's managing editor. "Some will be doing in-class writing, where they write on the spot, other people will ask participants to prepare something before the day."

With more than 20 sessions throughout Saturday, and that's not including the master workshops, choosing what to attend isn't easy.

The key is studying the schedule and choosing what you want to concentrate on. Learn how to make submissions to literary journals from actual journal editors (Bamboo Ridge's Eric Chock, 'Oiwi's Brandy Nalani McDougall, Tinfish's Susan Schultz and Vice Versa's Tim Denevi) or get tips on how to turn fiction to film from Peter Britos, Robert Pennybacker and James Sereno.

Other names to look for: novelist Albert Wendt, playwrights Victoria Kneubuhl and Y York, pidgin guerrilla Lee Tonouchi and poet Gail Harada.

The literary event was conceived in the late 1990s, says Kobayashi-Cintrón, at a board of directors' retreat.

"We had this feeling of not just wanting to publish local literature but to nurture the creation of local writing," she says. "We consider it part of our community outreach."

At the time, points out Kobayashi-Cintrón, "the Maui Writers Conference didn't have much that focused on the writing process; it was more about connecting to agents and publishers" — about selling already-written work.

And the Bamboo Ridge writing exercises, presentations and discussions are yielding fruit.

"We've gotten good writing out of it," says Kobayashi-Cintrón. "The last (edition of Bamboo Ridge) featured people who had participated in the institute and developed work that was publishable. It was a win-win."

Reach Lesa Griffith at lgriffith@honoluluadvertiser.com.