CORVALLIS - Nine accomplished Oregon authors will turn stories and poems into food for the hungry at "The Magic Barrel: A Reading to Fight Hunger," an annual benefit for Linn Benton Food Share.

The event will be at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24, at the Corvallis High School Main Stage Theatre, 1400 N.W. Buchanan Ave.

This year's Magic Barrel includes two Oregon State University writers with recently released books.

Early reviews of Ted Leeson's new book, "Inventing Montana: Dispatches from the Madison Valley," call it "full of wit, surprise, shrewd observation, and wisdom." John Larison's first novel, "Northwest of Normal," is a rollicking story of a small-town Oregon fishing guide. Both Leeson and Larison teach in the OSU English department.

Other featured writers include Margaret Anderson, Geri Doran, George Estreich, Gregg Kleiner, Aria Minu-Sepehr, Cindy Smith and Jana Zvibleman.

"It's really fast-paced and varied," said Charles Goodrich, a member of the organizing committee. "The wild variety of voices and stories is what makes The Magic Barrel reading so special."

"We look for a balance of well-published and well-known authors with lesser-known locals," Goodrich said. "Also, a good representation between OSU and town."

Bottom line: "We're looking for the best material we can get," Goodrich said.

As is the case every year, many of the authors have won prestigious awards for their work. This year, recent Oregon transplant Doran, a professor at the University of Oregon, will read from her poetry collection, "Resin," which won the Walt Whitman Award.

Anderson, a Corvallis author, will read from her most recent book, "Olla-piska: Tales of David Douglas," which was a 2007 Oregon Book Award finalist.

In addition, Corvallis freelancer Kleiner is the author of "Where River Turns to Sky," which was also a finalist for the Oregon Book Award.

In the past, the event has netted such notables as Craig Lesley ("Riversong" and "Winterkill"), Molly Gloss ("The Hearts of Horses"), John Daniel ("Rogue River Journal") and Tracy Daugherty ("Hiding Man").

As is tradition at the event, some unpublished works will be read. Among them, a memoir of Minu-Sepehr's childhood during the Iranian revolution that is a work in progress.

"Writers are always most excited about what they are working on at the moment," Goodrich said.

Poetry will be well represented at the event as well. Estreich, author of the collection "Textbook Illustrations of the Human Body," and fellow poets Smith and Zvibleman have published their work widely.

This year's venue is twice as big as it has been in years past, and the organizers are eager to introduce a wider audience to the project. "We are eager to get a big crowd, the bigger the crowd the more energy there is," Goodrich said.

Karen Holmberg, a poet and OSU English department professor, will emcee the event. Sideways Portal will provide improvisational grooves before and after the readings. Complimentary desserts from local restaurants will be provided and Grass Roots Books & Music will be on hand with autographed books for sale.

All the proceeds from the event will be donated to Linn Benton Food Share for local hunger relief.

"Requests for emergency food boxes in the local area are up about 13 percent again this year," said Mike Gibson, director of Linn Benton Food Share. "Every penny from an event like The Magic Barrel goes for food."

For every dollar raised, Linn Benton Food Share estimates it can purchase and distribute up to15 pounds of food for the hungry in the local area.

Admission is a suggested donation of $7 at the door, but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Now in its 16th year, "The Magic Barrel" is named after a short-story collection written by great American author Bernard Malamud during his years living and teaching in Corvallis.

The event is brought together by a group of volunteers each year that Goodrich describes as "a motley mix of people on campus and off that believe in it."

This year's event is sponsored by the OSU Center for the Humanities, with support from the Spring Creek Project, OSU Printing and Mailing, and other local donors.

For more information, call Charles Goodrich at 737-6198, or see www.magicbarrel.org.