A resource for the PDX literary community. Produced by Old Pal.
LitPDX seeks to amplify marginalized voices, and welcomes all, their ideas, their events, and their words.
For details regarding specific events please contact the organizers or venues. If you are an organizer or venue and would like to reach out to us please feel free to contact us or submit an event using our submission form. We’d love to hear from you!
We will discuss Summer of Night by Dan Simmons. It's the summer of 1960 and in the town of Elm Haven, Illinois, five 12-year-old boys are forging the powerful bonds that a lifetime of change will not break. But amid the sun-drenched cornfields their loyalty will be tested when horrifying events begin spreading terror. Available at a 15% discount to order if you plan on attending the book club.
The illusionist Benjamin Vaughn is 14 years old when he dies under mysterious circumstances at the height of his short career. In the wake of his death, the life of this brilliant yet reclusive prodigy known as "The Great Bendini" is meticulously chronicled by an unnamed narrator who encountered Vaughn when he himself was a boy. Set amidst dusty Northern California towns in the 1990s, the narrator — now an academic and father to a son of his own — unfurls a layered testimony that blurs the line between the observer and the observed; between ambitions that have the potential to transcend, and those with the capacity to destroy. Deployed with immersive detail and haunting observations, Gabriel Urza's The White Death: An Illusion (Nouvella) is…
On this month’s Wilde Card Mysteries, Jack’s newest client is a harmless kook with barely two cents to rub together, but she might be holding the plans to Nikola Tesla’s most dangerous invention! With the help of secret agent Trace Allen, Jack just might survive “The Dill Pickle And Death Ray Case!” Special Musical Guests: The Juleps
We will discuss The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren. For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime--maybe even love--in this uniquely hilarious and touching romantic comedy. A read for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love. Available at a 15% discount to order if you plan on attending the book club.
This month our group meets to discuss Honey in the Horn by H. L. Davis. Join us!
In this three week Summer Delve, we will study the narratives hidden within the archetypal imagery of the tarot deck, focusing on the Major Arcana in the first week and the four suits in the second week. We will explore traditional ways these tales have been told as well as locate our personal stories within the classic images. Through this crash course in tarot storytelling, participants will also learn some basics of reading the cards for self-study, focusing on an intuitive approach to interpretation. No prior experience with tarot is required. Text: any Rider Waite Smith style tarot deck (a list of choices will be emailed to participants prior to the first week) SEMINAR GUIDE: Coleman Stevenson is an illustrator, writer, tarot practitioner. She is the…
In Andrew Shaffer’s Hope Rides Again (Quirk) – the sequel to his previous novel, Hope Never Dies – Obama and Biden reprise their roles as BFFs-turned-detectives as they chase Obama’s stolen cell phone through the streets of Chicago – and right into a vast conspiracy. Following a long but successful book tour, Joe Biden has one more stop before he can return home: Chicago. His old pal Barack Obama has invited him to meet a wealthy benefactor whose endorsement could turn the tide for Joe if he decides to run for president. The two friends barely have time to catch up before another mystery lands in their laps: Obama’s prized Blackberry is stolen. When their number one suspect winds up full of lead on the…
Join me in celebrating the release of Sparks, my rural magical romance novel, at the Rose and Compass Bar at the Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel from 8 - 9 on Saturday, August 3rd. I'll be there to sign books and tell stories about horses, monsters, and whatnot. This will be an event taking place at the same time as the #Wilwrite19 event, but you do not have to attend the conference to come lift a glass in celebration of my new novel! Btw, if you can't make it or live closer to Monmouth, Oregon, don't fret. I'm planning other events at bookstores and closer to home soon! Pre-order or order here! https://amzn.to/2xJSH6Z
Sharma Shields’s The Cassandra (Henry Holt) follows a woman who goes to work in a top secret research facility during WWII, only to be tormented by visions of what the mission will mean for humankind. Inspired by the classic Greek myth, this 20th-century reimagining of Cassandra's story is based on a real WWII compound that Shields researched meticulously. A timely novel about patriarchy and militancy, The Cassandra uses both legend and history to look deep into man's capacity for destruction, and the resolve and compassion it takes to challenge the powerful. Simeon Mills’s The Obsoletes (Skybound) is a thought-provoking coming-of-age novel about two human-like teen robots navigating high school, basketball, and potentially life-threatening consequences if their true origins are discovered by the inhabitants of their…
A man flying first class discovers a puma in the lavatory. An obscure power pop band wrestles with its newfound fame when its song “Blizzard of Summer” becomes an anthem for white supremacists. A couple considers getting a medical procedure that will transfer the pain of childbirth from the woman to her husband. A woman interviews a hit man about killing her husband but is shocked by the method he proposes. A man is recruited to join a secret government research team investigating why coin flips are no longer exactly 50/50. A man sees a whale struck by lightning, and knows that everything about his life has to change. A lawyer grapples with the unintended side effects of a veterinarian’s rabies vaccination. Fair warning: Raised…