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!

Jenny Offill in Conversation With Claire Vaye Watkins

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

Lizzie Benson slid into her job as a librarian without a degree, but this gives her a vantage point from which to practice her other calling: she is a fake shrink. For years she has tended to her God-haunted mother and her recovering addict brother. They have both stabilized for the moment, but soon Lizzie’s old mentor makes a proposal. She’s become famous for her podcast, Hell and High Water, and wants to hire Lizzie to answer the mail she receives: from left-wingers worried about climate change and right-wingers worried about the decline of western civilization. From Jenny Offill, author of Dept. of Speculation, comes Weather (Knopf), a shimmering tour de force about a family, and a nation, in crisis. Offill will be joined in…

Free

Is It Spring Yet? – a multi-genre reading

Urbanite 1005 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, United States

On February 23rd from 2–3 p.m., let eight authors get you out of the house for an hour for a multi-genre reading! During Portland Flea, authors across all genres want to share pieces of their work with you at Urbanite on Grand Ave. There will be cookies, sparkling cider, and champagne. But wait! There's more! Afterwards, we'll be hanging at White Owl Social Club around the corner. Who knows what kinds of stories you'll hear sitting amongst a group of writers? Authors that will be gracing you with their words: Elizabeth Mitchell – suspense Margaret Pinard – historical fiction Lisa Todd – literary fiction Dede Montgomery – literary fiction Brian Tashima – YA fantasy LeeAnn Elwood McLennan – YA sci-fi Debby Dodds – YA romance…

Free

Delve Readers Seminars: The Autofiction of Rachel Cusk

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

This Delve seminar will explore the recent trilogy—Outline, Transit, and Kudos—by Rachel Cusk and contextualize it within the developing literary form of autofiction. In reading these novels, we will continually ask a series of questions that the publication of these novels poses. Why are so many contemporary writers turning to fictionalized autobiography that refuses the constraints of narrative convention? What is it about the current moment that has made authors embrace autofiction? What does this new form of writing allow authors to accomplish that more established forms of fiction do not? READING LIST: Outline by Rachel Cusk Transit by Rachel Cusk Kudos by Rachel Cusk Delve Access Program We want Delve seminars to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that…

$220

Chana Porter

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR, United States

A blend of searing social commentary and speculative fiction, Chana Porter’s The Seep (Soho) explores a world in the wake of a benign alien invasion. Trina FastHorse Goldberg-Oneka is a 50-year-old trans woman whose life is irreversibly altered in the wake of a gentle – but nonetheless world-changing – invasion by an alien entity called The Seep. A strange new elegy of love and loss, The Seep explores grief, alienation, and the ache of moving on.

Free

Courtney Maum in Conversation With Kimberly King Parsons

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

It is 1937, and Europe is on the brink of war. Hitler is circulating a most-wanted list of “cultural degenerates.” To prevent the destruction of her favorite art (and artists), impetuous American heiress and art collector Leonora Calaway begins chartering boats and planes for an elite group of surrealists to Costalegre, a mysterious resort in the Mexican jungle. The story of what happens to these artists when they reach their destination is told from the point of view of Lara, Leonora’s neglected 15-year-old daughter. Heartbreaking and strange, Courtney Maum’s Costalegre (Tin House) is inspired by the real-life relationship between the heiress Peggy Guggenheim and her daughter, Pegeen. Maum will be joined in conversation by Kimberly King Parsons, author of Black Light.

Free

Fiction Addiction Book Club

Books Around the Corner 40 NW 2nd Street, Gresham, OR, United States

The Fiction Addiction Book Club meets the last Wednesday of every month at 6pm. Our book discussions aim to bring people together to talk about books in a safe and inviting atmosphere. Our meetings are lovely and inclusive; we invite you to attend. You don't have to RSVP, just come and enjoy a lively discussion. Join us for the February meeting of the Fiction Addiction Book Club on February 26th. We will discuss Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid. About the Book: A striking and surprising debut novel from an exhilarating new voice, Such a Fun Age is a page-turning and big-hearted story about race and privilege, set around a young black babysitter, her well-intentioned employer, and a surprising connection that threatens to undo…

Free

Classics Book Group

Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd, Beaverton, OR, United States

This month our group meets to discuss La Princesse de Clèves by Madame de La Fayette. Join us!

Free

John Sayles

Powell's City of Books 1005 W Burnside Street, Portland, OR, United States

In Yellow Earth, the site of Three Nations reservations on the Missouri River in North Dakota, film director and author John Sayles introduces us to Harleigh Killdeer, chairman of the Tribal Business Council, who is contracted by an oil firm to spearhead the new Three Nations Petroleum Company. What follows in his new novel, Yellow Earth (Haymarket), with characteristic lyrical dexterity, insight, and wit, introduces us to a memorable cast of characters, weaving together narratives of competing worlds through masterful storytelling. Set shortly before Standing Rock would become a symbol of historic proportions of the brutal confrontation between Native resistance and the forces of big business and law enforcement, the fate of Yellow Earth serves as a parable for our times.

Free

Green Bean Books Presents Author Thomas Lennon at T.C. O’Leary’s

T.C. O'Leary's 2926 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR, United States

Green Bean Books is thrilled to host actor and author Thomas Lennon as he reads from his latest middle grade novel, Ronan Boyle and the Swamp of Certain Death, at T.C. O'Leary's during spring break on Friday, March 27th at 4pm. Best known for his hilarious role as Lieutenant Jim Dangle on Reno 911!, Tom has also written laugh-out-loud books for kids including Ronan Boyle and the Bridge of Riddles. His New York Times bestselling series set in Ireland and featuring lots of adventure and intrigue continues with Ronan Boyle and the Swamp of Certain Death. This off-site event will be held at the delightful family pub T.C. O'Leary's located at 2926 NE Alberta St. They'll be offering free potato skin chips and lemonade for…

Free

Horror Book Club

Books Around the Corner 40 NW 2nd Street, Gresham, OR, United States

The Books Around the Corner Horror Book Club is led by the owner/librarian, Stephanie Rose, and meets monthly on the fourth Thursday of every month at 6PM. We would like to extend an invitation to all of our horror loving customers (RSVP is not required). Our book discussions aim to bring people together to talk about books in a safe and inviting atmosphere. Our meetings are lovely and inclusive; we invite you to attend. Come and enjoy a lively discussion about the chosen book with other readers. Our February pick is Twelve Nights at Rotter House by J.W. Ocker. About the book: Edgar Award-winning author Ocker spins this dark, psychological thriller about a travel writer who stays for 13 nights at the infamous Rotterdam Mansion…

Free