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!

Dracula Readings in The Snug

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

Newcomers and visitors always welcome! T.C. O'Leary's Literary Society has two books clubs, both open to everyone. Monday nights the group reads Ulysses and Tuesday nights the group explores a variety of Irish literature. This famous Gothic horror novel is the latest endeavor.

Free

Warren C. Easley

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

In Warren C. Easley’s No Way to Die (Poisoned Pen), an atmospheric mystery set in the Pacific Northwest, attorney Cal Claxton is looking forward to taking a much-needed vacation with his daughter… until they discover a body on a coastal river, and find themselves surrounded by danger. As several suspects begin to emerge, both Claire and Cal are thrust into danger, barely escaping with their lives. Can the father-daughter team uncover what really happened and win the wrongfully imprisoned teen his freedom? And in the process, can Cal assure the safety of the person he loves more than anyone on earth?

Free

Claire Rudy Foster

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

By turns tender and punk-tough, Claire Rudy Foster’s Shine of the Ever (Interlude) is a literary mixtape of queer voices out of 1990s Portland. Foster’s collection of short stories explores what binds a community of queer and trans people as they negotiate love, screwing up, and learning to forgive themselves for being young and sometimes foolish.

Free

Deadly Diversions 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 Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Armand Gamache mystery series. Join us!

Free

Well-Read Black Girl Book Club

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

Black women and Black nonbinary people are invited to join us every second Thursday of the month for the Well-Read Black Girl Book Club. The American Booksellers Association is partnering with Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim to amplify diverse voices and support emerging writers through discussions of classics and newly published work, all written by Black authors. This month we’re reading Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi. Join us!

Free

November 2019 SFWA Reading Series – Portland

Lucky Labrador Brewing Company 915 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

Science Fiction and Fantasy Readings by Authors in Portland, Oregon The Pacific Northwest is home to a Tardis-Full of Science Fiction and Fantasy writers, a fact celebrated every quarter with the Pacific Northwest Reading Series. These free quarterly events provide the Northwest Science Fiction and Fantasy community a chance to gather, network and enjoy readings from local and visiting authors in Portland and Seattle. Each event features three authors who read from their latest work, interpreting and explaining their concepts and vision. In addition, space is provided for networking and conversation. Booksellers will be on hand with fresh copies of the authors’ books for you to buy and get autographed. Shanna Germain The co-owner and managing editor of Monte Cook Games, Shanna's work can be…

Free

Mark Z. Danielewski

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

We all have fears, but if we can’t face the small ones, how will we face the big ones? Kai is afraid to fly a little blue kite. But Kai is also very, very brave, and overcoming this small fear will lead him on a great adventure. Remember: all great adventures start with one little moment. You know the one. It’s like a gentle breeze whispering in your ear what you already know by heart: not even the sky is the limit. The Little Blue Kite (Pantheon) is the new book from Mark Z. Danielewski, author of House of Leaves and The Familiar series.

Free

NaNoWriMo Hangout

Marrow PDX 7025 N Lombard St, Portland, OR, United States

Free Youth 10-24* Mon. Nov 25th, & Fri. Nov 8th, 15th & 22nd, 3:30-5pm National Novel Writing Month hangout hosted by our youth collective librarian Blaine! “A space where people (of all writing abilities) can bring writing projects they’ve been meaning to work on, or want to start something new, whether they’re planning on writing a novel or not!” *Sign-in and enrollment are required. Enrollment (open only to folks 10-24) is required for the majority of our programming. If you're a young person, you should enroll! It’s free! For more details check out our enrollment page!

Free

English Alumni Reading: Fiction and Nonfiction

William Aime (’15) David Kroman (’11) return to campus reading from the work they’ve done since graduation. Both Aime and Kroman have had some success – in different ways – in the writing world. They will talk about paying the bills, being newly graduated, and keeping the writing flame going, long after the spark of undergraduate classes has dimmed away. Location: Miller Hall, Room 102

Free

Whiskey When We’re Dry – Reading by author John Larison and students from Northwest Academy

Mother Foucault's Bookshop 523 SE Morrison St, Portland, OR, United States

John Larison spent much of his childhood in remote regions of Australia, the Caribbean, Canada, the South Pacific, Alaska, and the American West before graduating from high school in Ithaca, New York. He studied philosophy and literature at the University of Oregon, and became a renowned fly-fishing guide ahead of earning an MFA from Oregon State University, where he stayed to teach while writing Whiskey When We’re Dry. He lives with his family in rural Oregon. From a blazing new voice in fiction, a gritty and lyrical American epic about a young woman who disguises herself as a boy and heads west Synopsis: In the spring of 1885, seventeen-year-old Jessilyn Harney finds herself orphaned and alone on her family’s homestead. Desperate to fend off starvation…

Free