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!

Adam Savage

Revolution Hall 1300 SE Stark St, Portland, OR, United States

Adam Savage – star of Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters and one of the most beloved figures in science and tech – shares his golden rules of creativity, from finding inspiration to following through and successfully turning your idea into reality. In Every Tool’s a Hammer (Atria), Savage weaves together vivid personal stories, original sketches and photographs from some of his most memorable projects, and interviews with many of his iconic and visionary friends in the arts and sciences to demonstrate the many lessons he has picked up from a lifetime of making. Please note: Tickets for this event, $37, include admission and a copy of Every Tool’s a Hammer and are available at the Revolution Hall box office, revolutionhall.com, or by calling Ticketfly at 877-435-9849. Books…

$37

Save Yourself – Julie Grandstaff

Annie Bloom's Books 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR, United States

Imagine what it would feel like if you had enough money to survive a medical emergency or a short time out of work, or if you had enough money set aside to pursue your dreams or retire without worrying about money. Save Yourself: Your Guide to Saving for Retirement and Building Financial Security will show you how to take control of your finances and build the confidence and security you’ve been wanting. It is a comprehensive guide to saving for retirement and shoring up your financial security so you can do whatever it is you want. Through the stories of real people, it shows you exactly how you can make the changes that will allow you to save for a long and secure retirement so that…

Free

Eat Like a Fish

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

Part memoir, part manifesto, in Eat Like a Fish (Knopf), Bren Smith – a former commercial fisherman turned restorative ocean farmer – shares a bold new vision for the future of food: seaweed. Through tales that span from his childhood in Newfoundland to his early years on the high seas aboard commercial fishing trawlers, from pioneering new forms of ocean farming to surfing the frontiers of the food movement, Smith introduces the world of sea-based agriculture, and advocates getting ocean vegetables onto American plates (there are thousands of edible varieties in the sea!).

Free

Longreads Club: Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies

Rose City Book Pub 1329 NE Fremont, Portland, OR, United States

In Northern Ireland, more people took their own lives in the 16 years after the Troubles than died during them. Why? READ THE ARTICLE: https://mosaicscience.com/story/conflict-suicide-northern-ireland/ This article was written by Lyra McKee, a young and promising investigative journalist who was killed while covering rioting in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. Her obituary, which gives context for the main article, can be read here: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2019/apr/26/lyra-mckee-obituary Join the Longreads Club where we discuss a long-form article focused on global topics. No membership or registration required. Just read the article, show up, and join the discussion!

Free

On Call in the Arctic

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

In On Call in the Arctic (Pegasus), Thomas J. Sims relates his incredible experience saving lives in one of the most remote outposts in North America. In order to do his job, Sims had to overcome racism, cultural prejudices, and hostility from those who would like to see him sent packing. On Call in the Arctic reveals the thrills and the terrors of frontier medicine, where Dr. Sims must rely upon his instincts, improvise, and persevere against all odds in order to help his patients on the icy shores of the Bering Sea.

Free

The Mouths of Others: Author Diana Kirk

Mt. Hood Community College Theatre 26000 SE Stark Street, Gresham, OR, United States

See this The Mouths of Others talk by Diana Kirk, author of Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy, and a contributor to Nasty!, a collection of bold essays and recollections. Hear the Astoria-based writer and business owner read some of her latest provocative and genre-busting work on Wednesday, May 29, from Noon – 1 p.m. in the Visual Arts Theatre. When she’s not writing, Kirk owns and operates a bar in Astoria and travels as much as possible. You can learn more about her at https://dianakirk.wordpress.com Event takes place in the Visual Arts Theatre on the Gresham campus. Free and open to all!

Free

Helen Zia in Conversation with Putsata Reang

Portland Chinatown Museum 127 NW Third Ave, Portland, OR, United States

The Portland Chinatown Museum is honored to present a book conversation with Helen Zia, acclaimed writer, journalist, and activist. Helen Zia will be in conversation with writer Putsata Reang to discuss Helen’s new book, LAST BOAT OUT OF SHANGHAI. A book signing will follow the discussion period. This event is part of the Portland Chinatown Museum's ongoing series, STORIES MY MOTHER AND FATHER TOLD ME, sponsored in part by a grant from Oregon Humanities. LAST BOAT OUT OF SHANGHAI is based on the dramatic, real-life stories of a generation caught up in the mass rush out of Shanghai in the wake of China’s 1949 Communist Revolution, with startling parallels to the struggles faced by emigrants today. Shanghai has historically been China’s jewel, its richest, most…

$10 – $12

Rebecca Robinson and Stephen Strom

Broadway Books 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR, United States

Journalist Rebecca Robinson and photographer Stephen Strom join us to discuss their recently published book Voices from Bears Ears: SeekingCommon Ground on Sacred Land, published by the University of Arizona Press. In late 2016, President Barack Obama designated 1.35 million acres of public lands in southeastern Utah as Bears Ears National Monument. On December 4, 2017, President Donald Trump shrank the monument by 85 percent. A land rich in human history and unsurpassed in natural beauty, Bears Ears is at the heart of a national debate over the future of public lands. Through the stories of twenty individuals, and informed by interviews with more than seventy people, Voices from Bears Ears captures the passions of those who fought to protect Bears Ears and those who…

Free

Annie Jacobsen

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

When diplomacy fails, and war is unwise, the president calls on the CIA's Special Activities Division, a highly classified branch of the CIA – and the most effective black operations force in the world. With unprecedented access to 42 men and women who proudly and secretly worked on CIA covert operations from the dawn of the Cold War to the present day, along with declassified documents and deep historical research, Pulitzer Prize finalist Annie Jacobsen unveils a complex world of individuals working in treacherous environments populated with killers, connivers, and saboteurs. Surprise, Kill, Vanish (Little, Brown) brings to vivid life the untold story of the CIA's secret paramilitary units.

Free

Eric Gorges in Conversation With Gary Rogowski

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

In A Craftman’s Legacy (Algonquin), Eric Gorges, host of TV’s A Craftsman’s Legacy, makes the case that the craftsman’s way – the philosophy, the skills, and the mindset – can provide a blueprint for all of us in our increasingly hurried, mass-manufactured world. Filled with insights about the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of craftsmanship, A Craftsman’s Legacy identifies the craftsman’s values: taking time to slow down and enjoy the process, embracing failure, knowing when to stop and when to push through, and accepting that perfection is an illusion. Gorges will be joined in conversation by Gary Rogowski, author of Handmade: Creative Focus in the Age of Distraction.

Free