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!

Nonfiction

  1. Events
  2. Nonfiction

Events Search and Views Navigation

Event Views Navigation

Today

Portland Storytellers’ Guild: The Sarah Hauser Festival of Stories – Storython –

Multnomah Arts Center 7688 SW Capital Highway, Portland, OR, United States

The  Portland Storytellers Guild will again host our two day Sarah Hauser* Festival of Stories to close our storytelling performance season.    Friday’s performance will be May 31st and Saturday’s performance will be June 1st. Friday evening, May 31. emcee Eric Foxman presents eight of the Guild’s most popular performers – Barb Fankhauser, Edward Hershey, Pam Maben, Gretchen Peterson, Holly Robison, Franz van der Horst and the team of Norm Brecke and Anne Rutherford  The evening’s tales will range far and wide and provide a cross section of styles, themes, and inciteful pictures of life and how we address the challenges that confront us. Saturday evening, June 1, brings again one of the highlights of every Guild season — “Storython” — with a dozen tellers coming to…

Continue readingPortland Storytellers’ Guild: The Sarah Hauser Festival of Stories – Storython –
$12 – $15

KAREN KILGARIFF & GEORGIA HARDSTARK – Creators and Hosts of the Hit Podcast My Favorite Murder – SOLD OUT

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

The phenomenon of the true crime comedy podcast, My Favorite Murder, and its massive community of self-proclaimed “Murderinos” has been meteoric. In their highly anticipated dual memoir, Stay Sexy and Don’t Get Murdered, Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark, creators and hosts of the hit podcast, open up about their lives more intimately than ever. In their confessionally honest and hilarious book, Kilgariff and Hardstark focus on the importance of self-advocating and valuing personal safety over being “nice” or “helpful.” They delve into their own pasts, true crime stories, and beyond, to discuss meaningful cultural and societal issues with fierce empathy and unapologetic frankness. Sharing never-before-heard stories ranging from their struggles with depression, eating disorders, and addiction, Kilgariff and Hardstark irreverently recount their biggest mistakes and…

Continue readingKAREN KILGARIFF & GEORGIA HARDSTARK – Creators and Hosts of the Hit Podcast My Favorite Murder – SOLD OUT
SOLD OUT

Street Journalist: Understand and Report the News in Your Community

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

A corrupt politician. A local business in trouble. A neighbor with a heroic story. An opportunity to work together for positive change. Whatever the stories are in your community that most need to be told, the best person to tell them is you. Whether you're writing for your local newspaper, producing a podcast or video series, or simply sharing what you see and learn every day on social media, the power of journalism is in your hands, as is the responsibility to use it ethically and wisely. In Street Journalist (Microcosm), longtime journalist Lisa Loving opens up the world of journalism, sharing her hard-won skills and knowledge to help expand your media literacy so that you can report on what matters most, hold powerful people…

Continue readingStreet Journalist: Understand and Report the News in Your Community
Free

Grief Rites Readers Series ~ June 3

American Legion Post 134 2104 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR, United States

A monthly storytelling showcase about grief, loss and love. Gather in community with others who share grief in all forms and manifestations. Come ready to cry, laugh, listen and hold space for yourself and others. *Trigger warning, because Grief. Content not edited for language or topic. Mature audience. *Venue is accessible; gender-neutral restrooms on premises Readings begin promptly at 7pm. Come early, grab a drink (full bar) and find your seat. Please consider bringing canned goods or cold weather clothing/blankets to donate to the Post 134 food & clothing pantry, which serves local veterans, houseless and anyone in need. ***This month's event will include an open mic, in addition to our curated readers. If you have words to share about your grief, we welcome you.***…

Continue readingGrief Rites Readers Series ~ June 3
Free

Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves

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

Remember that moment when you first encountered a character who seemed to be written just for you? That feeling of belonging remains with readers for the rest of their lives – but it doesn’t happen as frequently for all of us. In her timely anthology, Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves (Ballantine), “well-read black girl” Glory Edim brings together original essays by some of our best black female writers and creative voices to shine a light on how important it is that everyone – regardless of gender, race, religion, or abilities – can find themselves in literature. Whether it’s learning about the complexities of femalehood from Zora Neale Hurston and Toni Morrison, finding a new type of love in The Color Purple, or…

Continue readingWell-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves
Free

A Girl’s Guide to the Wild: Be an Adventure-Seeking Outdoor Explorer!

Powell's Books on Hawthorne 3723 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR, United States

Ruby McConnell’s A Girl's Guide to the Wild: Be an Adventure-Seeking Outdoor Explorer! (Little Bigfoot) is the definitive guide to getting outside – for girls ages 9-12! In addition to basic outdoor skills, McConnell’s entertaining guidebook includes easy camping recipes, outdoor projects including science experiments and crafts, fun activity suggestions, and inspiring stories of diverse historical and contemporary outdoorswomen. The goal is to improve the quality of girls’ outdoor time by increasing participation and independence, making them feel comfortable and safe, and giving them essential skills and knowledge. Charming and approachable, A Girl’s Guide to the Wild will encourage both reluctant campers and budding naturalists to go wild and embrace the outdoors.

Free

The Scientific Attitude

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

Attacks on science have become commonplace. Claims that climate change isn't settled science, that evolution is “only a theory,” and that scientists are conspiring to keep the truth about vaccines from the public are staples of some politicians' rhetorical repertoire. Defenders of science often point to its discoveries (penicillin! relativity!) without explaining exactly why scientific claims are superior. In The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science From Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience (MIT), Lee McIntyre argues that what distinguishes science from its rivals is what he calls “the scientific attitude” – caring about evidence and being willing to change theories on the basis of new evidence. The history of science is littered with theories that were scientific but turned out to be wrong; the scientific attitude reveals why…

Continue readingThe Scientific Attitude
Free

Birds of the West: An Artist’s Guide

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

Birds accompany us in our daily lives with their songs, flashes of bright color, and energetic activity. Even people who don’t consider themselves birders notice them; from urban wetlands to wilderness trails, we follow the sound of a distant twitter or song. Award-winning artist Molly Hashimoto captures birds through different media, from quick sketches with pen and wash to more carefully planned block prints. In Birds of the West (Skipstone), Hashimoto shares her range of artwork as a way to encourage readers, whether artists or not, to observe more closely the feathered friends around us. Through art and words, she explores specific Western habitats, providing the natural histories of birds typically found in each, as well as intimate personal encounters and inspiring passages from others.

Free

First Thursday: Art Opening and Book Talk!

Elisabeth Jones Art Center 516 NW 14th Ave, Portland, OR, United States

Join us for First Thursday on June 6th from 5pm to 8pm! Opening this First Thursday is an exhibit of woodblock prints by NW Artist and Author Molly Hashimoto. From 7pm to 8pm, Molly will give a talk on her recently published book Birds of the West: An Artist's Guide. Also exhibiting at the Elisabeth Jones Art Center: - For the Seventh Generation: A Community of Coastal Watchers - featuring new panels in the two-foot by one-mile panomural of the western coastline. - Earth, Water, Air, Fire - large scale acrylic paintings created collaboratively at EJArt Center honor the Earth and all living things. - Ghost Net - An installation by Emily Miller. A mountain of discarded ghost nets slowly repurposed into utilitarian objects. -…

Continue readingFirst Thursday: Art Opening and Book Talk!
Free

Westside Writing Group

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

A group for anyone writing nonfiction or memoir who would like company, support, and, most of all, accountability. Whether you’ve never written a word or you’re a published author, join us!

Free
Click a category label below to view the calendar with only events in that specific category.