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!

Writing About Sex

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

From kissing to seduction—to the deed itself—writing about sex can be one of the hardest feats in storytelling. We’ll study the way writers like Lidia Yuknavitch, Melissa Febos, Zadie Smith, D. H. Lawrence, and others approach this facet of craft. Our conversations will explore how sex can be implied or explicit, while still being literary and classy. Class one is entirely devoted to writing the literary kiss, and future sessions will cover sex “implied” with its absence on the page, homosexual sex, and heterosexual sex. We’ll cover the do’s and don’t’s, address common “cliches,” and inspect different ways writers represent sex in their stories, so that we can better assess what might work best for ours. Each writer will have the opportunity to share a…

$195

August BIPOC Craft Series: Fiction

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

This monthly craft series for BIPOC writers invites you to dream and imagine new worlds and characters for fictional storytelling. Using beloved and renowned BIPOC writers as models for fictional narratives, we will notice, play, practice, share and grow as writers. Access Program We want our writing classes to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class registrations at a reduced rate. The access program for writing classes covers 60% of the class tuition. Most writing classses have at least one access spot available. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you would like to take a writing class at the Access Rate. Jacqueline Fitzgerald is an…

$50

Revivify: Breathing Life into Dead Matter with Lidia Yuknavitch

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

WHAT: A three-hour online webgasm with a 15-minute intermission WITH: Lidia Yuknavitch and at least one special guest. WHEN: Saturday, August 21st 1PM-4PM Pacific (4PM-7PM Eastern) WHERE: ZOOM! (But of course.) Meeting ID will be provided ahead of time. (Interested in this event but unable to join it live? All registered attendees will receive a link to a recording of it that will be viewable for one week afterwards.) HOW MUCH: $150. Payment plans are available, contact Daniel Elder at registration@corporealwriting.com SCHOLARSHIPS: Scholarships are always available. Click here to apply. "No one is better at revealing how the stories we carry in our bodies need to find form and expression, before they eat us alive." —The New Yorker Revivify: Breathing Life into Dead Matter Do…

$150

Telltale Presents: I Won’t Wait.

Chapel Theatre 4107 SE Harrison St, Milwaukie, OR, United States

Hey, champ! Thanks for checking out Telltale. We are a monthly curated storytelling event for people that like to get vulnerable and take no shit. We are keen on connection, laughter, heartbreak, poignant moments, and community building. We are in our fifth season now, which is wild. After a number of zoom shows.... WE ARE BACK, PAL! With an all vaccinated staff, we will be doing a series of summer shows outside of our old venue, Chapel Theatre. I said we'd do these shows until things stopped making me mad.... and well.... apparently there's an endless series of things to be angry at in this country. At Telltale, you can expect about 7-10 performers sharing something with you, in the way that feels right to…

Free

Write Now Online: The Narrative Braid w/ videos by Lidia Yuknavitch (Ongoing)

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

We’re bringing one of our most popular workshops online for those of you who can’t be with us in person. We know sometimes generative workshops can leave you with an overwhelming amount of raw material. In this four-part series (guided by videos featuring our resident mermaid Lidia Yuknavitch) you’ll read, get inspired and discover the germ of an idea, write it, revise it, and finish it—and for those interested in publication, we’ll offer strategies towards that end as well! Two versions of this course will be offered: Introvert’s Narrative Braid: For $99, you’ll receive access to the four “weeks” of videos that Lidia has created for this series, and you will take them each on your own time from the safety and security of your…

$99

Write Now Online: The Narrative Palimpsest w/ videos by Lidia Yuknavitch (Ongoing)

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

We’re bringing another one of our hybrid writing intensives online for those of you who can’t be with us in person.In this four-part series (guided by videos featuring our resident mermaid Lidia Yuknavitch) you’ll read, get inspired and discover the germ of an idea, write it, revise it, and finish a first full draft of it—and for those interested in publication, we’ll offer strategies towards that end as well! Two versions of this course will be offered: Introvert’s Narrative Palimpsest: For $99, you’ll receive access to the four “weeks” of videos that Lidia has created for this series, and you will take them each on your own time from the safety and security of your writerly hidey-hole (OH BOY DO WE GET IT) The Introvert…

$99

Portland Storytellers’ Guild: HEATWAVE

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Heatwave: Sizzling stories from the overheated minds of Alton Chung, Anne-Louise Sterry, Ken Iverson and John Wylder. The opening show of the Portland Storytellers' Guild season - a virtual extravaganza. All paid registrants will receive a link the day after the performance to be able to watch a recording of the show. This link will be active for one week. So if you have a conflict and miss the performance, or just want to enjoy some/all of it again, don't worry.

$10

Telltale at the Tower Presents: We Are Infinite.

The Tower 3307 SE 7th Avenue, Portland, OR, United States

Hey, champ! Thanks for checking out Telltale. We are a monthly curated storytelling event for people that like to get vulnerable and take no shit. We are keen on connection, laughter, heartbreak, poignant moments, and community building. We are in our fifth season now, which is wild. After a number of zoom shows.... WE ARE BACK, PAL! With an all vaccinated staff, we will be doing a series of summer shows outside of our old venue, Chapel Theatre. I said we'd do these shows until things stopped making me mad.... and well.... apparently there's an endless series of things to be angry at in this country. At Telltale, you can expect about 7-10 performers sharing something with you, in the way that feels right to…

Free

Drop-in Writing Workshop for BIPOC Writers with Anya Pearson

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

This is one of four online workshops for BIPOC writers designed to help you generate new material, refine an existing draft, or simply discover the permission to call yourself a writer. We will gather on Zoom on the first Tuesday of each month (September-December) and hold space for each other, creating a community with other BIPOC writers. Think of this as a playpen and creative incubator to support you as you generate writing and navigate building a creative practice and life in the arts. We will write together using specific prompts. We’ll bounce ideas off each other, share our work in progress, and hold space for the fullness of who we are. Sign up for one, two, three, or all four sessions. Additional sessions are listed below or on…

$5 – $30