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A Conversation & Reading with Jackson Bliss and Frances Badalamenti

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

Come celebrate two great authors (and the launch of a brand new book!) this summer at the illustrious Rose City Book Pub. Jackson Bliss and Frances Badalamenti will be sitting down with each to talk writing as well as the release of DREAM POP ORIGAMI. ABOUT THE AUTHORS Frances Badalamenti was raised in Queens, New York and Suburban New Jersey, but she now lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband and son. Her essays, stories and interviews appear in The Believer Magazine, Longreads, Vol.1 Brooklyn, Entropy and elsewhere. Salad Days is her second novel; her debut novel I Don't Blame You​ released in 2019. Jackson Bliss is the winner of the 2020 Noemi Press Award in Prose and the mixed-race/hapa author of Counterfactual Love Stories…

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Free

W. Kamau Bell & Kate Schatz in Conversation With Megan Rapinoe

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

W. Kamau Bell and Kate Schatz’s Do the Work! (Workman) is a hands-on workbook for anyone overwhelmed by racial injustice, who feels shocked by all the American histories they never learned, and who keeps asking the question “what can I DOOOOOO?!” Packed with humorous, thought-provoking activities — all are rooted in history and contemporary social justice concepts — Bell and Schatz’s new book helps readers move from "What can I do?" to... you know... actually doing the work. Revelatory and thought-provoking, their highly illustrated, highly informative interactive workbook gives readers a unique, hands-on understanding of systemic racism — and how we can dismantle it. Packed with activities, games, illustrations, comics, and eye-opening conversation, Do the Work! challenges readers to think critically and act effectively. Try…

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Free

Jon Raymond in Conversation With Leni Zumas

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

Denial (Simon & Schuster) is a futuristic thriller about climate change by Jon Raymond, the acclaimed screenwriter of First Cow, Meek’s Cutoff, and HBO’s Mildred Pierce. The year is 2052. Climate change has had a predictably devastating effect: Venice submerged, cyclones in Oklahoma, megafires in South America. Yet it could be much worse. Two decades earlier, the global protest movement known as the Upheavals helped break the planet’s fossil fuel dependency, and the subsequent Nuremberg-like Toronto Trials convicted the most powerful oil executives and lobbyists for crimes against the environment. Not all of them. A few executives escaped arrest and went into hiding, including pipeline mastermind Robert Cave. Now, a Pacific Northwest journalist named Jack Henry who works for a struggling media company has received…

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Free

Nan Fischer in Conversation with Chelsea Cain

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

In Nan Fischer’s Some of It Was Real (Berkley), a psychic on the verge of stardom who isn’t sure she believes in herself and a cynical journalist with one last chance at redemption are brought together by secrets from the past that also threaten to tear them apart. Psychic-medium Sylvie Young starts every show with her origin story, telling the audience how she discovered her abilities. But she leaves out a lot — the plane crash that killed her parents, an estranged adoptive family who tend orchards in rainy Oregon, panic attacks, and the fact that her agent insists she research some clients to ensure success. After a catastrophic reporting error, Thomas Holmes’s next story at the L.A. Times may be his last, but he’s…

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Free

Michael Pollan in Conversation With Dave Miller / TICKETED EVENT

Newmark Theatre 1111 SW Broadway Ave., Portland, OR, United States

From Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma and How to Change Your Mind, comes a radical challenge to how we think about drugs, and an exploration into the powerful human attraction to psychoactive plants — and the equally powerful taboos. Of all the things humans rely on plants for — sustenance, beauty, medicine, fragrance, flavor, fiber — surely the most curious is our use of them to change consciousness: to stimulate or calm, fiddle with or completely alter, the qualities of our mental experience. Take coffee and tea: People around the world rely on caffeine to sharpen their minds. But we do not usually think of caffeine as a drug, or our daily use as an addiction, because it is legal and socially acceptable.…

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$28

Oregon Literary Fellowships Information Session

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Questions about applying to this year’s Oregon Literary Fellowships? Join us at this information session! Drop-in anytime between 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Register in advance for this meeting here. Please contact Susan Moore (susan@literary-arts.org) or Jessica Meza-Torres (jessica@literary-arts.org) if you have any questions.  

Free

Tillie Walden in Conversation With Terry Blas

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

From the world of Robert Kirkman’s The Walking Dead… Clementine lives! In Tillie Walden’s Clementine Book One (Image), Clementine is back on the road, looking to put her traumatic past behind her and forge a new path all her own. But when she comes across an Amish teenager named Amos with his head in the clouds, the unlikely pair journeys North to an abandoned ski resort in Vermont, where they meet up with a small group of teenagers attempting to build a new, walker-free settlement. As friendship, rivalry, and romance begin to blossom amongst the group, the harsh winter soon reveals that the biggest threat to their survival… might be each other. Walden will be joined in conversation by writer-illustrator Terry Blas, author of Dead…

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Free

The Unique Art of Autofiction

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

This is a three-hour, one-day intensive discussion on the unique genre of autofiction. This course will provide insight into the many nuances of autofiction, or autobiographical fiction. This “genre” involves writing that is based on real life experiences, but also utilizes fictional literary devices, makingit  a very unique form. I will provide craft essays and novel excerpts to read ahead of time from contemporary autofiction writers like Ayah Akhtar, Brandon Taylor, Edouard Louis, Chris Kraus, and Ocean Vuong, which we will discuss as a group. During our time together, we will also explore writing in this form; although, this will not be a typical workshop format. Writers of all genres and experience levels are welcome. Access Program We want our writing classes and Delves to…

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$75

Claude Johnson in Conversation With Keith Houlemard

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

From the introduction of the game of basketball to Black communities on a wide scale in 1904 to the racial integration of the NBA in 1950, dozens of African American teams were founded and flourished. This period, known as the Black Fives Era (teams at the time were often called “fives”), was a time of pioneering players and managers. They battled discrimination and marginalization and created culturally rich, socially meaningful events. But despite headline-making rivalries between big-city clubs, the savvy moves of innovative businessmen, and the undeniable talent of star players, this period is almost entirely unknown to basketball fans. Claude Johnson has made it his mission to change that. An advocate fiercely committed to our history, for more than two decades Johnson has conducted…

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Free

AUTHOR TALK: Stephen Altschuler on Beating Insomnia

Birdhouse Books 1001 Main Street, Vancouver, WA, United States

Seven-time author Stephen Altschuler will be reading from his brand new book “BEATING INSOMNIA: A No-Nonsense Way to Natural Sleep.” Find out more about Stephen in his new Columbian article: https://www.columbian.com/news/2022/aug/02/vancouver-author-best-way-to-get-good-nights-sleep-is-to-live-well-during-day/.

Free
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