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!

Attic Institute: FALL Online: Intro to Flash Nonfiction w Brian Benson

Online N/A, Portland

Flash nonfiction, simply put, is true-to-life writing defined by extreme compression: it's saying what you've got to say using as few words, and as much beauty, as possible. An endlessly accessible, playful, potent form, flash nonfiction is evermore popular; from Brevity to Barren, The Forge to The Sun, legions of journals are eager to publish great flash. In this prompt-driven workshop, we'll read short nonfiction by master writers, including Ross Gay, Natalie Lima, Ira Sukrungruang, Roxane Gay, Jerald Walker, Ruth Ozeki, and many more; we'll talk about what stories are suited for flash, how to tell them well, and where to publish them; and most of all, we'll write, and write, and write, via in-class exercises and take-home prompts. Students will leave the class with reams of new writing and ideas for where to publish. Register for…

$215 – $242

FALL Online: Tell It True, Tell It Slant: Creative Nonfiction Workshop w Zahir Janmohamed

Online N/A, Portland

Think of a label on a fine wine. If it is well written, it should describe the wine and invoke mood, emotion, and place. Great nonfiction, I believe, aspires to do this. It speaks about a narrow thing and also a much bigger thing. In this five-week course, we will study the various forms of nonfiction writing, with an emphasis on personal essay writing. Students will learn craft tips and get a chance to workshop their writing. My goal is to encourage students to try something new, be it satire or reportage or memoir. At the end of class, we will discuss the ins and outs of publishing and how to pitch stories to editors. Register for this workshop NOTE: To protect everyone during the COVID-19 pandemic, we're…

$215 – $242

Fall 2020 online: Dear Liary: At the Outskirts of Genre

Online N/A, Portland

This four-week workshop will consider the concept of “a liary” to explore the messy boundaries between fact and fiction, which takes its name from the idea that we might experiment with writing about our own life (as in a “diary”) using the tools of fiction (thus making it a “lie.”) What are the possibilities of using this as a starting technique, for both nonfiction and fiction writers? What other “truths” can be liberated when facts are off the hook? How do the ethics of lying change when you announce it as such? Looking to excerpts of “autofiction” texts (where, for example, a writer might create a fictional character with their real-life name) as well as essays that mine the very nature of memory and truth…

$190

Fall 2020 Online: Writing the Non-Fiction Book Proposal

Online N/A, Portland

Writing a book proposal is the best first step to writing a nonfiction book for both adults and young readers. An excellent proposal helps you organize your ideas, understand the competition, and can help you land a publishing contract even before you write the book. This six-week class will take you step-by-step through the major parts of the nonfiction book proposal: the query letter, overview, competitive analysis, marketing and promotion, author background, outline and sample chapter. Bring an idea, and be ready to write. The class includes extensive handouts and questionnaires to guide your work. Class outcomes: By the end of this six week workshop, students will leave with a rough draft of a nonfiction book proposal. More information: Download 10 Reasons to Write a…

$285