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!

Neil Cochrane

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

Trans sailor Darragh Thorn has made a comfortable life for himself among people who love and accept him. Ten years after his exile from home, though, his sister asks him to reconcile with their ailing father. Determined to resolve his feelings rather than just survive them, Darragh sets off on a quest to find the one person who can heal a half-dead man: the mysterious enchanter who once gave him the magic he needed to become his true self. But so far as anyone knows, no one but Darragh has seen the enchanter for a century, and the fairy tales that survive about em give more cause for fear than hope. In lush and evocative prose, and populated with magical trees and a wise fox,…

Free

Deborah E. Kennedy in Conversation With Joanna Rose

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

Jenny Newberg, Queen of Bad Decisions, is about to make another one. In a small town where everyone knows everyone’s business, down-on-her-luck single mother Jenny is on a first-name basis with the debt collector at the bank, who is moving toward foreclosure. She is constantly apologizing to her precocious young daughter, Billie Starr, who is filling a book with her mother’s sorries, and it seems to Jenny that no apology will ever be enough. Then a pair of strangers in black suits offers her a hefty check to seduce someone known as the Candidate. Finally, something will go her way. But nothing ever goes as Jenny plans, and she is swept into the Candidate’s orbit. Surrounded by a wide universe of new ideas, she realizes…

Free

Elizabeth Brooks in Conversation With Rene Denfeld

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

Elizabeth Brooks’s The House in the Orchard (Tin House) is a startling gothic tale of corrupted innocence that asks — when we look closely — what it really means to know the truth. 1945: war widow Peggy is grateful to have inherited Orchard House from her husband’s Aunt Maude; she looks forward to making a fresh start in rural Cambridgeshire with her young son. The moment she sets eyes on the rambling property, however, doubt sets in. From the bricked-up cellar to the scent of violets and rotting fruit, the place seems shrouded by dark mysteries. When Peggy discovers Maude’s teenage diary gathering dust inside a broken desk, she begins to read, searching for answers. 1876: orphaned Maude is forced to leave London, and her…

Free

One Page Wednesday: October

Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR, United States

One Page Wednesday is back in-person at our downtown center! Here is an opportunity to share or listen to one page of work in progress from talented writers from everywhere. Come with a single page of work and sign up to read – or come to listen and prepare to be inspired. Our host this month is the one and only, Emme Lund. Our featured reader is cosima bee concordia. Please review our Covid-19 guidelines. Be prepared to show proof of vaccination or a negative PCR Test at the door. Masks are not required but encouraged. If you have any questions, contact Jessica at jessica@literary-arts.org. Emme Lund Emme Lund is an author living and writing in Portland, Oregon. She has an MFA from Mills College. Her work has…

Free

Speaking Beyond the Self in Poetry

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

“Your experience is not yours alone, but in some sense a metaphor for everyone’s.” -Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux, The Poet’s Companion What we know in our personal worlds contain essential truths of the larger world. The challenge we face as poets is how to transform our lived experiences–creatively and imaginatively–into art that can be universal. In this 8-week workshop, you’ll learn how to approach real and often fraught experiences in ways that will reach your readers’ hearts and minds. We’ll support each other through the courageous act of writing, while focusing on craft to shape our experiences into a language that resonates with others. In addition to workshopping personal poems, we’ll look at examples of contemporary poets who write about their lives in fresh,…

$395

Trivia Night

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

Trivia is conducted hybrid online and in person. Join us at the bar or join us through Zoom. This is one of our most popular events. Come early to make sure you get a table, and come early so that you can order food and drinks and get settled in time. It is also important to come up with a clever team name. If you come as a single person or a pair and are looking to make new friends, let us know and we will place you with welcoming regulars, or we might place you with other new folks. Trivia night is a great way to make new friends, and they will be sure to be good people since Publiners are quality folks. The…

Free

Book Buddies

Ledding Library of Milwaukie 10660 SE 21st Avenue, Milwaukie, OR, United States

We'll read books nominated for the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award. Join us the 1st Thursday of the month, 4-4:45pm, October-April, in the Community Room. October 6, 2022 Welcome to Book Buddies! Meet your Book Buddies, make a craft and share your favorite book titles. November 3, 2022 The Powwow Dog by Joseph Bruchac December 1, 2022 Our Friend Hedgehog: the Story of Us by Lauren Castillo January 5, 2023 Mindy Kim and the Yummy Seaweed Business by Lyla Lee February 2, 2023 Here Comes Lolo by Niki Daly March 2, 2023 Puppy Problems by Paige Braddock April 6, 2023 VOTING PARTY! Vote for your favorite book from this list and help choose the winner of the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award! To learn more about the Beverly Cleary Children's Choice Award, visit https://ola.memberclicks.net/bccca-home (link is external) Room…

Free

Making it Make Sense: Storytelling for Healing

Pulse Wellness 812 NE 28th Ave., Portland, OR, United States

There is meaning in the madness. This 8 session therapeutic storytelling workshop will guide participants in creating a story to illuminate power from pain. Series will culminate with a live performance. Limited to 5-8 participants. Thursdays 6:30 - 9 pm October 6, 13, 20, 27 November 3,10, 17 Meetings held at Pulse Wellness 812 NE 28th Ave. Portland, OR 97232 $30/session (must commit to all) Contact Erin Mahone for financial assistance erin@ifyoucouldseeme.com Register at: http://www.ifyoucouldseeme.com Final Storytelling Showcase: Sunday, November 20th at 21ten Theatre Facilitator: Erin Mahone, M.S., C.T.P. is a trained facilitator, storyteller, author, and mental health pyrofessional. She combines years of training and education, with a deep passion for holding space for the re-birth of personal narratives, her own love of telling stories…

$225

In-Store Reading: Cai Emmons, Yuvi Zalkow, Kate Gale

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

Annie Bloom's welcomes Oregon author Cai Emmons who is presenting her new novel, Livid, published by Red Hen Press. The author Whitney Otto will be a stand-in reader for Cai, whose ALS precludes public speaking. They will be joined by fellow Red Hen author Yuvi Zalkow, whose new novel is I Only Cry with Emoticons, and Red Hen co-founder Kate Gale, whose new poetry collection is The Loneliest Girl. This in-store reading is first come, first served. Please be mindful of any store health policies that might be in effect on the night of the reading. About Livid: Sybil White Brown returns from Boston to the small West Coast city where she once lived, hoping to heal after a terrible loss. Summoned to jury duty,…

Free

Coffee Talk #39

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Come hear 5 wonderful writers read their grief words. This zoom event lasts about an hour and is guaranteed to be the best heart medicine. Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84596161664?pwd=UktVamJyNlpKVGNUbjcxay9EY1Y4QT09 Meeting ID: 845 9616 1664 Passcode: 395080

Free