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!

Demystifying Publishing

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

You know you want to publish a book—but you're not sure how to take the first step, or even what the first step is. (“Write the manuscript,” obviously, right? Well, no, not always!) Agent DongWon Song (Howard Morhaim), nonfiction editor Rakia Clark (HMH), fiction editor Angeline Rodriguez (Orbit), and marketing director Meghan Deans (Ecco) open up the black box of publishing and walk you through the steps between “good idea” and “physical book you can sign.” Learn what to expect, what will be expected of you, what to watch out for, and how to prepare yourself to navigate the publishing world. Moderated by Jess Zimmerman. Q&A to follow.

$10

Submission Roulette

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

First impressions count—and they never count more than when you’re trying to impress an editor who has 1,500 submissions to read. Editors often say that they can tell within the first page whether a story will be worth accepting, so how do you make your first page really shine? Eavesdrop on our evaluation process—and vie to get your story noticed—with Recommended Reading editors Halimah Marcus and Brandon Taylor. They’ll be reading opening pages submitted just for the occasion, sharing their reactions and thought processes as they go. Submit your own first page anonymously to see if your story has what it takes to catch our editors’ eyes, or simply tune in to see how other writers fare. Submission instructions: You can find the link to…

$10

Virtual Event: Elle Marr, Author of Lies We Bury, In Conversation with Georgina Cross

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Oregon author Elle Marr celebrates the release of her second book, LIES WE BURY - a psychological thriller set in Portland and drawing on the "twisted history, shadowy passages, and trap doors" of the Shanghai Tunnels under Portland's Chinatown. She is joined in conversation by Georgina Cross, author of The Stepdaughter. Elle Marr Originally from Sacramento, Elle Marr graduated from UC San Diego before moving to France, where she earned a master's degree from the Sorbonne University in Paris. She now lives and writes in Oregon, with her husband, son, and one very demanding feline. Her debut thriller, The Missing Sister, was the #24 Best Selling eBook of 2020 on Amazon, a #1 Amazon Best Seller, #1 in the Kindle Store, featured in Woman's World,…

Free

POST Launch and Release Party

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

RSVP to join us in celebration on May 8th at 7PM (PDT) for an online reading event. Recommended donation is $5 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Alissa Hattman will be joined by TJ Acena, Chalaundrai Grant, Hannah Pass, Lucie Bonvalet, Chrys Tobey and lark pien ~~~ Elevator Pitch: Love letters as postcards to people, spaces, and objects. The Details: "POST" is an epistolary collection of postcards written by Alissa Hattman during the American Short Fiction Constellation Challenge. This was a month-long writing experiment that took place in November 2020. In the collection, Alissa explores distance from loved ones, spaces, and objects with intense depth and nuance. She offers poignant observations about our relationship to the passage of time, memories, and ideas. The…

Free – $5

Virtual Event: Living in Global Community, A Conversation with Katherina Audley & Lucas Spiegel

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

In March of 2020, the people of the world went home and shut their doors in an effort to combat a global health crisis. In the days that followed, our social media feeds filled with images of wildlife roaming newly emptied streets and beaches. It prompted many of us to question the scope of our role and impact in the world. Katherina Audley is a National Geographic Explorer who has spent the past 27 years connecting people around the world with nature through programs, writing, and activities that inspire connection and environmental stewardship. Today she is the Founder and Director of Whales of Guerrero a non-profit based in Mexico that exists to facilitate community-driven conservation through whale science, education, and capacity-building programs. Lucas Spiegel is…

Free

BOOKLOVER’S BURLESQUE: To Tease Or Not To Tease (VirtualShakespeareEdition)

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

HUZZAH! 'Tis time for The Bard and Burlesque to marry as Lacy Productions presents... BOOKLOVER'S BURLESQUE: To Tease Or Not To Tease (Our brand new Virtual Shakespeare Edition) Saturday, June 26th, 2021 Livestream at 7pm PDT on Crowdcast $15 GA & $25 VIP TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE ! (A Crowdcast link to our livestream will be emailed to all ticketholders by 3pm- or later if purchased afterward- on the day of the show. Tickets will be available up until showtime.) General Admission: $15 VIP Admission: $25 (includes an exclusive invitation to a Zoom VIP Meet & Greet directly after the show and a special thank you during the show. The Zoom VIP Meet & Greet link will also be emailed beforehand.) ** If you would like…

$15 – $25

Live on Crowdcast! Rachel Griffin, The Nature of Witches, in conversation with Adrienne Tooley, Sweet & Bitter Magic

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Live on Crowdcast! Rachel Griffin, The Nature of Witches, in conversation with Adrienne Tooley, Sweet & Bitter Magic. CROWDCAST LINK WILL BE SENT OUT CLOSER TO THE EVENT. PURCHASE OF ONE OR BOTH OF THESE BOOKS IS REQUIRED TO ATTEND. IF YOU WANT TO ATTEND AND REQUIRE SHIPPING PLEASE EMAIL US AND WE'LL EXPLAIN THE PROCESS. ORDER AND PREORDER ON OUR WEBSITE NOW! THE NATURE OF WITCHES For centuries, witches have maintained the climate, their power from the sun peaking in the season of their birth. But now their control is faltering as the atmosphere becomes more erratic. All hope lies with Clara, an Everwitch whose rare magic is tied to every season. In Autumn, Clara wants nothing to do with her power. It's wild…

$17.99 – $37.98

Submission Roulette II, an Electric Literature virtual salon presented by Mount Saint Mary’s University

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

What goes through an editor’s mind when they read the first lines of your story? What can you do right away to hook them and keep them turning pages? Which tired moves make them groan and lose interest fast? One of our most exciting salon events is back by popular demand! Recommended Reading editors Halimah Marcus and Brandon Taylor return to edit your anonymous first pages, submitted just for this event. They will read each page for the first time live on screen, sharing their immediate reactions as they go. Here’s what previous attendees said about this event: “Immediately planning to rewrite all my first pages.” “Live impressions are true-to-life and that's why this session has been so uniquely valuable.” “10/10 would pay for more of…

$10

How to Pitch and Edit an Anthology, an Electric Literature virtual salon presented by Mount Saint Mary’s University

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

tHave you ever dreamed of editing your own anthology? Even if you haven’t, should you? Join our panel of veteran anthology editors to learn how to develop an idea for an anthology, pitch it to publishers, solicit and edit work from writers, and pull together a finished book that unites a range of talented voices, all digging deep into a topic you are passionate about. We’ll also address how writers can get their work included in such anthologies. Whether you already have an idea for an anthology or you’re wondering if this publishing pathway might be right for you, bring your curiosity and your questions to this event. Audience Q&A to follow. Sari Botton, editor of Goodbye To All That: Writers on Loving and Leaving…

$10

How to Get a Literary Agent

Online N/A, Portland, OR, United States

Sarah Bowlin, Aevitas Creative Kirby Kim, Janklow and Nesbit Renée Jarvis, Triangle House Literary agents are the publishing professionals whose job is to be in an author’s corner, to champion their work and find it the best home and negotiate the strongest deals. So, how do you research hundreds of agents to find ones who would be the best fit for your creative visions? How do you query them to demonstrate that you are a perfect addition to their list? Once you’ve signed with an agent, what will your professional relationship look like? What are the reasons an author-agent relationship might end, and what should you do next? Join our panel of seasoned literary agents to learn about all about the process, from the early…

$10