The selection for Multnomah County Library’s 19th annual community reading project, Everybody Reads, is acclaimed author and poet Ross Gay and his collection of essays, The Book of Delights. Each year, Literary Arts presents the culminating event of the program—an author lecture. This year, the event will be held virtually on Thursday, April 8, at 6:00 p.m (PDT) and will feature an approximately 30-minute talk from Ross Gay, followed by an approximately 40-minute interview with local bestselling author, Lidia Yuknavitch. We are pleased to offer free registration for community members suffering financial hardship, as well as a range of tickets rates, to ensure this event can be accessible to all. Ross Gay is the author of four books of poetry: Against Which; Bringing the Shovel Down; Be Holding; and Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude, winner of…
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Saeed Jones is an essential author as well as a powerful voice in the world of literary activism, and his writing often takes on questions of identity. Formerly a major contributor at Buzzfeed, he shaped his platform into a tool for social awareness with his no-holds-barred personality. In 2019, Saeed released his highly anticipated memoir, How We Fight for Our Lives. In this memoir, Saeed has developed a one-of-a-kind style that is as beautiful as it is powerful, and he has cemented himself as an essential writer of our time. This event will be free and open to the public. For the link and password to the event, write to anelson@clark.edu. *Because this lecture falls during Clark College’s spring break, a recording will be made available to…
Comments closedAnnie Bloom’s welcomes local author Emmeline Duncan (aka, Kelly Garrett) for a livestream reading from her new mystery novel, Fresh Brewed Murder. She will be joined by a trio of fellow Northwest mystery authors: Ellie Alexander, Alicia Beckman (aka, Leslie Budewitz), Angela M. Sanders. Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcudOisqDIqE9UCVRUg2BnHhH36J6f_UUBx About Fresh Brewed Murder: Master barista Sage Caplin is opening a new coffee cart in Portland, Oregon, but a killer is brewing up a world of trouble. Portland is famous for its rain, hipsters, craft beers…and coffee. Sage Caplin has high hopes for her coffee truck, Ground Rules, which she runs with her business partner, Harley–a genius at roasting beans and devising new blends. That’s essential in a city where locals have intensely strong opinions about cappuccino versus…
Comments closedPortland artist Mannie Murphy celebrates the release of their new graphic memoir/history, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden. Mannie is joined in conversation by special guest Steve Bissette (Swamp Thing) to discuss the new book. Told in the style of an illustrated diary, I Never Promised You A Rose Garden begins as an affectionate reminiscence of the author’s 1990s teenage infatuation with the late actor River Phoenix but morphs into a remarkable, sprawling account of the city of Portland and state of Oregon’s dark history of white nationalism. Murphy details the relationship between white supremacist Tom Metzger (former KKK Grand Wizard and founder of the White Aryan Resistance) and the “Rose City” street kids like Ken Death that infiltrated Van Sant’s films — a…
Comments closedFirst 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…
Comments closedWe are starting new teen graphic novel group. Our first discussion is on March 16 at 4 p.m. Contact Jamie McNeely at Jamie.mcneely@gmail.com for additional details and the Zoom invite.
Comments closedYou 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. [View the Event on CrowdCast Here]
Comments closedDo you dream of having in-depth discussions with your favorite authors about their latest books? Join a panel of Electric Literature’s veteran interviewers—Tyrese Coleman, J.R. Ramakrishnan, and Arriel Vinson—to learn how the professionals do it. How do you pitch an interview to a publication and get the author to agree to talk to you? What are the secrets of crafting great interview questions—and how do you avoid the ones that thud? How do you get your conversation with the author to really flow—and if it does flow freely, is there any way to make transcribing less arduous? Our panel will dig into all of these questions and more. Moderated by Preety Sidhu. Q&A to follow. [View the Event on CrowdCast Here]
Comments closedWednesday, March 10: “In the Basement of the Ivory Tower” by Professor X ### Using Zoom, we will connect and share our thoughts about articles and podcasts from national publications. Our virtual meeting will last about 30 minutes, and feature discussions on the chosen article. Participants should be 18+ and interested in sharing. [Facebook Event Page]
Comments closedJoin us for the first Broadway Books Book Club meeting of 2021 and our inaugural event celebrating our Year of Toni Morrison. We will be discussing the new, highly touted debut novel by Robert Jones, Jr., The Prophets. This event will take place on Zoom on March 9th at 6:00 pm Pacific Time. In honor of this discussion, we will be offering the book at a 20% discount until March 9th. The author’s lyrical, third-person writing style has been likened to the writings of Toni Morrison. In our discussion we will compare and contrast his new work to Morrison’s Beloved. Robert Jones, Jr., was born and raised in New York City. He received his BFA in creative writing with honors and MFA in fiction from…
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