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Community News

In the Community: Upcoming Events and News

Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland, and beyond. Let us know if you have any events or news to share.


EVENTS

The Hombres (Artists Repertory Theater)
September 10–October 9, 2022 | Sliding scale tickets | In person at Portland Center Stage, Ellyn Bye Studio, 128 NW 11th Ave, Portland, OR
Set in New Jersey, The Hombres offers a delicate, funny exploration of masculinity and intimacy of male friendships. Three Latino construction workers are drawn to the yoga studio, initially by voyeuristically watching women in classes from their job site next door. Gradually, their curiosity draws them in, one by one, to private, after-hours classes with the gay instructor whose sexual orientation challenges their machismo and sense of self. A laugh out loud, fresh, nuanced look at the complexity of male friendships through the lens of the machismo culture.

In-Store Poetry Reading: Donna Henderson and Charles Goodrich (Annie Bloom’s Books)
Thursday, September 22, from 7:00–8:00 p.m. | Free to attend | In person at Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy, Portland, OR
Annie Bloom welcomes Portland poets Donna Henderson and Charles Goodrich to read from their new collections. 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.

Liz Prato in Conversation with Aaron Gilbreath (Broadway Books)
Tuesday, September 27, from 6:00–7:00 p.m. | Free to attend | In person at Broadway Books, 1714 NE Broadway, Portland, OR
We are thrilled to welcome back Liz Prato, in conversation with Aaron Gilbreath, to discuss her new book Kids in America: A Gen X Reckoning. Prato will be in discussion with Aaron Gilbreath, whose most recent book is The Heart of California: Exploring the San Joaquin Valley, which was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award last year.

Jonathan Hill in Conversation With Breena Bard (Powell’s Books)
Wednesday, September 28, at 7:00 p.m. | Free to attend | In person at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland, OR
Drawing on the experiences of his Vietnamese American family and his love of ’80s sci-fi shows, award-winning creator (and Literary Arts board member) Jonathan Hill crafts a funny, insightful graphic novel about the immigrant experience and the perils of middle school. In his first solo middle-grade book, Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy (Walker Books US), Hill perfectly captures the sometimes dystopian drama of middle school while reminding readers of the universal need for belonging. Hill will be joined in conversation by Breena Bard, author and illustrator of Oregon Book Award winner Trespassers.

Dahlia Festival (Swan Island Dahlias)
Through September 30 | In person at 995 NW 22nd Ave, Canby, OR 97013
We invite you to celebrate the season of DAHLIAS! A Rainbow of Color! Stroll through almost 40 acres and a beautiful display garden of stunning dahlias featuring over 370 varieties. The beautiful fields are open from August to September each year, closed on Wednesday. Pick out and order your favorite dahlias for Spring delivery and planting. Purchase a beautiful bunch of cut dahlias to take home with you or to make someone’s day. Visit our Gift Shop with hundreds of local treasures, open year-round. Fill your belly with yummy treats from our Food Carts, relax and enjoy the Live Music, attend our Sunday Farmer’s Market, or take one of our Classes throughout the festival dates.

Reading and conversation: Renée Watson (Powell’s Books)
Saturday, October 1, at 2:00 p.m. | Free to attend | In person at Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside St., Portland, OR
In Ways to Share Joy (Bloomsbury), Renée Watson—Literary Arts board member and award-winning author of Piecing Me Together—continues her charming Ramona-esque series starring spirited Ryan Hart and her loving family. With more challenges, change, and lessons learned, book three of Watson’s Ryan Hart Series has even more humor, more love, and more sunshine.

BLACK IN OREGON: 1840–1870 (Oregon Black Pioneers & Pittock Mansion)
Through November 13 | Free with admission | In person at Pittock Mansion, 3229 NW Pittock Drive, Portland
Oregon Black Pioneers’ traveling exhibition Black in Oregon: 1840–1870 highlights some of the Black individuals and families who came to Oregon during the years of legalized racial exclusion, when the provisional and territorial governments of Oregon explicitly barred Blacks from residency and all legal protections. These Black pioneers risked everything to build a better life for themselves and their families in Oregon and helped lay the foundation for the state’s future Black communities.

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS

Troubadour International Poetry Prize (Coffee-House Poetry)
Deadline: September 26
A prize of £2,000 (approximately $2,507) is given annually for a single poem. A second-place prize of £1,000 (approximately $1,254) is also given. Both winners receive publication on the Coffee-House Poetry website and an invitation to read alongside the contest judges at a celebration on December 5. Joshua Bennett and Victoria Kennefick will judge.

Philip Levine Prize for Poetry (California State University in Fresno)
Deadline: September 30
A prize of $2,000 and publication by Anhinga Press is given annually for a poetry collection. Juan Felipe Herrera will judge. Submit a manuscript of 48 to 80 pages with a $22 entry fee ($25 for electronic submissions) by September 30.

Nonfiction Contest for Emerging Writers (Boulevard)
Deadline: September 30
A prize of $1,000 and publication in Boulevard is given annually for an essay by a writer who has not published a full-length book in any genre with a nationally distributed press. The editors will judge. Submit an essay of up to 8,000 words with a $16 entry fee, which includes a subscription to Boulevard, by September 30. All entries are considered for publication.

John LewisWriting Grant (Georgia Writers)
Deadline: October 1
Black or African American, Georgia-based writers may apply to present a reading or workshop and attend the Red Clay Writers Conference. The application deadline is October 1.

Call for Applications: Artists in Residence 2023 (Caldera Arts)
Deadline: October 3
The Artists in Residence Program supports artists, creatives, and cultural workers by awarding time, space, and unrestricted stipends to work on projects and build skills and relationships that inspire growth, abolish oppression, and activate change. Residents draw inspiration from the residency community and the natural world surrounding our Arts Center in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains near Sisters, Oregon. The application is open to regional and national, creatives and cultural workers in all disciplines. Artists and collaborative groups at any stage of their careers are eligible to apply, except for those enrolled in a degree-granting program. Residencies are also available for parent artists who would like to bring their children. Residents will receive private lodging with a bathroom and kitchenette, studio or workspace, artist stipend, and the opportunity to engage the Caldera Art community through teaching, skill shares, and social media.

2023 PEN/Faulkner Award (Pen/Faulkner Foundation)
Deadline: October 31
The author of the winning book receives a $15,000 prize. The authors of each of the other finalists receive $5,000. The Award is presented at an annual celebration of the year’s distinguished books and authors. This exquisite literary evening features introductions by the PEN/Faulkner Award judges, original presentations by the year’s PEN/Faulkner Award winner and four finalists, and a star-studded list of notable guests, including our PEN/Faulkner Literary Champion.

Lammy Awards (Lambada Literary)
Deadline: November 18
The Lammy Awards celebrate LGBTQ+ storytelling in a variety of categories and genres. Lambda uses “LGBTQ+” as a catch-all term, meaning that works reflecting identities beyond lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer or questioning are also welcome, to include two-spirit, intersex, pansexual, aro/ace, and others.

Call for Instructors: Chapbook Design Instructor (IPRC)
The IPRC is currently seeking a Chapbook Design Instructor for Fall 2022 for an 8 week workshop focusing on InDesign book layout for chapbook projects ranging from 5–35 pages. Please reach out to info@iprc.org to inquire, résumé or C.V. optional.

Casting Call: America’s Next Great Author
America’s Next Great Author is a reality television series where first, nationwide tryouts in iconic American cities show off amateur writers as they get one minute to pitch their book ideas to a panel of publishing experts. Six charismatic finalists from vastly different places and backgrounds enter the Writer’s Retreat together for a month of live-wire challenges and spectacular storytelling. These talented amateurs have to start their books from scratch on day one of the Retreat and finish by the end of the thirty days. Pitch your book to our panel of judges in San Francisco and you could win $2,500! The judges critique everything from idea to style to potential in the literary marketplace and everyone comes away with concrete advice from publishing industry professionals.

Call for Submissions: 500 Words (Khôra)
Reviewed on a rolling basis
Team-based, collaborative, and curated, Khôra is a form that is continually opening. They invite you to join us in sustaining it together. Khôra’s 500 Words is about considering how multiple voices can be heard; how frameworks, traditions, and projects can inform each other; and how new perspectives emerge from collaboration and openness. Send them 500 Words and you’ll see an automated notice that they’ve received your work. Your words will always remain active in Khôra’s ocean. This doesn’t need to be a completed piece—think of it like a sample of your work at any length up to 500 words. You can send 500 Words more than once—there’s no limit to how many times you can send us new work; just no repeats, please.

Artist Registry (Oregon Arts Commission)
As a tool for sharing funding opportunities, the Oregon Arts Commission partnered with The Ford Family Foundation to create the Oregon Artist Registry. Professional artists are strongly encouraged to sign up for the registry by completing a brief survey about themselves and their artistic practice.The goal is to reach and connect with as many Oregon artists as possible, including those who haven’t previously accessed funding programs. Read the full release

Call for Guest Speakers (Salem Art Association + Bush Barn Art Center)
Reviewed on a rolling basis
In honor of their centennial year, Salem Art Association and the Bush Barn Art Center introduce a new event called “Arts in Our Lives”—a series of presentations promoting an appreciation for creativity in the visual, literary, and performing arts. “Arts in Our Lives” is accepting applications for individual or group presentations. An academic degree is not necessary and there are no age restrictions. Stipends are available. Email David Wilson, Gallery Director, at david@SalemArt.org with a letter of introduction, a one-page proposal on your topic, a resume or CV, and a list of three references.

Call for Submissions (Western New Mexico University)
Reviewed on a rolling basis
Mimbres Press welcomes submissions in the following genres: literary fiction, creative non-fiction, essays, memoir, poetry, children’s books, historical fiction, and academic books. They are particularly interested in academic work and commercial work with a strong social message. Both agented and unagented submissions are welcome from both new and previously published authors.

FOR KIDS/ TEENS

Virtual Graphic Novel Event with Jonathan Hill (Green Bean Books)
Tuesday, September 27, at 4:00 p.m. | Free to attend | Online via Zoom
Enjoy a virtual event with author, illustrator, and Literary Arts board member Jonathan Hill featuring Tales of a Seventh-Grade Lizard Boy, a debut middle-grade graphic novel about discovering who you are whether you’re a human or a lizard!

National Geographic Live: Sandesh Kadur: Wild Cats of India
Tuesday, September 27, at 7:30 p.m. | $25–$55 tickets | In person at Newmark Theater, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR

With landscapes spanning the towering Himalayas, arid plains, and dense jungles, India is home to an unmatched diversity of wild cats. While many of the big cats are well known and thoroughly documented, photographer and filmmaker Sandesh Kadur is on a mission to highlight the country’s lesser-known felines in order to protect their future. Discover the tiny, grumpy-faced Pallas’s cat, the fishing cat that jumps into the water to catch its prey, and the ancient, elusive clouded leopard. Through Kadur’s captivating images and video, you’ll get an up-close look at a world of wild cats you’ve never seen before.

Makerspace Minikits Available at All Multnomah County Libraries
Through Summer 2022

Makerspace minikits are STEAM-based activities in a bag, free to pick up at any Multnomah County library beginning Dec. 11. The minikits are designed for teens but are appropriate for ages 8+ with assistance. Kits will be available through Summer 2022. Makerspace programming is made possible by gifts to The Library Foundation.

IN THE NEWS

Two Oregon Restaurants Made The New York Times’ Top 50 in America List ( Willamete Week)
2022 Portland Book Festival speaker Gregory Gourdet’s restaurant was chosen among the finest in the entire nation. Congratulations Gregory!

Finding Humor, and Humanity, in Canada’s Oil Fields (New York Times )
2022 Portland Book Festival speaker has been featured in the The New York Times!

Abdulrazak Gurnah Refuses to Be Boxed In: ‘I Represent Me’ (New York Times)
2022–23 Portland Arts & Lectures speaker (and Nobel Laureate) Abdulrazak Gurnah has a great interview in the Times. Get tickets for Gurnah’s lecture on September 22 now!

Dallas Library hosts author Omar El Akkad Aug. 26 (Itemizer-Observer)
The Dallas Library hosts 2022 Oregon Book Award Winner author Omar El Akkad!

New American Girl Is Full-Circle Moment for Author Brit Bennett (Publishers Weekly)
2021–22 Portland Arts & Lectures speaker Brit Bennett is thrillingly writing a new American Girl book in the series. Hear her lecture on The Archive Project now!

Portland’s Books with Pictures named best comics store in the world (OPB)
Congratulations to Books with Pictures for winning the worldwide Eisner Spirit of Retail award—we’re huge fans!

The Oregon Symphony Is Bringing Back Symphony Storytime for a Third Season (Willamette Week)
We’re excited this digital series, created during quarantine, will continue to feature symphony musicians reading and accompanying children’s books! Learn more about Symphony Storytime here.

Wendy’s Little Free Diverse Library – Rock Creek (Facebook)
Wendy recently opened a Little Free Diverse Library in their neighborhood. They are working with a local nonprofit, Positive Charge PDX, to help expand diverse libraries in the Portland metro area. For more information check out their Facebook page.

50 Oregon authors will debut new works, present old favorites at Oregon State Fair (The Register-Guard)
Book signings are returning to the Oregon State Fair, with 50 Oregon authors scheduled to discuss and autograph their works Friday to Sept. 5.

13 Ways of Looking at Denial: Jon Raymond on the Artistic Inspiration Behind His Novel (Literary Hub)
2009 Oregon Book Award winner Jon Raymond discusses the inspiration behind his latest novel Denial!

RECOMMENDED READING

4 Recommended Back-to-School Books (PDX Parent)

PDX reads: Novels set in Portland (Multnomah County Library)

Reading recommendations from local librarians (Bend Bulletin)

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