Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland, and beyond. Let us know in the form below the blog if you have any events or news to share.
EVENTS
Tove Danovich in Conversation with Erica Berry (Broadway Books)
Wednesday, January 24, from 6:00–7:00 p.m. | In person at Broadway Books | FREE to attend
Broadway Books is pleased to welcome Tove Danovich and Erica Berry, who will be discussing Tove’s memoir, Under The Henfluence: Inside the World of Backyard Chickens and the People Who Love Them, newly released in paperback by Agate Publishing.
Writing through Grief (Multnomah County Library)
Wednesday, January 24, from 6:00–7:30 p.m. | Online | FREE to attend | Register here
No writing experience is necessary to join this workshop that will guide you through writing prompts to support expressions of grief. This class will provide a welcoming space and the company of others navigating similar experiences. The opportunity to share your completed work will be optional. Though this workshop can be therapeutic, it should not be used in place of professional counseling. This event is part of Everybody Reads 2024, a community-wide project that promotes shared reading and discussion around a single book. Literary Arts is proud to help present this event—get tickets for the April 4 author lecture!
Portland Arts & Lectures: David Grann (Literary Arts)
Thursday, January 25, at 7:30 p.m., at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | Subscription required
We’re excited to welcome Killers of the Flower Moon author David Grann to Portland. This event is part of our 39th season of Portland Arts & Lectures. A series subscription must be purchased to attend. For more information on the season, please see our FAQs.
The Chinese Lady: Afong Moy in Early America (Beaverton City Library)
Thursday, January 25, from 6:00–7:00 p.m. | Registration required | FREE to attend
Afong Moy was the first recognized Chinese woman to arrive in America, and her presence provided Americans in the 1800s with their first public introduction to China. Nancy E. Davis, author of The Chinese Lady: Afong Moy in Early America, will give context to the real historical figure of Moy who provided the inspiration for Jamie Ford’s novel, The Many Daughters of Afong Moy. This is a virtual event taking place via Zoom; register at the link cited above to receive the Zoom link prior to the presentation. This event is part of Beaverton City Library’s One Book, One Beaverton community-wide read program.
Intense Creativity Marathon, with Shing Yin Khor (Multnomah County Library)
Saturday, January 27, from 2:00–4:00 p.m. | Online | FREE to attend | Register here
Online
Are you ready to give your brain muscles a workout? Come and learn how to create your own game. You’ll be guided through a series of creative exercises, from sketching to writing to game design. Drawing on your skills and hobbies, we’ll move at an intense and exhilarating pace. No gaming or design experience is required. This event is part of Everybody Reads 2024, a community-wide project that promotes shared reading and discussion around a single book. Literary Arts is proud to help present this event—get tickets for the April 4 author lecture!
Skip the Small Talk: Speed-friending (Multnomah County Library)
Tuesday, January 30, from 6:00–7:30 p.m. (online), Saturday, February 10, from 3:00–5:00 p.m., in person at the Hillsdale Library, and Wednesday, February 14, from 6:00–7:00 p.m. (online) | FREE to attend | Register here (January 30) & here (February 14)
You’re not looking for romance—you just want to find and connect with your people! All the science says that adults can find it hard to make and keep friends. This facilitated event, grounded in psychological research, will introduce you to others looking for friendship, while giving you tools to create lasting and genuine platonic relationships. This event is part of Everybody Reads 2024, a community-wide project that promotes shared reading and discussion around a single book. Literary Arts is proud to help present this event—get tickets for the April 4 author lecture!
Consider This with John Lee Clark and Jelica Nuccio (Oregon Humanities & Western Oregon University)
Wednesday, January 31, at 7:00 p.m. | Online and in-person at Werner University Center, 345 Monmouth Ave. N., Western Oregon University, Monmouth OR | FREE to attend | RSVP here
Jelica Nuccio and John Lee Clark are DeafBlind trainers in Protactile language, which emerged within the DeafBlind community. Nuccio is the founder of a Protactile training center in Monmouth, and Clark is an author and educator from Minnesota. In their teaching, writing, and community-building, Nuccio and Clark work toward full presence and deep connection. This Consider This event, scheduled near the conclusion of a national Protactile language training convening at Western Oregon University, will explore belonging amid differences of language, perception, and other fundamental parts of our daily lives. The conversation will be conducted in Protactile and spoken English with the assistance of interpreters, and it has been designed with both in-person and online audiences in mind. This event will be ASL interpreted. Read more about this event and RSVP here.
Family Legacies: Stories of Love, Loss & Everything in Between (Beaverton City Library)
Saturday, February 3, from 3:00–5:00 p.m. | In person at Beaverton City Library | FREE to attend
Every family has a tale to tell. . . . Join us for an afternoon of live storytelling on stage! Our veteran storytellers will regale the audience with their true, personal family stories. This event is part of our library’s One Book, One Beaverton community-wide read program.
Worldbuilding Game Jam for teens, with Shing Yin Khor (Multnomah County Library)
Thursday, February 6, from 4:00–6:00 p.m. | Online | FREE to attend | Register here
Join us for a fast-paced workshop where we’ll learn analog game-making techniques and make a lot of small games together. We’ll build worlds and characters using principles from role-playing games, creative writing and theater. Shing Yin Khor is a multidisciplinary graphic novelist, analog game designer, and installation artist exploring mythic Americana and new human rituals, at the intersection of race, gender, immigrant stories, and queerness. This event is part of Everybody Reads 2024, a community-wide project that promotes shared reading and discussion around a single book. Literary Arts is proud to help present this event—get tickets for the April 4 author lecture!
Portland’s Rhymes and Hip-Hop Life (Multnomah County Library)
Saturday, February 17, from 1:00–4:00 p.m. | In person at the Rockwood Library | FREE to attend
Join Multnomah County Library for a special performance led by Mic Crenshaw, featuring Cool Nutz and Libretto. Be part of a discussion of hip-hop history in the Northwest and how it has influenced our lives and our culture. Mic Crenshaw is a world-class spoken word artist and emcee who has toured extensively in Africa, the US and Europe.
Black Girl You Are Atlas: Reading and Conversation (Powell’s Books)
Saturday, February 17, at 3:00 p.m. | In person at Powell’s City of Books | FREE to attend
In her new semi-autobiographical collection of poems, Literary Arts board member Renée Watson writes about her experience growing up as a young Black girl at the intersections of race, class, and gender. Using a variety of poetic forms, from haiku to free verse, Watson shares recollections of her childhood in Portland, tender odes to the Black women in her life, and urgent calls for Black girls to step into their power. Black Girl You Are Atlas (Kokila) encourages young readers to embrace their future with a strong sense of sisterhood and celebration. With full-color art by celebrated fine artist Ekua Holmes throughout, this collection offers guidance and is a gift for anyone who reads it.
Seattle Black Panthers Fight for Justice & Freedom (Third Eye Books & Clinton Street Theater)
Thursday, February 22, at 7:00 p.m. | In person at Clinton Street Theater | Tickets required
Join Michelle & Charles of Third Eye Books as they welcome Aaron & Elmer Dixon and the film crew to the Rose City and the inviting Clinton Street Theater to screen their upcoming movie Seattle Black Panthers: Fight for Justice & Freedom.
Policing Justice (PICA)
Opening Reception: Friday, February 23, 2024 / 4:00 – 8:00 p.m. | Exhibition Dates: February 23 – May 12, 2024 | Symposium: March 9, 2024 | In-person at PICA, 15 NE Hancock Street, Portland, OR 97212 | Price: Exhibition, Free / Workshops & Performances, free or sliding scale
Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) announces a major forthcoming exhibition
Policing Justice. Guest curated by Nina Amstutz, Associate Professor of the History of Art and Architecture at the University of Oregon, and Cleo Davis, local social construct artist, designer, educator, historian, and community leader, this exhibition examines policing practices in Portland, Oregon, and their relationship to longer local and national histories of oppression through the lens of artists who call Portland their home and those who have witnessed and documented police brutality
across the globe.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS
Short Story Award for New Writers (Masters Review)
Deadline: January 28 | Entry fee: $20
A prize of $3,000 and online publication in Masters Review is given biannually for a short story by an emerging writer. Writers who have not published a book or who have published a book with a circulation of less than 5,000 are eligible. The winning story is also reviewed by a select group of literary agents, including Victoria Cappello (Bent Agency), Sarah Fuentes (United Talent Agency), Andrea Morrison (Writers House), Heather Schroder (Compass Talent), and Nat Sobel (Sobel Weber Associates). Using only the online submission system, submit a story of up to 6,000 words with a $20 entry fee by January 28. All entries are considered for publication. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
James Welch Prize for Indigenous Poets (Poetry Northwest)
Deadline: January 31
Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in Poetry Northwest are given annually for a single poem by an Indigenous poet. The winners also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to read with the judge at Poets House in New York City in the fall. Writers who have published no more than one full-length book and who are community-recognized members of tribal nations within the United States and its territories are eligible. A Native poet of national prominence will judge. Using only the online submission system, submit up to three poems of no more than three pages each, a cover letter specifying any tribal affiliations and ties, and a brief bio by January 31. All entries are considered for publication. There is no entry fee. Visit the website for complete guidelines.
Conversation Project Leaders Wanted (Oregon Humanities)
Deadline: January 31
Oregon Humanities is looking for people who want to facilitate conversations that get people talking, listening, and connecting to one another. Read the full description below, then submit an application online for each topic you wish to propose. The deadline to apply is January 31, 2024. Click here for the application.
Volunteer Writers Needed: Pets for Patriots
Pets for Patriots is seeking volunteer writers for their website and blog. Interested writers can connect with them via phone at 1-877-473-8223 or via email at volunteer@petsforpatriots.org.
Creative (Writing) Drop-In Sessions (with Haldane King, MFA)
Every Wednesday, from 5:00–6:00 p.m.
In person at the Vintage Conference Room. Vida Coworking Space, 401 NE 19th Avenue Suite #200, Portland, OR and online via Google Meet
Email HaldaneKing@gmail.com to sign up
Haldane King is an author and facilitator currently working with the Why There Are Words Literary Organization. He has an MFA in Writing & Consciousness from the California Institute of Integral Studies. The Creative (Writing) Drop-in is open to everyone and all forms of creative expression, with an emphasis on the written form.
WNDB IS SEEKING 2024 MENTORS
Are you a traditionally published author or illustrator? WNDB mentors are paid a stipend of $1,000 and work one-on-one with an unpublished writer or illustrator for the entire year (January-December 2024). Mentors must be traditionally published with three or more forthcoming/published books in their category, either: Illustration, Picture Book, Middle Grade, or Young Adult. If you are interested in serving as a mentor, please email mentor@diversebooks.org with the subject line ‘2024 WNDB Mentor,’ with your name, your publication history, and the genre you are seeking to mentor.
FOR KIDS/ TEENS
Goodnight Moon (Oregon Children’s Theater)
January 15–February 11, various times | In person at Winningstad Theatre | Tickets required
Join us in the Great Green Room, where this beloved children’s story comes to life on stage! See the three little bears, the pair of kittens, the young mouse, and the cow jump over the moon as we say goodnight to them all alongside little Bunny in this magical, musical tale.
Kids’ Story & Art Class at Awake Coffee & Art!
Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10:00 a.m. | In person at Awake Coffee & Art, 7325 SE Milwalkie Ave, Portland, OR | Costs $8
Bring your little ones Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 10:00 a.m. for a storybook reading and art session!
We’ll have a hands-on art project after the reading. It could be water-color painting, making and playing with play dough, or another creative project to engage the young artists’ talents! All materials included!
Bubbles + Books Story Time at Hammer + Jacks
Fridays at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. | In person at the Rec room at Hammer + Jacks, 406 SE Foster Road, Portland, OR | Recommended donation $5+ per child
Join us every Friday morning for weekly story time! Movement, music, reading, and BUBBLES! Storytime runs about 25–30 minutes and includes an opening song + dance followed by alternating stories, sing-alongs, and movement breaks! There are also bubbles! The event closes with a goodbye song and final dance for those wanting a little extra movement before departure! This is a great mid-morning activity for parents and children that squeezes in a lot of fun and reading! This event’s best for babies and preschoolers, but older siblings are welcome too. 😊 Shakers are provided; you’re welcome to bring your own items for music and movement! Recommended donation is $5+ per child. No family will be turned away for lack of donation.
IN THE NEWS
He Was My Role Model. My Mentor. My Supplier. (The New York Times)
Read this incredible piece written by Literary Arts board member Mitchell S. Jackson.
Cartoonist Roz Chast at the Portland Book Festival (OPB)
Enjoy a conversation from the 2023 Portland Book Festival on OPB’s Think Out Loud!
Justin Torres, Author of ‘Blackouts,’ Wins National Book Award for Fiction (New York Times)
We were honored to host Torres at Portland Book Festival this past November!
Oregon Poet Laureate Anis Mojgani Is Rewriting the Role (Portland Monthly)
Take a moment to read Portland Monthly’s incredible profile on Anis Mojgani, Oregon poet laureate. We’re so grateful and honored to work with him on our Board of Directors and as the host of our youth poetry slam championship, Verselandia!
RECOMMENDED READING
The 10 Best Books of 2023 (Wall Street Journal)
A Booklover’s Guide to Portland (Travel Portland)
10 New Books From Around the World (Powell’s)
Local Resources for Writers (Multnomah County Library)
Community News Submissions
Let us know if you have any events, news to share, or opportunities for writers for the In the Community blog and we will consider adding it to the next blog post!
