Oregon Book Awards Author Tour Pendleton: Becky Ellis, Charlie J. Stephens and tina ontiveros

Becky Ellis, daughter of a World War II combat sergeant and veteran of a war fought at home, is the author of Little Avalanches. She believes in the transformational power of storytelling and facilitates writing workshops in underheard communities with Write Around Portland. A longtime Oregonian, she has raised three daughters in Portland.

tina ontiveros grew up below the poverty line and went to community college. As a writer and a teacher, her work explores class, generational hardship, and marginalization of the poor. Her memoir, rough house, was a PNBA Bestseller, a national Indie Next Pick, an Oregon Book Award finalist, and 2021 Pacific Northwest Book Award winner. tina teaches writing and literature at Columbia Gorge Community College.

Charlie J. Stephens was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. Their debut novel, A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest, (2024) was a finalist for the Oregon Book Award and was awarded the Leslie Feinberg Award in Trans and Gender-Variant Literature and the Foreword Indies Bronze Award in LGBTQ+ Adult Fiction. Their new collection of short stories, Annihilation for Beginners, will be published by Buckman in early 2026. More at www.charliejstephenswriting.com