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Portland Monthly

Books & Talks

BEST OF THE CITY 2016

Best of the City 2016: Seven Curators and Creators Share Top Picks from Portland’s Arts Scene

From in-your-face theater to a bold magazine for women guitarists, here are some of Portland’s best things to watch, hear, and read.

06/13/2016 By Fiona McCann and Rebecca Jacobson

THE ESSENTIALS

M. Ward to Tin House Readings: July’s Pop Culture Hot List

The concert, reading series, and book you can’t miss this month.

06/13/2016 By Fiona McCann

BOOKS AND TALKS

How Do You Make White People Laugh? Negin Farsad Has Some Suggestions

The Iranian-American filmmaker and comedian is in town with new book How to Make White People Laugh. She talks about standing out among the "white guys with brown hair and glasses."

06/09/2016 By Lisa Dunn

BOOKS

Five Reasons You Should Read Lindy West’s Shrill Like, Yesterday

The sharp-as-a-tack writer cruised through town earlier this month to read from her essay collection, Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman. If you missed her in person, get your hands on the book, stat.

06/07/2016 By Lisa Dunn

BOOKS & TALKS

Lidia Yuknavitch Celebrates Misfits in Viral TED Talk

The Portland author has been racking up views with a moving TED talk about being a misfit and overcoming obstacles.

05/25/2016 By Fiona McCann

THE ESSENTIALS

Anthony Lopez to Moby’s Memoir: June’s Pop Culture Hot List

The festival, album, and books you can’t miss this month.

05/19/2016 By Fiona McCann

BOOKS

Alexis Smith on Her New Post-Earthquake Mystery

The Glaciers novelist shakes things up.

05/19/2016 By Fiona McCann

BOOKS

Portland Writers Pay Tribute to Geek Love’s Katherine Dunn

In the wake of the death of author and beloved Portlander Dunn, we asked four local writers for their thoughts on her impact and influence.

05/18/2016 By Fiona McCann

BOOKS

Once Upon a Time: Katie Chase's Short Stories Have No Happily Ever After

Portlander Chase's debut collection of dark and twisty tales has already earned her the attention of Publisher's Weekly, which dubbed her work "consistently provocative." She reads May 12 at Powell's on Hawthorne.

05/04/2016 By Fiona McCann

URBAN FUTURES

Can Art Save a Neighborhood? The Creator of Houston's Project Row Houses Speaks

Rick Lowe, an artist/activist, transformed 22 shotgun shacks into a haven of community-minded creativity. Can Portland learn from his work?

04/29/2016 By Randy Gragg

Popular Content

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BOOKS

How One Portland Author Went from Self-Publishing to a Major Book Deal

It took Jason Gurley 15 years to write, scrap, re-write, self-publish, and finally get picked up by Crown Publishing. He holds forth on writing, success, and how Eleanor was born in the Oregon rain.

04/26/2016 By Sarah Hopwood

BOOKS

Happy Birthday, Our Bev! Here’s to Another Century of Ramona and Beezus

As Beverly Cleary turns 100, there are plenty of reasons to keep reading her.

04/06/2016 By Zach Dundas

BOOKS & TALKS

Tin House's Rob Spillman Talks East and West Berlin, and the Trials of Communist Laundromats

Spillman’s new memoir, All Tomorrow’s Parties, recounts his early years in bohemian West Berlin and his return to the post-Soviet-era city at age 25.

03/31/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

BOOKS

A 50-Something, First-Time Novelist Brings Her Million-Dollar Book to Portland

Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney’s career switch from marketing to writing earned her a seven-figure advance. Ahead of her Powell's visit, she talks sibling dramas, creative flashes, and being friends with Amy Poehler.

03/24/2016 By Fiona McCann

BOOKS

Coloring Books for Grown-Ups? Portland Gets on Board

Four very Portland coloring books are coming to a store near you. Beards are a feature.

03/23/2016 By Jack Rushall

Books & Talks

Single Women Are Changing America, Says Rebecca Traister

What does it mean that women are delaying marriage—or choosing not to marry at all? In her new book, All the Single Ladies, Traister says that's excellent news.

03/07/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

Special Event

Want to Help Close Wikipedia's Gender Gap?

Then this Saturday's Edit-a-Thon, calling on Portlanders to join in a "communal updating" of the online encyclopedia's entries on subjects related to art and feminism, is for you.

03/03/2016 By Fiona McCann

Books

Monica Drake on the Folly of Loving Portland

The local author—whose new short story collection is out March 8—talks about hearing Chuck Palahniuk recite her work at Powell's, cheaper times in Portland, and why this is still a great town in which to be a writer.

02/26/2016 By Fiona McCann

PUBLISHING NEWS

Tin House Publisher Win McCormack Purchases The New Republic

The progressive magazine, which has weathered several tumultuous years, has been sold to McCormack, a longtime publisher and one of Oregon's biggest Democratic donors.

02/26/2016 By Rebecca Jacobson

LITERARY MAGAZINES

These 5 Local Literary Magazines Want Your Winter Scribblings

Did you survive the winter by scrawling short stories? Now's the time to find your fans. Start local, with these five submission-friendly literary magazines.

02/09/2016 By Jack Rushall

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