Life’s Fictions

Miranda July in Conversation with Portland Novelist Chelsea Bieker

“A feeling of recklessness is what made me write it down,” July says of her latest novel, All Fours. “I’m pointing at a thing and calling it out.”

05/15/2024 By Chelsea Bieker Illustrations by Becki Gill

Interview

‘Unlikable’ Narrators and the Impossible Expectations of Motherhood

Portland author Kimberly King Parsons unpacks her hotly anticipated debut novel, We Were the Universe.

05/10/2024 By Michelle Kicherer

Down the Aisles

11 Portland Authors’ Favorite Indie Bookstores

Where do Renée Watson, Dane Liu, Erica Berry, and Jon Raymond shop for books? Hint: it’s not Amazon.

05/06/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

As Told To

In ‘skin & bones,’ Renée Watson Writes for Her Devout Readers’ Parents

"I’m always writing for that little girl who needed to see herself and her ancestors represented in stories."

05/03/2024 By Matthew Trueherz Photography by Michael Raines

Golden Years

Wise Oregonians Give Us Their Best Advice

Listen to your elders.

03/20/2024 By Zoe Sayler and Andi Prewitt

Golden Years

The 50-Year Portland Friendship

Some friendships predate light rail, the microbrew boom, or the Blazers' one championship. A longtime local reflects on youth and old age in Rose City.

03/19/2024 By Andrea Carlisle Photography by Jason Hill

Book Review

A Journalist Dives Behind the Scenes of the Art World

Portland native Bianca Bosker plunges headfirst into the New York City art world, attempting to see what the fuss is about.

02/09/2024 By Matthew Trueherz

Bookshelf

The Author of Geek Love Left Behind an Extensive Body of Unpublished Work

In the Katherine Dunn archive at Lewis & Clark College, some 50 boxes of (among many other things) unpublished fiction is beginning to see the light of day.

02/21/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Bookshelf

Review: Wolfish, on the Complicated Legacy of the Divisive Species

Mixing memoir, history, science, and the story of OR-7, Portland writer Erica Berry reminds us wolves are never very far away.

02/17/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Books

Catching Up with Oregon Book Award Finalist Emme Lund

Through her essays and fiction, the Portland author elucidates trans and queer narratives, fleshing out the experience of being othered.

01/24/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Oregon Book Awards

Literary Arts Announces 2023 Oregon Book Award Finalists

The winners will be announced April 3 in a ceremony at the Armory.

01/24/2023 By Matthew Trueherz

Book Review

Katherine Dunn’s Posthumously Published ‘Toad’ Cuts Deep

The author of Geek Love has a new Portland-set novel out, six years after her death.

11/22/2022 By Matthew Trueherz

Books, Books, Books

Portland's Flagship Downtown Library Reopens Next Week—Here's Why You Need to Get There Fast

The Central Library is closing again in 2023 for at least six months for more renovations. Plus more library news and notes!

10/27/2022 By Julia Silverman

Books

Your Oregon-Made Fall Reading List

Curl up by the fire with new titles from Lidia Yuknavitch, Colin Meloy, Christine Sinclair, and more.

10/26/2022 By Conner Reed and Matthew Trueherz

Books

5 Takeaways from Colin Meloy’s Eerie New Middle-Grade Thriller

The Stars Did Wander Darkling, an ’80s adventure set on the Oregon Coast, is on shelves now.

09/23/2022 By Conner Reed

Interview

Denial Presents a Compellingly Low-Key Vision of Post-Revolution Portland

Set in 2052, the latest novel from author/screenwriter Jon Raymond imagines a disillusioned future that looks a lot like the present, despite big policy victories.

07/22/2022 By Conner Reed