Thursday 6/26: Local food-cart enthusiasts Steven Shomler and Tiffany Harelik share their delicious passion from their latest title, Portland Food Cart Stories (April 2014). Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Jeffery Renard Allen reads from his second novel, Song of Shank (June 2014), inspired by the life and music of Thomas Greene Wiggins, 19th-century slave and pianist who performed under the name Blind Tom. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Friday 6/27: Storytelling series Back Fence PDX gathers Jessica Lee Williams, Moon Zappa, Brian Koch, Intisar Abioto, and Daniel H. Wilson to tell true, unscripted stories based on the theme “Rituals and Superstitions.” Hollywood Theatre, 6:30 p.m., $13 – $20 in advance, $16 at the door.
Join Ross Robbins as he celebrates a book launch party for his latest book, All in Black My Love Went Riding (June 2014). St. Johns Booksellers, 6:30 p.m., free.
Grammy Award-nominated comedian and writer David Sedaris reads from his latest book, Let’s Explore Diabetes with Owls (April 2013), now out in paperback. Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7:30 p.m., free.
Saturday 6/28: Join the Portland Women of Color Zine Collective for the Issue #7 Zine Launch Party. Readings by Cathy Camper, author of Lowriders in Space (November 2014), Olivia Olivia, and Tonya Jones, followed by a raffle and zine share, so bring your zines. Glyph, 5 p.m., free.
Shebooks hosts a book release party and welcomes authors Natalie Serber, Nancy Rommelmann, Mary Rechner, Lee Montgomery, Kerry Cohen, and Robin Romm to read from their latest works. For every Shebook purchased (on your phones or at home—honor system!) you will be entered in a raffle to win a coffee date at Ristretto Roasters with a Shebooks editor. Writer’s Dojo, 7:30 p.m., free.
Black Cafe Records presents alumni of their program Zachary Schomburg, Emily Kendal Frey, Lisa Ciccarello, Sara Woods, and Robert Duncan Gray, sharing from their poetry. IPRC, 7:30 p.m., free.
Sunday 6/29: Black Rose Books welcomes Jamaican writer Deloris Dallas as she reads from her new memoir on the foster care system and immigration, I Thought I Wouldn’t Tell It (June 2014). Glyph, 4 p.m., free.
The PEAL (Portland Emerging Arts Leaders) book club kicks off their summer session by looking to a recent post on the EmcArts Blog entitled “What Can Organizations Learn From Artists?”. Bar Bar, 5:30 p.m., free.
The Spare Room Reading Series welcomes local writers Judith Roitman and Stanley Lombardo to read their poetry. Glyph, 7 p.m., free.
Ellen Bass reads from new collection of poetry, Like a Beggar (March 2014). Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Monday 6/30: Estala Bernal reads from her debut novel Can You See Me Now? (June 2014), which follows the life of a young girl after her father’s unexpected death. Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7 p.m., free.
Novella Carpenter reads from her latest book, Gone Feral (June 2014), about a daughter trying to find her missing seventy-three-year-old father. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
The New Privacy literary and art salon welcomes local author and trans activist TC Tolbert to host an evening of poetry. Colonel Summers Park, 7:30 p.m., free.
Laura Pritchett follows up on the lives of two hardscrabble ranchers we met in her debut collection in long-awaited novel, Stars Go Blue (June 2014). Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Tuesday 7/1: The Willamette Writers welcome local author Stevan Allred to talk with their membership about the publication of his collection of linked stories, A Simplified Map of the Real World (September 2013). The Old Church, 6:30 p.m., free to members, $5 to friends of members, $10 to general public.
Miranda Beverly-Whittemore reveals the gothic underbelly of the American upper class in her new novel, Bittersweet (May 2014). Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 7/2: Powell’s welcomes RITA Award-winning science fiction and fantasy author Diana Gabaldon to read from the latest in her Outlander series, Written In My Own Heart’s Blood (June 2014). Tickets include admission and a copy of Gabaldon’s new book. Newmark Theatre, 7:30 p.m., $40.
Oregon Book Award-winning poet Zachary Schomburg reads from his latest collection of prose poems, The Book of Joshua (June 2014). Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
