Thursday 10/20: PQ Monthly celebrates the release of its October issue with a launch party—including drinks and a raffle—with 100% of the proceeds going Sankofa Collective Northwest, a nonprofit dedicated to Black and African LGBTQ community. Q Center, 5 p.m., free.
Rupi Kaur reads from Milk and Honey, her bestselling collection of poetry and prose about survival, the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity. Powell’s at Cedar Hills Crossing, 7 p.m., free.
The Comma Reading Series brings together Diana Abu-Jabar, author of Life Without Recipe, and Matt Schumacher, author of Ghost Town Odes. Broadway Books, 7 p.m., free.
Lucy Jane Bledsoe reads from her novel based on the true-life stories surrounding the Cold War and being Queer in the 1950s, A Thin Bright Line. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Reece Jones reads from Violent Borders, a major new exploration of the refugee crisis, focusing on how borders are formed and policed. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Friday 10/21: Emma Donoghue reads from her new suspenseful novel on nurses and survival, The Wonder. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Saturday 10/22: Former presidential candidate Ralph Nader reads from his latest book, Breaking Through Power. Powell’s City of Books, 12 p.m., free.
Celebrate the Moved By Words Book Fair and Unchaste Readers Book release with readings and scores of local press and booksellers bringing forward a collection of Portland’s literary community. Taborspace, 1 p.m., free.
Sunday 10/23: Brunch By Words brings community members together to hear Dena Rash Guzman read from her upcoming poetry collection, Joseph. Marino Adriatic Café, 12 p.m., free with meal, no one turned away for lack of funds.
The Silent Reading Party returns to the Beech St. Parlor for its October edition. Beech St. Parlor, 3 p.m., free.
Eliot Weinberger reads from his collection, The Ghosts of Birds, and is joined in conversation by Justin Taylor, author of Flings and Everything Here Is the Best Thing Ever. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Monday 10/24: Brit Bennett reads from her debut novel, The Mothers. Powell’s on Hawthorne, 7:30 p.m., free.
Tuesday 10/25: Kevin Meyer, Leslie What, Jeff Johnson, and Stevan Allred read from the new anthology City of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales. Voodoo Doughnuts will co-host the event and offer a special octopus centerpiece for the audience to share. Costumes are encouraged. Broadway Books, 7 p.m., free.
Laurence “Lol” Tolhurst, co-founder of The Cure, reads from his new memoir, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys, detailing the origins and creation of one of the most beloved bands of all time and Tolhurst’s own return from the brink of self-destruction. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
Wednesday 10/26: Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Olen Butler reads from his new novel, Perfume River. Powell’s City of Books, 7:30 p.m., free.
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