Literopolis: A Weekly Round-up of Portland Literary Events, Jan. 5-11

Monday, January 05, 2015

Emily Goldman, GoLocalPDX Contributor

Photo credit: iStock (cropped)

Literopolis is back!

With a brand-new year comes a new crop of releases, eagerly awaited sequels, and up-and-coming debuts.

This week, Portland continues to highlight the works of hometown and locally published authors while welcoming NYT bestselling authors whose books are continually receiving buzz from multiple channels.

Starting off the week on Monday, Another Read Through’s monthly Lesbian Book Group will be discussing the famous lesbian love story The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, first published in 1952 under the pseudonym Claire Morgan. Everyone is welcome to join and participate regardless of whether you’ve read the book or not. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8:30 pm, FREE

On Tuesday, the Oregon Book Award finalist Barbara Drake will be at Broadway Books reading from her new essay collection Morning Light: Wildflowers, Night Skies, and Other Ordinary Joys of Oregon Country Life, a reflection of her time living in Yamhill County. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8 pm, FREE

YA author Pierce Brown will be at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills on Wednesday presenting his newest book Golden Son, the sequel to his science fiction debut Red Rising where society on Mars is divided into a color-coded castes with the Reds slaving away at the service of the Golds. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 7 pm, FREE

Broadway Books will be hosting Gary Ferguson on Thursday, who will be reading from his memoir The Carry Home about his grief following the loss of his wife in a canoeing accident in 2005 and his journey towards healing as he scatters her ashes in five locations they had adventured together. 1714 NE Broadway Ave., 7-8 pm, FREE

Also on Thursday, local author Chris Gniewosz will be at Another Read Through reading from his third book and first novel Honor: The Crowning of the Girl King based on the history of Jadwiga of Poland, crowned king in 1384. Following his reading he will lead a Q&A and sign copies of his books. 3932 N Mississippi Ave., 7-8 pm, FREE

Lastly on Thursday, geologist and photographer Ellen Morris Bishop will be at Powell’s City of Books presenting an updated geological survey of the Pacific Northwest in the form of her new book Living With Thunder, exploring the land’s volcanic roots. 1005 W Burnside St., 7:30 pm, FREE

On Saturday, The League of Extraordinary Writers, a series of writing workshops for young adults, will be holding a workshop on how to write evocative settings. Held at Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills, the workshop will be led by author Heidi Schulz, author of Hook’s Revenge. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 2 pm, FREE

Immediately following the workshop on Saturday, Frank Portman will be presenting his latest book King Dork Approximately, the sequel to his YA cult classic novel King Dork about a teenage boy and rock music geek attempting to solve the mystery of his father’s death while also solving the many and surreal mysteries of the high school experience. 3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd., 4 pm, FREE

And finally comes Sunday with the weekly Portland Poetry Slam at Glyph Café. 804 SW Couch St., 5-7 pm, $5 donation