From what we could find (please contact us if you have an event you would like us to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of January 23, 2010 through January 29, 2010 are:
Saturday January 23-
Voices In Verse (Cedar Mill Community Library, @10:00am-11:00am): Bring along a cup of coffee and share your own poetry or listen to others read their favorites. The group meets on the fourth Saturday morning of each month in the library’s upstairs meeting room.
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Today’s interview is with Sid Miller, the founder and executive editor of Burnside Review, which has a new issue due out in April. In addition to his duties with the journal, Sid has two new poetry collections out, one entitled Dot-to-Dot, Oregon (Ooligan Press) and the other Nixon on the Piano (David Robert Brooks). In reading Dot-to-Dot, Oregon I found Miller’s poetry provided an entry point through which I could relate to a genre that has escaped me nearly all of my life. I immediately skipped to the section on Northeast Oregon and began to experience the places I grew up through anothers eyes. And although the language is beautiful enough to gain appreciation from the most seasoned critic, it was this context that allowed the poems to find a home within a novice like myself. I highly recommend you pick up both of these new collections, I promise they will not disappoint.
Sid will be reading from Dot-to-Dot, Oregon tomorrow (1-21) at 7:30pm at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne.
Click through to read the interview and an excerpt of Sid’s work.
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From what we could find (please contact us if you have an event you would like us to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of January 16, 2010 through January 22, 2010 are:
Saturday January 16-
Mother Daughter Book Club (Hillsboro Main Library, @10:00am): A book discussion group for girls in grades 3-5 and their mothers or other significant women in their lives to read and discuss great books together. The group meets the third Saturday each month at 10 a.m. at the Main Library. New members are always welcome and no registration is required!
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If you are a Portland author, poet, zinester, cartoonist or publisher looking to publicize your new release(s), email us (portland@readinglocal.com): the title of the release, a brief description, when it will be available, and a link to where it can be purchased or pre-ordered. We will then help you to promote your new release by posting this information on the site.
New Release:
Bone Worship (Pegasus Books), a new novel by Elizabeth Eslami is now available for purchase. Ms. Eslami will be reading from Bone Worship this Thursday (1-14) at 7:30pm at Powell’s Books on Hawthorne.
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The Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association released the winners of the 2010 Book Awards today. The organization whose region includes Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington gathers nine bookseller members as volunteers to judge this annual contest, with the winners often times propelling into much greater national attention.
The popular award goes to five authors out of the over 200 books by NW authors that were submitted. Without further ado here’s the list:
The Big Burn – by Timothy Egan (Seattle, WA)
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From what I could find (please contact me if you have an event you would like me to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of January 9, 2010 through January 15, 2010 are:
Saturday January 9-
William Stafford Celebratory Reading (Tigard Public Library, @2:00pm): Join us for an afternoon of stories about William Stafford and readings of his poems, as well as the works of four local poets. Bring your own favorite Stafford poem to read, your memories of Stafford or ways he influenced you and your work, as well as a poem of your own to read. The featured readers are: Co-hosts Bill Siverly and Michael McDowell, Robert Davies, Melanie Green, Donna Henderson, and David Oates.
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Earlier today Literary Arts announced the recipients of the 2009 Oregon Literary Fellowships, as well as the endowment of a new fellowship to serve the Oregon poetry community.
Out of 300 applicants, the fellowships and accompanying $2500 grant were awarded to:
Poetry
Jae Choi, The C Hamilton Bailey Fellowship
Fiction
Emily Chenoweth of Portland
Margaret Malone of Portland, Friends of the Lake Oswego Library William Stafford Fellowship
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After finishing 10th place last year, Portland has jumped up to 6th in the annual “Most Literate City” study conducted by Dr. John Miller out of Central Connecticut University. A strong ranking in the “Booksellers” (we love our indie bookstores) and “Education” (yay we are smart) categories, was offset by a poor showing in the “Publications” (what we lack in quantity we make up for with quality) and “Newspapers” (damn bloggers…) categories. An average showing in the “Internet” (we get dinged for actually buying books from bookstores) and “Libraries” (our library system is anything but average) categories rounded out the selection process.
Seattle came in first, with Washington D.C., Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta rounding out the top five. It’s nice to see that Reading Local has set up shop in three of the top six most literate cities, and a bit surprising that Chicago (the remaining Reading Local city) came in at 30 on this list. You can see Dr. Miller’s methodology for determining these rankings here.
Maybe over time Reading Local will need to leverage our knowledge of the cities we cover to develop our own most literate city study…
From what I could find (please contact me if you have an event you would like me to add to this or future schedules), the local book events for the week of December 14, 2009 through December 20, 2009 are:
Monday December 14-
Greg Mortenson – Stones Into Schools (Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, @7:00pm, SOLD OUT): Since the 2006 publication of Three Cups of Tea, Mortenson has traveled across the U.S. and the world to share his vision with hundreds of thousands of people. He has met with heads of state, top military officials, and leading politicians who all seek his advice and insight.
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Publishers Weekly has spearheaded an effort to have tomorrow (11-7) serve as National Bookstore Day. They are encouraging indie bookstores across the nation to participate by holding one day promotional events including: raffles, giveaways, discounts, prize baskets, and other ideas.
The Publishers Weekly website shows three Oregon bookstores partaking in the festivities: Third Street Books in McMinnville, Grass Roots Books & Music in Corvallis, and Portland’s St. John’s Booksellers who is having a “buy 2 get 1 free sale.” I’m sure that every other Portland (and Oregon) bookstore would enjoy you celebrating National Bookstore Day at their store as well.
So use this as an excuse to get some early Christmas shopping taken care of for that book lover in your life, or just as a way to celebrate all that neighborhood bookstores bring to our communities.
The Nature of Words, Central Oregon’s Premier Literary Event, officially started their “long-weekend” of events last night with the Rising Star Creative Writing Competition Awards & Reception. It continues tonight with guest author readings and signings with Karen Karbo, Matthew Dickman, and Sherman Alexie at Bend’s Tower Theatre.
Tomorrow’s (11-6) events include Sherman Alexie Unplugged (which I’ve heard is quite an experience), several guest author workshops, and another reading and signing event this time with Valzhyna Mort, Seth Kantner, Kim Stafford, Jane Kirkpatrick. Workshops and other events continue through the weekend, and the event culminates with a reading by Charles Goodrich and an Open Mic for workshop participants and the community at the Bend Public Library.
Check out the website for the full schedule of events, further details, and pricing.
I would like to send out a big Reading Local congratulations to the winners of the 2009 Oregon Book Awards, which are listed below. Check out Jeff Baker’s wrap up of the “surprises and emotions” at this years announcements.
KEN KESEY AWARD FOR FICTION
Jon Raymond of Portland, Livability: Stories (Bloomsbury)
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