The Chronology of Water, the intensely powerful memoir by local author Lidia Yuknavitch, was a top-ten bestseller at independent bookstores throughout Portland, Oregon in 2011 — and continues to sell and sell.

Besides winning a boatload of awards and recognitions, the book is a finalist for an Oregon Book Award (OBA ceremony is April 23). The book also was one of six books selected for recognition by the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association.

Local bookstore supporter that she is, Lidia has opted to receive her PNBA Award at Broadway Books! Portlanders, come on out on Tuesday, March 6th, at 7 pm for some nosh and celebratory beverages with which to toast Lidia (and her local publisher, Hawthorne Books) and to hear Lidia read from her book. And maybe she’ll tell us just a little bit about her forthcoming novel, due out in the fall.

Come out!

When:Tuesday, March 6th 7:00 PM
What: Lidia Yuknavitch’s Award Ceremony
Where: Broadway Books

Writers! Be on the cutting board edge and participate in SoulPancake’s new “Perspectives” column, WRITERS’ KITCHEN. At the beginning of each month, WRITERS’ KITCHEN curators, Author, Holiday Reinhorn and Editor, Erin Reel will serve up a given “theme” for you to chew on that is vital in one way or another to the writers’ life and process. Get in on the fun!

When: Live now!
What: A new place for writers to gather and share writers’ life recipes
Learn more: SoulPancake Perspectives

Get thee to San Francisco on Valentine’s Day! The popular advice columnist for The Rumpus will reveal his/her secret identity amid fanfare and celebration at the Verdi Club.

The artist currently known as Sugar will be live and in conversation with Rumpus Editor Stephen Elliott, as well as folks whose letters he/she has answered. Music by Pocket Full of Rye and The Yellow Dress. And comedy by the amazing Janine Brito!

Great deals on Sugar mugs and posters, as well as chances to win great prizes in our monthly porn raffle and many other surprises.

$10, cheap! You can’t afford not to go!

When:Tuesday, February 14th 7:00 PM
What: Sugar’s Coming Out Party
Where: The Verdi Club, 2424 Mariposa Street
Buy Tickets!

The latest book by Pacific Northwest writer, Sarah Jio. In the summer of 1942, 21-year-old Anne Calloway, newly engaged, sets off to serve in the Army Nurse Corps on the Pacific island of Bora Bora. More exhilarated by the adventure than she ever was by her predictable fiancé, she is drawn to a mysterious soldier named Westry. Their friendship soon blossoms into something more, and under the thatched roof of a beach bungalow the two share a private world — until they witness a gruesome crime. Westry is suddenly redeployed, and the idyll vanishes into the winds of war. A timeless story of enduring passion, Sarah Jio‘s novel The Bungalow (Plume) chronicles Anne’s determination to discover the truths about life and love that have haunted her for 70 years.

When:Tuesday, February 7th 7:00 PM
What: Sarah Jio reading from her new novel, The Bungalow
Where: Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
Learn more: Powell’s Calendar

Are you ready to publish a novel in 2012? This class is for any and everyone who has a so-called failed, forgotten, or otherwise seemingly intractable (but complete) draft haunting his or her hard drive, ready to be revived. You’ll learn how to honestly assess your manuscript’s big picture issues, including plot, structure, pacing, and character. You’ll also learn a few Jedi mind tricks professional editors use to help authors complete stunning revisions (and catch the attention of agents and publishers). If you’re serious about getting your work out of your head this year and into print (or e-book), 2012′s creative writing kick-off class from Indigo Editing is not to be missed.

When: Saturday, January 28th 10:00 – 11:30 AM
What: Resuscitating the Novel: Bringing Old Work Back to Life
Susan DeFreitas, Indigo Editing & Publications
Cost: $45
More Info: click here

Crow Arts Manor presents:

The Frozen Moment: Contemporary Writers on the Choices that Change Our Lives

Chloe Cadwell, Monica Drake, Brian S. Ellis, Roy Coughlin, and musical guest Curious Hands will be entertaining the masses. Free event with suggested donation of $5. It’s for art, people!

When: Tuesday, January 10th 8:00 PM
What: A reading by some totally hip and cool writers
Where: Blue Monk on Belmont
Learn more: Small Doggies Reading Series

Night of Intentional Ducati with Jackie Shannon Hollis, Julianna Waters, Scott Sparling, Julia Stoops, Jean Hart, Yuvi Zalkow, Sherri Hoffman, Joanna Rose, Stevan Allred & others with special guest emcee Jean Johnson.

When: January 4th 7:00 – 9:00 PM
What: A reading with some of Portland’s best writers.
Where: Blackbird Wine Shop & Atomic Cheese
Learn more: Intentional Ducati

SEDUCTIVE BEGINNINGS: Maximize your gifts. Sell your work. Suzy is leading a 6-week online workshop through LITReactor that promises to give you a diagnostic assignment, followed by a “readout” that analyzes your writing strengths in terms of six major areas: Hook, Plot, Promise, Structure, Character, Voice/ Introduction, POV/tense choice, and Language Mechanics. Each student writer will gain a concrete understanding of what he or she does best (their “differentiator“), and will receive specific directions on what to do to capitalize on those strengths in service to hooking an agent or publisher. $377;  Limited space. SOLD OUT!!!!

When: February 13^th – March 25^th
What: LitReactor Class
Where: Wherever you have wi-fi!
Learn more: click here for the details.

Erin Reel’s Lit Coach interview and Guest Blog piece on simplicity

Oregonian’s Jeff Baker interview and The Canary Review interview

Suzy’s piece in Our Portland Story

…and don’t forget to be part of the conversation on let’s talk about writing