Books Portland’s annual literary festival, Wordstock, is back and it’s…roughly the same size as ever. For two days, the hallowed halls of the Oregon Convention Center will play host to some 200 vi   More

Featured Stories This Saturday and Sunday, the Oregon Convention Center will be overrun by some 150 novelists, journalists, poets and cartoonists for the 2011 Wordstock book fair. The big names on the marquee inclu   More

News In preparation for Portland's fourth annual Wordstock Festival (Nov. 6-9)—which, by the looks of the roster of writers they've gathered, is gonna kick epic amounts of ass—Willamette Week picked the fertile, fetid minds of a bunch attending novelists, historians, sci-fi writers and critics on everything from their creative process to which wordsmiths they really, really want to beat ...   More

News Each week, WW writer John Minervini brings you the latest in book reviews, author Q&A's and Portland literary gossip. Click here to join the Tome Raider mailing list. When it comes to Wordstock (Nov. 6-9), bibliophiles are spoiled for choice. In fact, the geeky excitement of getting to meet all those novelists, poets, comic artists and other princes of paper is almost matched by the anxiety ...   More

News Each week, WW writer John Minervini brings you the latest in book reviews, author Q&A's and Portland literary gossip. Click here to join the Tome Raider mailing list. “You guys ready to make some babies...with words?” - Derrick Brown, 2nd Round What were you doing last night (Nov. 6) at 9pm? Man, whatever it was, it wasn't half as cool as the Superstar Slam Poetry Competition. ...   More

News Each week, WW writer John Minervini brings you the latest in book reviews, author Q&A's and Portland literary gossip. Click here to join the Tome Raider mailing list. Remember Who Framed Roger Rabbit? The scene where Judge Doom is describing his vision to demolish Toontown and build a giant freeway? Here's a clip to refresh your memory: [youtube XOXDrAk4tpc] Well, imagine that Christopher ...   More

News 3 pm Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Oregon Convention Center: Richard Dawkins fans are a fervent bunch. A bit too fervent. The unusually punctual crowd enveloped the space outside the room in which he hid, signing books for what must have been several hours. While the Wordstock volunteers and staff seemed utterly perplexed at the task of crowd control, the fans in line couldn't care less about ...   More

News Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Aladdin Theater: Instead of trying to sum up the awesome insanity that was the LiveWire Wordstock Extravaganza in a couple short paragraphs, I'd like to instead gift you with a few choice excerpts from the show. Derrik Brown (above), gifted dirty camp song singer, read some extraordinarily bizarre love poetry, challenging the audience to woo their sweethearts by ...   More

News 2 pm Saturday, Oct. 10 at the Oregon Convention Center: Wordstock this year has been a somewhat smaller affair (in a recession, everything recedes), taking up one rather than two of the Convention Center's cavernous event halls. I had arrived early enough on Saturday to catch the charismatic Barry Sanders read a bit of a polemic against the military-industrial complex, had watched kids' author ...   More

News Mayor Sam Adams joked he would have two fewer staff members this morning after the "embarrassing" scene that unfolded last night. Adams said members of his staff assembled high school pictures of him for his appearance on Mortified: Live! – an event at which community members share embarrassing tidbits from their past. This edition of Mortified featured Adams and six other speakers. ...   More