Friday April 17, 2026 7:00pm - 8:30pmPDT

Montvale Event Center: Ella's Theater

Every writer knows there’s never one way to tell a story, which makes the writer’s memoir rich for experimentation. We are thrilled to welcome this panel of award-winners and groundbreakers, Tessa Hulls, Mita Mahato, Maya Jewell Zeller, Lauren Westerfield, and Margaret Albaugh, for our Friday night headlining event celebrating memoirs that defy genre. This panel features writers at varying stages of the memoir writing process from drafting and experimenting with forms, to celebrating their debut, to the Pulitzer Prize. These writers all work in many genres and a vast array of mediums including photography, and they will inspire us all with what hybridity makes possible. Whether it's the intergenerational turmoil of Tessa Hulls’ Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Feeding Ghosts, or the shifting landscape of rural American poverty in Maya Jewell Zeller's rhizomatic memoir-in-essays Raised by Ferns—all five of these writers present both their lives and their crafts in genre-defying leaps of literary prowess.

This is a ticketed headlining event ($35 + fees). Tickets will go on sale March 10th and links will be available here and on our website. There will also be a free livestream option available for this event! 

Celebrating the publication of a first book is an exciting milestone in an author’s life, but it’s not always clear how that process happens. Join us for an intimate discussion around a conference table about the ins and outs of publishing your debut! Writers Lauren Westerfield and Ally Ang will lead a casual conversation, telling the story of how their first works came to be and answering any questions you might have about this process. Lauren Westerfield’s first book, Depth Control, a collection of genre-bending essays, was published in 2025 by Unsolicited Press, and Lauren’s debut memoir Woman House was just published this spring. Ally Ang’s Let the Moon Wobble, an honor book for the 2026 Stonewall Book Award, was published by Alice James Books in 2025. This is a great opportunity to learn more about the path to publishing in both poetry and prose! 

Note that this event is free and open to the public, but capacity is limited (20) and attendees should arrive early to guarantee a seat. 

Lauren Westerfield is joined by Kim Young, Eva Recinos, and Chelsea Sutton for a reading and panel discussion. Book signing to follow.

A reading from Lauren Westerfield’s new book, Woman House: Essays and Assemblages, followed by a conversation with Brian Blanchfield.

A book launch for award-winning writer Lauren W. Westerfield. Her new collection of essays, 'Woman House,' is the winner of the 2025 Juniper Prize in Nonfiction. Auntie's Bookstore will sell books.

Lauren Westerfield reads from her new memoir, Woman House: Essays and Assemblages, a compelling and inventive memoir exploring how pain and pleasure are passed down through generations of women. She is joined by Erin Langner, Manager of Editorial Projects at the Frye Art Museum, and Katie Lee Ellison, writer and founder of Nonfiction for No Reason.

Annie Bloom's Books welcomes Northwest author Lauren Westerfield for a reading from her new book Woman House: Essays and Assemblages. Lauren will be in conversation with Portland author Karleigh Frisbie Brogan.