From the Editors

Whew!  Wordstock 2011 has come and gone.  We have a huge pile of books and materials, and hundreds of new friends.  We, the editors of Portland Book Review, would like to thank everybody who came to our booth Saturday and Sunday October 8th and 9th.  You made us feel like a welcome addition to the Portland literary scene, and for those of you who signed up to become reviewers, I hope you have had a chance to respond to Chris Johnson’s email welcoming you to the fold.

On a personal level, I was deeply impressed by how friendly and open of an experience Wordstock is for readers, writers and publishers.  Wordstock is a major literary event, drawing 10,000 plus visitors, and writers of international acclaim, but because of the nature of the experience, there just aren’t any barriers between us.  It was my first Wordstock, either as a participant, or as a festival goer.  I was very impressed with the wide variety of people who visited, and participated in the event.  It’s a warm and inviting convention, filled with like-minded people.  Wordstock attendees love books, and even more so, we love sharing books with one another.

 

From our perspective, Wordstock is about forging connections with the readers, writers and publishers in the Portland area.  Our magazine appears in nearly all of the libraries in the Portland metro area, and in many coffee shops and restaurants in and around the city, and it was our honor to finally get a chance to meet our readers face to face.  For those of you who hadn’t had a chance to meet us, or who up to then, hadn’t read our magazine, it was a chance for us to get the word out. While Portland Book Review is a quarterly publication, our effort to produce the magazine, and publish reviews to our website at www.portlandbookreview.com, or maintain our twitter feed @PDXbookreview, or facebook presence at www.facebook.com/portlandbookreview, is a full time labor of love.  It was gratifying to discover how many of you feel like we do, that Portlanders are passionate about books, and about sharing that experience with others.

Going forward, we have many plans to improve how we reach our readers.  We want to continue to provide quality reviews, whether they are from Portland based authors and publishers, or writers from around the country, or around the world.  It’s our responsibility to try to remain unbiased, but it’s difficult when every time you meet a new book, you want to share your excitement by shouting it from the rooftops.  We’ll do our best.  If you’re reading this, and are thinking about becoming one of our reviewers, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].  We want our readers to feel as connected to us, as we feel connected to you. 

Brad Wright, Executive Editor


I’m the Executive Editor, sometimes it feels like I’ve jumped into the deep end of the pool. Although, embracing this opportunity means jumping in with both feet.
My background is as a teacher, and history buff. I genuinely look forward to getting to those books. I’ve always been a person who loves wandering through book stores. As an Executive Editor, I see my responsibility as being the person who will help the reader make that same trip easier.