Posted by Misha
The Seattle area is host to so many amazing science fiction and fantasy authors, but Portland is, too. Here are some authors that hail from the Portland area aka PDX aka Portlandia aka Timbers territory:
Molly Gloss is a Portland author whose writing spans the genres from science fiction to westerns. Wild Life was a Seattle Reads book in 2002 and won a James Tiptree, Jr. award. Also try The Dazzle of Day.
M. K. Hobson is an Oregon City, Oregon author who writes fantasy. Her debut novel, The Native Star, was nominated for a Nebula Award and is the first in her historical fantasy Veneficas Americana series featuring witches and warlocks.
Nina Kiriki Hoffman is a Eugene, Oregon fantasy author who Jo Walton recently called “the spiritual heir to Zenna Henderson” in a Tor.com blog post. Try Permeable Borders.
Jay Lake is a Portland, Oregon author who writes fantasy and science fiction. Diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, Lake has been sharing his battle with cancer and involvement in clinical trials on his blog. A wake was even convened in 2013 to celebrate his life in advance of his possible death. Try Green and Mainspring.
Ursula K. Le Guin is a Portland, Oregon author and even though I mentioned her before in the Influential Authors post, Le Guin is definitely worth mentioning twice.
Laini Taylor is a Portland, Oregon author with a popular teen fantasy series. Start with Daughter of Smoke & Bone.
Kristine Kathryn Rusch lives on the Oregon Coast and writes science fiction, fantasy, mystery (as Kris Nelscott) and romance (as Kristine Grayson). She has won Hugo Awards for editing and for best novelette. Try Diving into the Wreck and Anniversary Day.
Brent Weeks writes epic fantasy and is most well-known for the Night Angel trilogy. Start with The Way of Shadows.
Kate Wilhelm is a Eugene, Oregon author and writes science fiction, fantasy and mystery. Try Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang and Sleight of Hand. Also, check out her podcast from a reading at the Central Library in 2012.
Daniel H. Wilson is a Portland, Oregon author who uses his degree in robotics engineering in his science fiction. Start with Robopocalypse.
I know I must be missing some great Portland area authors, so feel free to let me know!
Shelf Talk 
wow….more wonderful suggestions Misha….You must be librarian or something. Now….if I only had time to read all those books………:)
Hi Misha! I’m an Associate Producer for a sci-fi themed tattoo reality show filming in the Portland area. I was wondering if you may be willing to post something for your sci-fi enthusiasts about casting for our show? Please contact me back at your convenience. Thanks so much!
Hi Bill, we will contact you privately, thanks for the shout-out.
Brent Weeks, cool. I didn’t know. I was quite excited when I moved here in 2013 about Mary Robinette Kowal, but it turned out she had only just moved months before to the…midwest? (Chicago?) Anyway, I’d love to see who else is in the area, I can name a couple I’ve met:
-Erik Wecks does sci-fi, pro-blogging, runs a number of writing seminars and a monthly writer’s group in Vancouver (across the river). Check him out at: http://erikwecks.com. I’ve enjoyed listening to him speak at the seminars and plan to keep tabs on him. He also started up Story Con, happening in Downtown Vancouver this year (10/18/14) – http://storyconvention.com/
-Jonathon Burgess is a fantasy guy with much to say. I would hazard a guess that he is someone to watch, and he has some pretty good looking covers on his website at: http://jonathonburgess.com
That’s all I got, until I can finish up my own epic fantasy book and start mingling some more. Because once the book is done, I’ll have more time on my hands… Right? Oh…