BOOKS—Joy Williams is the beloved author of countless short stories, and at age 71, she’s still cranking out elegant prose on the shortcomings of American life in her newest collection, The Visiting Privilege. The celebrated writer is darkly funny, which will make her conversation with Swamplandia! novelist Karen Russell for this reading all the better. COURTNEY FERGUSON
Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside, #10;7:30 pm, FREE
FILM—Earlier this year, the trailer for the Whitey Bulger biopic Black Mass was released, containing the best performance Johnny Depp’s given in the last 15 years. And that was just the trailer. Imagine a whole movie‘s worth of that creepy, dead-eyed malevolence. Or don’t imagine it, actually. Go see it. BOBBY ROBERTS
Various theaters, see Film Times at portlandmercury.com/filmtimes