Each week, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in the literary community. Let us know if you have any events or book news to share.
Virtual Book Festivals
Bay Area Book Festival #UNBOUND
The Bay Area Book Festival will be kicking off the weekend of May 1-3 with a series of world-class live and recorded virtual author programs on the Festival’s YouTube channel. Topics will include voting rights, health and wellness, family and children, and the ways in which art and literature shape our personal and social lives during this crisis. Programming for the launch weekend available here.
SPECIAL EVENT: Coming Together When Things Fall Apart
A Fundraiser for the Bay Area Book Festival
Saturday, May 2, 7:00 p.m.PST
Get tickets
Wordplay Virtual Book Festival (The Loft)
April 6 – May 5, 2020
Author lineup and schedule.
FEATURED EVENT:
Facing Demons featuring Stephanie Danler and Erin Khar
Produced in partnership by The Loft’s Wordplay and the Portland Book Festival
Thursday , May 7, 2020
1:00 p.m. PDT
After receiving international praise for her first novel, Sweetbitter, Stephanie Danler (Stray) knew she should be happy for achieving a lifelong dream, but instead found herself restless and emotionally numb. Realizing this discontent is rooted in the past, she returns to California to face her parents, now debilitated from lifelong addictions, and the traumatic childhood she thought she had left behind. Reflecting on her seemingly picturesque upbringing, Erin Khar (Strung Out: One Last Hit and Other Lies That Nearly Killed Me) recounts her fifteen-year struggle with heroin and the arduous, winding path she took to recovery. Together, they examine their relationships with addictions and the demons they faced to move forward in their lives.
Virtual Events
A Virtual Author Reading with Malaka Gharib (Multnomah County Library)
Thursday, May 7, 2020
5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
A virtual author reading with Malaka Gharib, including a conversation with local writer and artist Sarah Mirk and a chance to ask questions. Malaka Gharib is an editor and digital strategist at National Public Radio. Her first book, I Was Their American Dream, is a graphic memoir that focuses on her experience as a Filipino-Egyptian-American. In a starred review, Kirkus Reviews praised the book as “A heartwarming tribute to immigrant families and their descendants trying to live the American dream.”
Podcasts
Full Contact Nerd focuses on sci-fi, fantasy, and horror authors and can be found at Apple Podcast / Stitcher / Spotify or the website crisalvarez.com. You can also find a monthly list of new sci-fi, fantasy and horror fiction and non-fiction books here.
Activities for Kids & Teens
It’s Storytime! (Multnomah County Library)
While their buildings are closed during this public health pandemic, Multnomah County Library storytime providers are sharing songs, books, rhymes, and more online.
And more…
7 Spectacular Libraries You Can Explore From Your Living Room (Atlas Obscura)
IPRC Instagram
Providing daily and weekly writing, zine, and art prompts.
Get Your Free Library Card Online! (Multnomah County Library)
You can access Multnomah County Library’s electronic resources from home with a new library card today!
Library cards are free to residents of Multnomah County and many nearby areas.
To register for a new Multnomah County Library card online, go to Sign up for a library card on their website and fill out the form with your current information. Read the responsibilities, then click send.
You will receive an email shortly after with your temporary library card number. This number can be used to instantly access e-books, streaming media, and more.
Powell’s Books Cancelled Author Events for April
We cannot see this author events at the moment but we can support them, and Powell’s, by buying their books!
Blog post photo by Jaredd Craig on Unsplash
