• April 1, 2024
          Finalists reading: Creative Nonfiction, Fiction and Poetry
          April 3, 2024
          One Page Wednesday: APRIL
          April 4, 2024
          Everybody Reads 2024: Gabrielle Zevin
          April 8, 2024
          2024 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony
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Community News

In the Community: Upcoming Online Literary Events and Connections

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.

MISS A PORTLAND BOOK FESTIVAL EVENT?

Watch the replay of any free event in our Portland Book Festival Video Library

Simply register for a free account to view. To request closed captioning on any video in the library, email la@literary-arts.org or call us at 503-227-2583, option 2.

From Body of Work: Souvankham Thammavongsa & Lidia Yuknavitch

VIRTUAL FESTIVALS

Bay Area Book Fest

Ongoing | Free and online

Wisconsin Book Festival

Ongoing | Free and online

Wordplay (The Loft)

Wordplay 2020 is over, but you can still access all of our virtual events on the schedule page! Wordplay 2021 will be happening in early May.

Black Mountain Institute

Black Mountain Institute will be running virtual programming all year long. Watch replays of WestXMidwest and Black Talk, Black Feeling in the PDXBookFest.org Video Library.

RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR WRITERS

How to Pitch Electric Literature
December 14 | 6:00 p.m. EST | $10
In our virtual salon, How to Pitch Electric Literature, Electric Lit editors share best practices, common mistakes, and everything else you need to craft a pitch-perfect pitch that’s sure to grab an editor’s attention, with Literature editor-in-chief Jess Zimmerman and contributing editor Jennifer Baker.

MASS MoCA Fellowship for Writers of Color
Deadline: January 8
This fellowships shall be awarded to one writer working in English in any genre who self-identifies as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color. The fellowship funds all residency fees for up to four weeks in residence.

We Need Diverse Books Emergency Fund
We Need Diverse Books have recently updated their eligibility criteria so that even more diverse creatives can apply during this challenging time. Grant amounts range from $500–$1,000.

Authors League Fund
The Authors League Fund provides assistance in times of emergency, when a writer is struggling to afford necessities. Recipients of Authors League Fund assistance must be career writers with a substantial body of work.

Dramatist’s League Foundation
DGF provides emergency financial assistance to individual playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists in dire need of funds due to severe hardship or unexpected illness.


FOR KIDS/TEENS

Latinx KidLit Book Festival

December 4—5
With over 150 authors and illustrators, this is sure to be the largest celebration of the love of Latinx children’s books ever.

Penguin Random House Creative Writing Awards Program in Partnership with We Need Diverse Books
Deadline: March 2, 2021
Calling all high school seniors attending a public high school in the United States! We Need Diverse Books and Penguin Random House are happy to announce that submissions are open for the 2021 Creative Writing Awards, a scholarship program dedicated to furthering the education of students with unique and diverse voices.
Youth Power PDX: Speak Up Sing Out

Youth Power PDX is a youth-run collective, centering BIPOC and queer (LGBTQ+) stories and voices through the crossroads of story, music, visual art and activism. Speak Up Sing Out, a youth directed event where youth arts, activism and discussions come together to uplift and empower youth action. Youth poets (BIPOC and LGTBQ to the front) to recite their poetry and talk about issues that are important to them. Stipends range from $10—$50 dollars, apply via their website. 

I Matter Poetry Contest: National Youth Foundation

Deadline: July 23, 2021
The contest is open to students in grades K—12. Submit one poem on the topic of Black Lives Matter here. Top prize is $500!

The Youth Passion Project

The Youth Passion Project creates a space where high school students can share their passions with others by offering free, online courses taught by high schoolers to encourage younger students to expand and supplement their learning. Classes range from Songwriting to Introduction to Coding in Java. 

Stumptown Stages Young Artist Program

A Midsummer Night’s Dream: An Original Adaptation
November 12—December 6 | Ages 8 & up | Online
Tickets start at $20
Journey through a wooded Fairyland where the powers of magic, mischief, and love rule. This abridged version of Shakespeare’s comedy comes to life in a brand new way, blending classic English literature with Indian dance and culture, featuring an all-youth cast. 

Les Misérables Virtual Student Auditions
December 5–13 (new dates may be added)
Grades 9–12 & ages 7–9
Stumptown Stages Director of Education and Les Misérables cast member alum Jim Charles is seeking 40 students from around the country for an all-youth performance of Les Misérables.

WHAT WE’RE READING

Unzipped: Nic Anstett x Anna Baldi (7×7)

Amyn had described wearing a wrapper to Kala in hundreds of ways, but the word that she remembered hearing most often was “electric.” An electric: bathing, blanketing, birthing, blowing. She’d half expected to utter some sort of tingling, orgasmic moan as Amyn zipped her into her new skin in the changing room, but instead there was numbness and chafing.”

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