Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland and beyond. Let us know in the form below the blog if you have any events or news to share.
EVENTS
An Evening of Physics and Philosophy with Award-Winning Cosmologist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein (OMSI)
Monday, April 20, 7:00–9:00 p.m. | McMenamins Mission Theater, 1624 NW Glisan St Portland, OR 97209 | $0-20
A special Science Pub lecture in concert with the release of Dr. Prescod-Weinstein’s newest book, The Edge of Space-Time: Particles, Poetry, and the Cosmic Dream Boogie.
National Poetry Month! Freewrite: In-Person Writing Circle (Write Around Portland)
Wednesday, April 22, 6:00–8:00 p.m. | Dovetail Cellars 404 E Evergreen Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98660 | $25–75
Create and share poetry in this all-levels writing circle during National Poetry Month! Enjoy guided prompts and strengths-based feedback in the relaxed atmosphere of Dovetail Cellars. Charcuterie, wine, and nonalcoholic drinks will be available for purchase!
Portland in Color Spring Features Opening Reception (Portland in Color)
Thursday, April 23, 7:00–9:00 p.m. | Portland’5 Centers for the Arts, 1111 SW Broadway, Portland, OR 97205 | Sliding Scale
Portland in Color is partnering with Portland’5 to highlight the work and experiences of local artists Bint Bandora, Ines Paulina Ramirez, and Zoë Gamell Brown. In addition to their feature interviews on their website, their portraits and work will be on exhibit at Portland’5 Centers for the Arts from April 23 to May 10, with an opening reception with the artists on Thursday, April 23rd from 6-8 pm.
VOICES: BIPOC Adoptees Author Reading (BIPOC Adoptees)
Thursday, April 23, 7:00–9:00 p.m. | Alberta Abbey, 126 NE Alberta St, Portland, OR 97211 | Sliding Scale
Join us for a powerful evening featuring five BIPOC adoptee authors sharing their work and engaging in conversation. More than a reading, this event creates space for storytelling, connection, and empowerment—reclaiming narratives that are often overlooked or overshadowed. Through spoken word and discussion, we aim to elevate adoptee voices, challenge dominant cultural narratives, and build community.
Revolutionary Hillbilly: Hy Thurman in Conversation with James Tracy (Revolutions Books)
Friday, April 24, 7:00 p.m. | Revolutions Books, 8713 N Lombard St., Portland | FREE
Thurman—co-founder of Chicago’s Young Patriots Organization and author of Revolutionary Hillbilly: Notes from the Struggle on the Edge of the Rainbow—helped organize poor and working-class Southern white migrants in Chicago into an anti-racist force in the late 1960s. The Young Patriots built free health programs, breakfast for children initiatives, and fought police brutality and urban displacement. Alongside the Black Panther Party and the Puerto Rican Young Lords, they formed the original Rainbow Coalition, a groundbreaking experiment in multiracial organizing. Thurman will be in conversation with James Tracy, author of Hillbilly Nationalists (Melville House Publishing) and No Fascist USA! (City Lights/Open Media).
Tough Shit with Oregon Humanities (PAM Cut)
Friday, April 24, 7:00–9:00 p.m. | PAM CUT’s Tomorrow Theater, 3530 SE Division St, Portland, OR 97202 | $15
Tough Shit is an onstage conversation about the most challenging questions Portlanders are facing. We’ll bring together four people with very different experiences of and perspectives on the city to talk through some shit with help from the audience and a moderator. The questions will be tough, and this shit will not be resolved in one night; We expect to leave with more questions than answers, plus some renewed hope for the future. And if not, well….
The conversation will be moderated by Adam Davis of Oregon Humanities, and speakers will be announced soon!
Rockaway Writers Rendezvous 2026
(Neah-Kah-Nie Coast Art, Music & Cultural Foundation)
Friday, April 24 through Sunday, April 26 | Rockaway Beach, OR | $25
The 4th annual ROCKAWAY WRITERS RENDEZVOUS 2026 features a full day of workshops and a keynote, two evening open mic performances, writing and visual art contests, winners published in annual Anthology. Spend the weekend in Rockaway Beach to be inspired by and network with like-minded creatives with a wide range of experience. See website for contest rules and complete schedule. All proceeds benefit the Neah Kah Nie High School Scholarship Fund for students pursuing careers in the arts!
Consider This Watch Party: Labor, Farmworker Organizing, and Histories of Indigenous Communities in Oregon (Oregon Humanities)
Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 p.m. | (Willamette University) Putnam University Center, 935 Mill St. SE, Salem OR 97301 | FREE
Join the Office of Civic Engagement at Willamette University for a watch party of our Consider This conversation Labor, Farmworker Organizing, and Histories of Indigenous Communities in Oregon, streamed live from Mt. Angel.
Collage and Freewrite: In-Person Writing and Crafting Circle (Write Around Portland)
Saturday, May 16, 1:00–3:00 p.m. | BOLD Coffee & Books, 1755 SW Jefferson St, Portland, OR 97205 | $40–80
Create small collages from a collection of provided images, paper, and assorted media! Start each collage process with a moment of generative writing to get you thinking about the colors, textures, and scenes you’ll be handling for your artwork. Flex your skills in sensation and imagery by trying something tactile and new! This 2-hour session is balanced in both art and (literary) craft. Enter a creative flow (and stay in it!) as each activity you do seamlessly leads to the next. All supplies and materials are provided.
McMenamins Great Northwest Author Tour Willy Vlautin with the Delines (McMenamins)
Thursday, May 21, 8:00 p.m. | McMenamins Mission Theater, 1624 Northwest Glisan Street Portland, OR | $24
A night of stories and music with Willy Vlautin and The Delines. Vlautin reads from his latest novel The Left and the Lucky with music performed by The Delines from the soundtracks for The Left and the Lucky and The Night Always Comes.
Tributaries Writing Retreat (Write Around Portland)
May 28–May 31 | Menucha Retreat and Conference Center, Historic Columbia River Hwy, Corbett, OR 97019
We’re excited to announce a new partnership with Write Around Portland to offer a creative writing program at Menucha. This transformative experience taps the healing energy of our retreat setting, allowing participants to explore personal growth through writing in community. No writing experience required! Only a desire to put pen to paper, allowing the words to tell a story, describe the beauty of the surroundings, or process your thoughts. Write Around Portland’s skilled facilitator will help participants create a space in which you’ll be able to unlock your creativity, build or maintain a writing practice, and get some writing done. The retreat will consist of writing, sharing (as desired, not required), and giving strengths-based feedback to each other. You’ll also have time for walks, shorts hikes, observing nature. Menucha is home to lots of moss, birds, old-growth trees and views that let you take a long look down the Columbia River Gorge.
CLASSES AND WORKSHOPS
ArtWrite (Artist’s Rep)
First Sunday of the Month, 11:00 a.m. | Artists Rep, 1515 SW Morrison St. Portland, OR 97219 | FREE
Introducing a new monthly meet-up hosted by Artists Rep in partnership with the Dramatists Guild. Facilitated by E.M. Lewis and Sara Jean Accuardi. A little bit of writing, a little bit of sharing, a lot of connecting with other playwrights.
Resonate: A BIPOC Writing Circle (Write Around Portland)
2nd & 4th Thursdays of the month | 4:00–5:30 p.m. | Online via Zoom
Led by a Write Around Portland facilitator of color, Resonate consists of writing, sharing, and giving strengths-based feedback to each other. No preparation or experience in writing is required! Resonate is a great way to unlock your creativity, build or maintain a writing practice, and get some writing done! REGISTER HERE.
Prompt at Powell’s City of Books – Creative Writing Class (Write Around Portland)
Wednesdays, April 8–May 27, 6:00–8:00 p.m. | Powell’s City of Books 1005 W Burnside St, Portland, OR 97209 | $295
Prompt is an 8-week writing group full of freewriting, listening, and strengths-based feedback, hosted behind-the-scenes at Powell’s City of Books! With accountability and community built in – as well as a huge selection of books for inspiration – you’ll be sure to come away with tons of new ideas.
First Fruit: Origin Story Explorations & Experimentations w/ Charity Yoro (Corporeal Writing)
April 12, 10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom | $33
From the cultural to the cosmic, one’s origin story can be one of personal, historical, or universal significance—and one that can also be, for many reasons, a tender place from which to write. “maybe ain’t no home,” Nate Marshall writes, “except for how your beloveds cuss or pray or pronounce.” As writers with control, if not of our individual or collective stories of origin, at least our respective narratives of them, what might we excavate from the process of (re)writing our histories, mythologies? In this two-hour generative workshop, we will explore our own origin stories, drawing inspiration from poets such as Jenny Xie, Sarah Ghazal Ali, Rick Barot, Nate Marshall, and others, and moving through guided exercises in sensory writing, naming (reclaiming), etymology play, and more.
The Ripple Effect: Writing with the film The Chronology of Water (Corporeal Writing)
Friday, April 24, 12:00–2:00 p.m. | Online via Zoom | $75
This will be a generative creative lab over Zoom. We will be writing, excavating, and there will be some opportunities for brief sharing. Please note this will not be a Q&A. Let’s see what portals might be opened up for us when we write together.
RESOURCES & OPPORTUNITIES FOR ARTISTS AND WRITERS
Backwaters Prize in Poetry (University of Nebraska Press)
Deadline: May 1, 2026
Entry fee: $32
Award: $2,000
The winner will be awarded a $2,000 cash prize and the honorable mention will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize. Both winners will be awarded the publication of their book by the University of Nebraska Press under its imprint, The Backwaters Press. The judge for the 2026 contest is Diane Seuss.
Montreal International Poetry Prize (Poetry Foundation)
Deadline: May 1, 2026
Entry fee: $18
Award: $20,000 (CAD)
The Montreal International Poetry Prize is committed to encouraging the creation of original works of poetry, to building international readerships, and to exploring the world’s Englishes. The Montreal Prize awards one prize of $20,000 CAD to a poet for a single poem of forty or fewer lines. A jury of internationally reputed poets and critics selects a shortlist of approximately sixty poems, from which a judge chooses one winner. The shortlist is published in The Montreal Poetry Prize Anthology.
Autumn Online Workshop (McCormack Writing Center)
Deadline: June 3, 2026
Our Speculative Online Workshop features industry panels, craft lectures, generative writing sessions, agent meetings, affinity groups, social hours, and, of course, online karaoke.
FOR KIDS & TEENS
Children’s Storytime (Bold Coffee & Books)
Saturdays from 11:00–11:30 a.m. | Bold Coffee & Books, 1755 SW Jefferson St, Portland, OR 97205 | FREE
Whether an author is here to read their book or our staff is reading a favorite, we’ll feature stories that spread compassion, awareness, and positivity. Children will get a coloring page or sticker to take home too!
Forest Storytime (World Forestry Center)
Wednesday, April 1, 11:30–12:00 p.m. | World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road, Portland, OR 97221 | $8+
On the first Wednesday of the month, join us in the Discovery Museum’s reading nook for Forest Stories. A storytime dedicated to forests and forest-themed books that connect adults and children and engage the imagination. Coloring pages are also available.
Little Nestlings Welcomes Author Nora Ericson (Little Nestlings Early Learning Center)
Saturday, April 4, 10:00–11:00 a.m. | Little Nestlings Early Learning Center, 19200 Willamette Drive West Linn, OR 97068 | FREE
Nora will read her delightful picture book The Bunny Ballet, a joyful story about friendship, imagination, and dancing bunnies. After the reading, families will have the opportunity to purchase copies of the book and have them signed by the author. Children are invited to stay and enjoy bunny-themed activities inspired by the story.
Weekly Bubbles + Books Storytime and Play (Literacy Kids)
Wednesday, April 8, 3:30–4:30 p.m. | Literacy Kid Lounge + Bookshop, 2200 SE Oak Grove Blvd, Oak Grove, OR 97267 | $14+
Join Literacy Kids Lounge + Bookshop for story, music and movement and play at the Literacy Kid Lounge + Bookshop. This is a weekly drop in event with tickets required. If you have ever wanted to be part of a playgroup, but cant commit, this is for you!
Family Pictures Presents: THE WILD ROBOT (Hollywood Theatre)
Sunday, April 12, 3:00 p.m. | Literacy Kid Lounge + Bookshop, 2200 SE Oak Grove Blvd, Oak Grove, OR 97267 | $9+
After surviving a shipwreck, a robot named Roz (Lupita Nyong’o) lands on an island inhabited by wild animals. Roz discovers her capacity for empathy when she meets an orphaned baby goose and starts raising him. This modern day children’s classic blends contemporary themes of technology with a timeless message of caring for your community and staying true to yourself. The film is based on the popular children’s book series written by Peter Brown and features a voice cast including Pedro Pascal, Catherine O’Hara, and Mark Hamill.
The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical (Up Theater)
April 8–19 | Mago Hunt Theater, Theater and Recital Hall, 5000 N Willamette Blvd, Portland, OR 97203 | $20
Demigod Percy Jackson has always struggled with fitting in. When his single mom must send him where she can’t follow, he ends up at a summer camp for kids like him – half Greek god, half mortal. Joined by a daughter of Athena trying to prove her worth and a satyr trying to make up for past tragedies, the trio journeys into the underworld and back to reclaim Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt and stop a war between the gods. With a whole host of mythological creatures chasing after them, can these unlikely heroes shoulder the fate of the world? Maybe Percy can finally find a place where he belongs…if he doesn’t die first. This electric coming-of-age story will resonate with anyone who’s had trouble finding the courage to stand strong in a world full of monsters.
Earth Day themed Weekly Bubbles + Books Storytime and Play (Literacy Kids)
Wednesday, April 22, 3:30–4:30 p.m. | Literacy Kid Lounge + Bookshop, 2200 SE Oak Grove Blvd, Oak Grove, OR 97267 | $14+
This is a special Earth Day event collab with A+ Events and Childcare.
IN THE NEWS
Portland’s Renée Watson wins Newbery Medal for ‘All the Blues in the Sky’ (Oregon ArtsWatch)
RECOMMENDED READING
Prepare Your Shelves: Spring 2026 New Releases | (Multnomah County Library)
One Book One Coast: They Called Us Enemy | (Multnomah County Library)
Staff Picks | (The Literary Arts Bookstore)
Community News Submissions
Let us know if you have any events, news to share, or opportunities for writers for the In the Community blog and we will consider adding it to the next blog post!
