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Featured Events
The Moth Mainstage in Portland
Tuesday, December 10, 2019
Everybody Reads 2020: Tommy Orange
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Portland Book Festival
Claim your Friend of the Festival Tickets now to ensure a VIP experience on November 9! The Festival author lineup will be announced on September 5.
Friend of the Festival Tickets
Portland Book Festival Writing Workshops
Festival admission is included in your tuition
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Writing Classes
Join a community of writers who are serious about their craft. Our writing classes for adults are taught by talented working writers, many of them Oregon Book Awards authors. Classes are small and focused on accomplishing specific writing goals in a supportive and welcoming setting.
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Fall 2019: November Writer of Color Sunday Morning Workshop
Sunday, November 17
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
$15.00
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levels
Searching for a space to create new work with fellow writers of color? This two-hour workshop meets once a month on Sundays. Writers can register for one or more sessions. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.Read More- Sold Out
Fall 2019: November Writer of Color Sunday Afternoon Workshop
Sunday, November 17, 2019
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
$15.00
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levelsRead More- Sold Out
Fall 2019: December Writer of Color Sunday Morning Workshop
Sunday, December 8, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
$15.00
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levels
Searching for a space to create new work with fellow writers of color? This two-hour workshop meets once a month on Sundays. Writers can register for one or more sessions. A variety of prompts will be presented as avenues for generating and sharing new work in an informal setting. Open to writers of color at all levels writing in poetry, fiction, or nonfiction. You can also bring your own prompts and questions about the writing process, and explore them with the group.Read More
Fall 2019: December Writer of Color Sunday Afternoon Workshop
Sunday, December 8, 2019
12:30 to 2:30 p.m.Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
$15.00
Instructor: Emilly Prado
For writers of color at all levels
Fall 2019: Memoir and Memory: A Generative Intensive
December 14 & December 15, 2019
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.(two sessions)Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
$175.00
Instructor: Emilly Prado
Winter 2020: Building A Writing Habit
January 5 – February 9, 2020
$275.00
Sundays, 10 a.m. to noon (6 class meetings)
Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Kristina Tate
For writers at all levels- Sold Out
Winter 2020: Writing a Novel in 8 Weeks
January 6 – March 2 (no meeting February 3)
$365.00
Mondays, 7:00 p.m. –9:00 p.m. (8 sessions)
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Emily Chenoweth
For dedicated writers with some experience
Limited to 10 studentsRead More
Winter 2020: Elements of Story
January 11–February 15, 2020
Sundays, 10:00 a.m. –12:30 p.m. (six sessions)
Instructor: Zulema Summerfield
for writers with some experienceThis workshop is ideal for writers with an early draft of a story, an in-progress story that has stalled, or an idea for a story that hasn’t quite found its form. We’ll take in-depth looks at basic elements of craft, from plot and dialogue to point of view and voice, exploring ways to weave these elements into our own work. Each week, we will share our stories in a supportive, creative workshop setting, with an eye towards exploratory revision and eventual publication.
$335.00
Winter 2020: Collisions: Short Story Workshop
January 14–February 18, 2020
Tuesdays, 7:00–9:00 p.m. (six sessions)
Instructor: Josha Nathan
For writers at all levelsIn this fiction workshop, we will explore how to use all manner of combustible collisions, both small and large, as generative fuel. Have a slew of disparate ideas stewing in your brain? We’ll investigate the power of unexpected pairings—how colliding seemingly unrelated images or ideas can spark something entirely original and point your work forward. You will build your own stories and receive the focused attention of a workshop environment. All levels
$275.00
Winter 2020: Memoir Writing: It happened to me and I’m here to tell it
Sundays, January 26 – March 29, 2020 (10 class meetings)
$565.00
2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
All classes meet at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Natalie Serber
For writers with some writing experience
Winter 2020: Exploring the Lyric Essay
February 2-23, 2020
Sundays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (4 class meetings)
Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Miranda Schmidt
For writers at all levels
Instructor: Miranda Schmidt
Limited to 10 studentsA flexible, hybrid form, the lyric essay employs techniques from poetry, nonfiction, and fiction to create a single work. In this workshop, we’ll experiment with lyric essay techniques and structures, read a variety of examples that employ these techniques, and craft our own lyric essays on subjects of our choosing. You will also learn revision techniques you can implement as you continue to work with your pieces after the class has ended.
$275.00
Winter 2020: The Writers’ Gymnasium: The Writing Workout
February 2–23, 2020
$175.00
Sundays, 2:00–4:00 p.m (four sessions)
Instructor: David Ciminello
For writers at all levels
Winter 2020: Grief and the Lyric Essay
February 22nd and 23, 2020
$135.00
Saturday 10:00 a.m. –1:00 p.m.
Sunday 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. (two sessions)
Instructor: Wendy Noonan
For writers at all levels
Winter 2020: Personal Essay Writing 101
February 25-March 24, 2019 (no meeting March 17)
$175.00
Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (4 meetings)
Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Emilly Prado
Winter 2020: Stories of Grief
February 29 – March 28, 2020 (no meeting March 21)
$275.00
Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
Instructor: Wendy Noonan
For writers at all levels
Winter 2020: Collage Your Writing Project: a new way into your work
Saturdays, February 29 and March 7, 2020
$95.00
2:00 to 4:00 p.m.
All classes meet at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Natalie Serber
For writers at all levels
This class includes a $10 materials fee
Winter 2020: Short Story Intensive TWO
March 12-April 16, 2020
$410.00
Thursdays, 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Class meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington.
Instructor: Margaret Malone
Winter 2020: New Ecological Writing
March 8- 29, 2020
$275.00
Sundays, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. (4 class meetings)
Meets at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Miranda Schmidt
For writers at all levels
Instructor: Miranda Schmidt
Limited to 10 students
For writers at all levels.
Winter 2020: Advanced Memoir
Sundays, March 22 – April 26, 2019 (6 class meetings) No meeting April 12
$275.00
10:30 to 12:30 p.m.
All classes meet at Literary Arts, 925 SW Washington
Instructor: Natalie Serber
For dedicated writers with previous workshop experience
Spring 2020: Creating Better Characters
April 5-26, 2020
$175.00
Sundays, 2:00–4:00 p.m (four sessions)
Instructor: David Ciminello
For writers at all levelsDelve Readers Seminars
Delve Readers Seminars engage readers in exploring challenging books in lively discussion-based seminars led by an experienced scholar.
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Oregon Book Awards Submission Fee
Pay the 2020 Oregon Book Award submission fee online. Be sure to indicate the title or titles you are paying the fee for.
Pay online
2019/2020 Portland Arts & Lectures Subscriptions
Please note that the Portland Arts & Lectures series is sold out at ALL LEVELS. Please call our Box Office at 503-227-2583 weekdays with any questions.
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Annual Fund
The generosity of individual donors enables our programs to serve readers and writers. Your donation will help engage readers through our Portland Arts & Lectures series and the Portland Book Festival, support writers through the Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships, and inspire the next generation with great literature through our Youth Programs.
Upcoming Events
Slamlandia
November 21, 2019
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam which meets on the…
Author’s Guild Reception
December 5, 2019
New Authors Guild ambassadors Cai Emmons and Gillian Klucas will be there…
The Moth Mainstage in Portland
December 10, 2019
The Moth returns to Portland this December! This extraordinary performance will sell…
Winter 2020: Fear and Freedom In A Time of Distrust: Zadie Smith and Hunter S. Thompson
January 6, 2020
Mondays, January 6 – February 10, 2020 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. (six…
Everybody Reads 2020: Tommy Orange
March 5, 2020
Literary Arts is proud to host an evening with award-winning author Tommy…
Latest Blog Posts
October 30, 2019
Go to PostThe Portland Book Festival is a glorious, jam-packed day where you’re invited to choose your own adventure. But we know all the choices can be a little overwhelming. To help you plan your Festival day, we’ve curated a few handy…
October 30, 2019
Go to PostThe Portland Book Festival is a glorious, jam-packed day where you’re invited to choose your own adventure. But we know all the choices can be a little overwhelming. To help you plan your Festival day, we’ve curated a few handy…
October 30, 2019
Go to PostThe Portland Book Festival is a glorious, jam-packed day where you’re invited to choose your own adventure. But we know all the choices can be a little overwhelming. To help you plan your Festival day, we’ve curated a few handy…
Featured Lecture from the Archives
Margaret Atwood
November 18, 2019
Go to LectureThis episode of The Archive Project features a conversation recorded live at the Keller Auditorium in Portland, Oregon between Margaret Atwood, acclaimed novelist, poet, literary critic, and activist, and Omar El Akkad. Atwood visited Portland to celebrate the publication of The Testaments, the sequel to her acclaimed dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, which was originally published in 1985. Their conversation spans the length of Atwood’s remarkable career, her diverse range of works, and why she has returned to her seminal story, 34 years later.
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