Middle Grade Portland Book Festival
Finding Your Way: Jenn Reese & Renée Watson
Middle school novels of girls caught in the middle between friends, family, and new challenges.
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Events, Classes, and Seminars
Our events, classes, and seminars bring the community together to hear, learn, and discuss the most compelling issues and ideas of our day. We hope you will join us in our downtown Literary Arts space, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.
Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Wading in Waist-High Water: The Lyrics of Fleet Foxes
Join Robin Pecknold, lead singer of Fleet Foxes, in conversation with Brandon Taylor (Filthy Animals). With an introduction by Brandon Taylor, and an afterword by Pecknold, Wading in Waist-High Water is a moving and intimate look at the art of songwriting, the joy of music-making, and what it means to produce meaningful and memorable sound. “There
Portland Book Festival Young Adult
Mysterious Strangers: April Henry & Naz Kutub
One lie, two truths, and three wishes: in these YA novels, our heroes face very different mysteries to be solved. Moderated by Isabelle Ibibo.
Fiction Portland Book Festival
Nightcrawling: Leila Mottley & Mitchell S. Jackson
Leila Mottley discusses her debut novel, which Oprah Winfrey called "A soul-searching portrait of survival and hope," with Mitchell S. Jackson, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Boys & Girls in America: Melissa Febos & Hua Hsu
Melissa Febos discusses her essay collection with OPB's Jenn Chávez; and New Yorker writer Hua Hsu discusses his memoir with OPB's Tiffany Camhi.
Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Inheritance: Ingrid Rojas Contreras & Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe
Captivating new memoirs exploring ancestry, art, and inheritance. Moderated by Sara Ortiz.
Fiction Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Jules Ohman
Jules Ohman pops-up in the Portland Art Museum galleries with her debut novel, Body Grammar. Ohman is paired with the artwork The Sea in Me by Mary Josephson; found in
Poetry Portland Book Festival
Designing Women: Tayi Tibble & Shelley Wong
Celebrate two exciting debut poetry collections. Poem by poem, Tayi Tibble carves out a bold new way of engaging history, of straddling modernity and ancestry, desire and exploitation. Shelley Wong celebrates queer and Asian identity in "shape-shifting poems of becoming and knowing, seeing and being seen" (Electric Lit). Moderated by Alyssa Ogi.
Picture Book Portland Book Festival
Making Picture Books: Cathy Camper, Nora Ericson, Sabrina Moyle, Carrie Tillotson
This event is geared toward anyone who is interested in the process of creating picture books, from readers to potential authors of all ages.
Middle Grade Portland Book Festival
Middle School Is a Horror Movie: Jonathan Hill & Colin Meloy
Anyone who has been to middle school knows it can be like a horror movie. These new novels take that idea to... extremes.
Portland Book Festival
PDX Jazz Presents Cory Limuaco
Cory Limuacoe throws his full self into every performance, whether that’s working in the cosmic realm of Mae.Sun, blending neo-soul and fusion as a member of greaterkind, backing up superstar rapper Aminé, or deconstructing jazz and pop favorites with his own ensemble.
Poetry Portland Book Festival
Reconstruction: Eloisa Amezcua & Courtney Faye Taylor
These two poetry collections use visual form and experimentation in language to explore very different subjects: boxing and marriage, racial violence and Black womanhood. Moderated by Anis Mojgani, Oregon poet laureate.
Picture Book Portland Book Festival
Making Picture Books: Vera Ahiyya, Margaret Chiu Greanias, Dane Liu, Tammi Sauer
This event is geared toward anyone who is interested in the process of creating picture books, from readers to potential authors of all ages.
Portland Book Festival Young Adult
Unlikely Allies: Emiko Jean & Casey McQuiston
Two superstars of both adult and young adult fiction on stage together! From a royal wedding to prom and graduation, our heroines team up with unlikely allies as they seek to make things right in Tokyo and small-town Alabama, respectively. Moderated by Jules Ohman.
Middle Grade Poetry Portland Book Festival
Think Out Loud: The Door of No Return
"Absolutely spellbinding: Kwame Alexander weaves together storytelling, poetry, music and history like no one else can. An unforgettable journey to be treasured and shared across generations.”—Rick Riordan, NYT bestselling author of the Percy Jackson series
Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
An American Martyr in Persia: Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan share the story of Howard Baskerville, whose story is widely known in Iran but mostly unknown in the United States. Aslan will be interviewed by Andrew Proctor.
Fiction Poetry Portland Book Festival
Still Life: John Freeman & Meng Jin
Poet John Freeman and short story writer Meng Jin explore the isolation and search for connection of the past few years. Moderated by Mindy Nettifee.
Cover to Cover Free Events
PBF Cover to Cover: This Is Portland: An Evening of Poetry & Music
This is Portland brings together creativity across medium, making for a multi-genre experiential performance. Words will be the backbone, with multiple local writers taking the mic to share short-form work.
Cover to Cover Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service
The live presentation of the book "SPEKTRUM" is a tea service that occurs in small rooms across the country.
Cover to Cover Free Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Mapping Home: An Evening with Corporeal Writing & Autofocus Lit
Join Corporeal Writing and Autofocus Lit for an inspiring evening of reading! Featuring performances from Yashwina Canter, Ingrid Rojas Contreras, Marissa Korbel, Ryan Rivas, Marisa Siegel, and Kristen Millares Young. Hosted by Genevieve Hudson.
Cover to Cover Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service
The live presentation of the book "SPEKTRUM" is a tea service that occurs in small rooms across the country.
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Classes
The Unique Art of Autofiction
This is a three-hour, one-day intensive discussion on the unique genre of autofiction. This course will provide insight into the many nuances of autofiction, or autobiographical fiction. This “genre” involves writing that is based on real life experiences, but also utilizes fictional literary devices, makingit a very unique form. I will provide craft essays and
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Classes
Writing Food
Explore the role of food in storytelling, and how it can shape, define, and give insight into our characters’ deeper desires. Particpants will examine the language of food, and talk about how hunger translates across unsaid emotions. Drawing upon sensory texts about snacking, groceries, and meals both extravagant and humble, we’ll learn new ways to
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Classes
“The Most Important Element”: Plot in Literary Fiction
“Plot-driven” has become a code word for commercial (aka “lesser”) fiction. But plot has always been what defines a good story. In this workshop, we will examine the centrality of plot in narrative, from Aristotle down to contemporary literary fiction. We will also explore the essential characteristics of a great plot and the rewards of
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Classes
Kick-Start Your Picture Book
This class will take you from idea to rough draft in four hours. Picture books are so much more than stories with short text for young readers. We’ll study the picture book form, then construct stories in picturebook form, playing with powerful tools such as repetition, suspenseful page turns, and the rule of threes. You
Cover to Cover Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Film & Discussion: Art and Krimes by Krimes with Mitchell S. Jackson
Join us for a film screening and discussion with author, Mitchell S. Jackson.
Cover to Cover Free Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Write a Renga, Save the World
Renga is a form of collaborative Japanese poetry whereby multiple poets create and respond in turn. Join our group of poets from Portland and abroad for an afternoon of renga writing that examines some of today's most pressing concerns - bodily autonomy, religious extremism, and imminent environmental ruin.
Cover to Cover Free Events Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Voices Like Thunder: An afternoon of poetry with the Native Arts and Cultures Foundation
Join us for the release of NACF’s first published anthology "The Larger Voice - Celebrating Native Arts and Cultures Foundation Literature Fellows."
Cover to Cover Free Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Tin House Autumn Workshop Showcase
Join Tin House as they celebrate their Autumn Workshop faculty with an evening of readings and merriment. Featured readers will include Carolina De Robertis, Lydia Kiesling, Kimberly King Parsons, and Morgan Talty. Please note that masks will be required.
Cover to Cover Free Events
PBF Cover to Cover: Lit-Mondo
Lit-Mondo is an improv comedy show inspired by prose, poetry, and other writing by local and traveling authors. A team of experienced improv comedians listen to short readings by authors and pull from the themes and ideas in their work to create hilarious original comedy scenes on the spot!
Cover to Cover Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service
The live presentation of the book "SPEKTRUM" is a tea service that occurs in small rooms across the country.
Cover to Cover Ticketed Events
PBF Cover to Cover: SPEKTRUM Tea Service
The live presentation of the book "SPEKTRUM" is a tea service that occurs in small rooms across the country.
Fall 2023 online class Portland Book Festival Writing Class
The Art of the Novella
The novella has its own parameters, intricacies, and rewards. Together we’ll look at the novella’s histories, jewels, origins, and how its varying structures still feed into the overall design. Students can use this experience to either enhance their own novellas, or learn more about this fascinating literary form.
online class Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
Writing About Animals
How and why do we write about non-human animals, and how might we write about them in new ways? Through discussion, short readings, and writing exercises, we will explore varying approaches to writing about other species in our time of mass extinction and global warming. No experience necessary.
Fall 2023 online class Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
STYLE AND THE SENTENCE
When it comes to writing short fiction and novels, the ideas we’ve absorbed about narrativizing from our outside lives often don’t apply. Even the most thrilling story, if written without a reverence to form, loses its audience quickly. In this seminar on literary style, we’ll study the most minute of authorial choices, coming to understand how subjectivity comes through on the subconscious level of the sentence.
Fall 2023 online class Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
Writing Deliciously: The Poetry of Food Writing
Together, we will delve into the intimate sensory memories that food evokes. How can writing about food open up evocative spaces of comfort, family, memory, shared rituals, and desires? How can writing through and about food radically strengthen our communities and open up our creative craft?
Fall 2023 In-person Poetry Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
Revising Poems
Bring one or two of your most promising poems-in-process, and we will work through ways to make them more like what they want to be. This will not be a critique session, but a workshop in generative revision.
Portland Book Festival Ticketed Events
Portland Book Festival
Portland Book Festival will return to the Portland Art Museum and neighboring venues on Saturday, November 4, 2023. This daylong event features author discussions, pop-up readings, writing workshops for youth and adults, kids’ story time, an extensive book fair, local food trucks, and more! Learn more at pdxbookfest.org
Portland Book Festival Ticketed Events
Viet Thanh Nguyen: A Man of Two Faces
Viet Thanh Nguyen will be joined in conversation with Tommy Orange. This is a special event at Portland Book Festival which requires an add-on ticket to attend. With insight, humor, formal invention, and lyricism, in A Man of Two Faces Viet Thanh Nguyen rewinds the film of his own life. He expands the genre of personal memoir by acknowledging
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Class Young Adult Youth Events
Writing Poetry From Art (Grades 9-12)
In this workshop, we’ll discover parallels between visual and written art, and use pieces in the museum collection to inspire poetry.
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Class Young Adult Youth Events
Ekphrastic Worldbuilding (Grades 9-12)
In this workshop, we'll learn how to build a fictional world and add texture to imaginary settings.
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Class Young Adult Youth Events
Narrative and Social Justice Storytelling (Grades 9-12)
In this workshop, we’ll learn journalistic storytelling techniques and explore how they can be used to cover social justice stories.
Portland Book Festival Ticketed Events
Michael Lewis: Going Infitinite
This is a special event at Portland Book Festival which requires an add-on ticket to attend. From the #1 best-selling author of The Big Short and Flash Boys, the story of FTX’s spectacular collapse and the enigmatic founder at its center. When Michael Lewis first met him, Sam Bankman-Fried was the world’s youngest billionaire and crypto’s Gatsby. CEOs, celebrities, and
In-person Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
The Unique Art of Autofiction
This is a three-hour, one-day intensive discussion on the unique genre of autofiction. This course will provide insight into the many nuances of autofiction, or autobiographical fiction. This “genre” involves writing that is based on real life experiences, but also utilizes fictional literary devices, making it a very unique form.
online class Poetry Portland Book Festival Writing Class Writing Classes
Radical Revision
Let's spend a few hours together exploring the practice of revision! Too often revision is just a fancy word for copy-editing. But it can be more. In this three hour class we will explore different revision exercises using a recent poem and how we can break old revision habits and constructs.
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