Events, Classes, and Seminars
We have moved many of our offerings online! We hope you will join us.
Featured Events
November 2020
Fiction Middle Grade Nonfiction Picture Book Poetry Portland Book Festival Writing Classes Young Adult
Collaborative Writing for Educators
Sat, November 14 from 9:00 am - 11:00 am PST
Explore cooperative exercises in this workshop aimed at encouraging shy writers and offering a variety of ways to look at subjects to stimulate every student. You will learn how to teach group projects that practice a range of writing techniques. We will write team poems, working together from brainstorming to polished pieces, and you will leave with ideas for additional collaborative pieces. No stress, just fun. Come join us! For educators or those simply interested in the subject. Instructor: Amy…
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Middle Grade Picture Book Portland Book Festival
Happy Narwhalidays with Ben Clanton
Sat, November 14 from 9:30 am - 10:00 am PST
Join bestselling author and illustrator Ben Clanton along with Narwhal and Jelly!
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Middle Grade Portland Book Festival
Middle Grade Mystery: Preeti Chhibber, Maia & Alex Shibutani
Sat, November 14 from 10:30 am - 11:15 am PST
The beginning of two great middle grade series! It's time to team up at the Avengers Institute and the Tokyo Olympics... Moderated by Heidi Schulz.
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Free Events Picture Book Portland Book Festival Writing Classes Youth Events
SOLD OUT: Youth Workshop: Portal to an Alternate Universe
Sat, November 14 from 10:30 am - 12:30 pm PST
Young writers will find an ordinary object, indoors or outdoors, that can magically transform into a portal to an altered universe! We’ll sketch it out and add descriptive words. Then we will use a guided visualization and literary models like The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Wildwood to help create a scene. It can be Portland with a twist, or something entirely from a fantasy world. Prompts will be offered to help participants, if needed, such as: Imagine…
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Middle Grade Portland Book Festival
Middle Grade Mythology: Nnedi Okorafor & David A. Robertson
Sat, November 14 from 11:45 am - 12:30 pm PST
Mythology infuses these middle-grade fantasy stories, the beginnings of exciting new series from acclaimed writers. Moderated by Kate Ristau.
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Portland Book Festival Young Adult
Make Art & Take Action: Youth Panel on Writing Creatively in Extraordinary Times
Sat, November 14 from 1:00 pm - 1:45 pm PST
Three dynamic Oregon high school artists will perform their work and discuss their experiences at the intersections of writing and activism in 2020.
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Portland Book Festival Writing Classes
November 2020: Fear and Writing
Sat, November 14 from 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm PST
Zoom webinar: Fear is a natural part of the creative process. Instead of fighting it, work with it. Through stories, mindfulness, and free-writing, you will discover simple, realistic ways to face your fear, get to know it, and use it to propel your writing, rather than hinder it.
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Portland Book Festival Young Adult
No Justice No Peace: Kim Johnson & Francisco X. Stork
Sat, November 14 from 2:30 pm - 3:15 pm PST
Young adult novels about fighting for justice, which expose racism in the United States criminal justice system, and the injustices of immigration policies and the refugee crisis at the southern border.
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Middle Grade Portland Book Festival Writing Classes Youth Events
Youth Workshop: Writing When We’re Far Apart
Sat, November 14 from 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm PST
For most of us, this year has made it hard to say all the things we want to share with family and friends who don’t live with us. Even if we get to stay in touch with texts or Zoom or TikTok, there are always more stories to tell! In this class, we’ll write about memories of times we spent with family and friends who are far away, remembering big and small events with them that mattered to us. We’ll…
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Miami Book Fair x Portland Book Festival: Lisa Hanawalt & Adrian Tomine
Sun, November 15 from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm PST
Presented in partnership with Miami Book Fair. Watch at MiamiBookFairOnline.com.
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Portland Book Festival
Power of Protest: Lessons from Hong Kong (Portland Book Festival partner event)
Sun, November 15 from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PST
Produced by Bay Area Book Festival in collaboration with literary festivals worldwide, including Portland Book Festival.
After a tumultuous year of protest, Hong Kong’s streets are quiet again following the adoption of the national security law on June 30. Join four experts for this indispensable analysis of the protest movement and its broader significance for freedom globally.
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Portland Book Festival
The Archive Project: Portland Book Festival highlights on OPB
Sun, November 15 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST
Listen to excerpts from the 2020 #PDXBookFest on OPB Radio!
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Paying the Land: Joe Sacco on OPB’s Think Out Loud
Mon, November 16 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PST
Eisner Award–winning author Joe Sacco discusses his new book, a masterful work of comics journalism about indigenous North America, resource extraction, and our debt to the natural world with OPB's Dave Miller.
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Fiction Portland Book Festival
Typecasting: Emily Nemens & Charles Yu
Mon, November 16 from 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm PST
Go behind the curtain of two quintessentially American worlds—baseball and Hollywood—in these novels about ambition, disappointment, family, and the possibility of a new story. Moderated by Jon Raymond.
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Poetry Portland Book Festival
West x Midwest: Claudia Rankine and Jericho Brown
Mon, November 16 from 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm PST
Presented in collaboration with Black Mountain Institute, Literary Arts, The Loft's Wordplay, and Wisconsin Book Festival.
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
How I Built This: Guy Raz & Sadie Lincoln
Tue, November 17 from 10:00 am - 10:45 am PST
Priceless insights and inspiration from the world’s top entrepreneurs on how to start, launch, and build a successful venture. Guy Raz in conversation with Sadie Lincoln, founder of barre3.
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Fiction Portland Book Festival
Tainted Love: Rebecca Dinerstein Knight & Raven Leilani with John Freeman
Tue, November 17 from 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm PST
Obsession and lust, sex and death, preoccupy these sharp, wickedly funny novels about young women entangled in messy, obsessive relationships. Moderated by John Freeman.
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Juan Antonio Trujillo
Tue, November 17 from 1:00 pm - 1:15 pm PST
Portland-based writer and filmmaker Juan Antonio Trujillo shares poems in both English and Spanish in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum. Trujillo is a member of the Los Porteños writing group, who are dedicated to raising Latinx voices and to raising awareness of diverse languages, canons, stories and cultures.
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Octaviano Merecias
Tue, November 17 from 1:15 pm - 1:30 pm PST
Portland-based writer, educator, and public speaker Octaviano Merecias shares an original poem in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum. Merecias is a member of the Los Porteños writing group, who are dedicated to raising Latinx voices and to raising awareness of diverse languages, canons, stories and cultures.
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Portland Book Festival Young Adult
It’s Complicated: Arvin Ahmadi & Adib Khorram
Tue, November 17 from 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm PST
IRL friends and novelists talk about their new books, stories of coming out, running away, first love, and more.
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Poetry Portland Book Festival
Dearly: Margaret Atwood & Karen Russell
Tue, November 17 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm PST
In Margaret Atwood’s first collection of poetry in over a decade, she addresses themes such as love, loss, the passage of time, the nature of nature and... zombies. Pre-order from Powell's to attend.
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
This Is Chance!: Jon Mooallem on OPB
Wed, November 18 from 11:00 am - 11:45 am PST
The thrilling, cinematic story of a community shattered by disaster—and the extraordinary woman who helped pull it back together. Interview by John Notarianni of OPB.
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Fiction Portland Book Festival
Homeland Elegies: Ayad Akhtar on OPB’s Think Out Loud
Wed, November 18 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PST
A deeply personal work about identity and belonging in a nation coming apart at the seams, blending fact and fiction to tell an epic story of longing and dispossession in the world that 9/11 made. This event will be broadcast live on OPB radio.
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Fiction Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Breaking Bread: Liz Crain & Megha Majumdar
Wed, November 18 from 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm PST
A nourishing discussion about food and storytelling, in fiction and cookbook writing.
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Kesha Ajose Fisher
Wed, November 18 from 2:30 pm - 2:50 pm PST
Portland-based writer Kesha Ajọsẹ Fisher shares from her Oregon Book Award-winning short story collection, No God Like the Mother, in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum.
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Susan Moore
Wed, November 18 from 3:00 pm - 3:20 pm PST
Portland-based poet Susan Moore shares selections from her poetry collection, That Place Where You Opened Your Hands, as well as new pieces, in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum.
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Portland Book Festival
Broadway Books presents Jacqueline Winspear in conversation with Sarah Maslin Nir (Portland Book Festival partner event)
Wed, November 18 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm PST
THIS EVENT IS PRESENTED BY OUR FRIENDS AT BROADWAY BOOKS. Broadway Books is thrilled to host a virtual event for the launch of Jacqueline Winspear's memoir.
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
This Is Major: Shayla Lawson on OPB
Thu, November 19 from 11:00 am - 11:45 am PST
A relevant, insightful, and riveting collection of personal essays on the richness and resilience of black girl culture.
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Middle Grade Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Making History: Veronica Chambers & Alexis Coe
Thu, November 19 from 12:30 pm - 1:15 pm PST
Two books which shed new light on history—and the present—by revealing often untold stories and reexamining some of our foundational "truths."
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: Tracy Daugherty
Thu, November 19 from 2:00 pm - 2:20 pm PST
Corvallis-based writer Tracy Daugherty shares a selection from his new novella, High Skies, in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum.
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Pop Up Events Portland Book Festival
Pop-up: The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Koya, read by Olivia Jones-Hall
Thu, November 19 from 2:30 pm - 2:50 pm PST
Olivia Jones-Hall, Literary Arts' Youth Programs Coordinator, reads a selection from The Royal Abduls by Ramiza Koya in this reading filmed at the Portland Art Museum.
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Portland Book Festival Young Adult
Meet Cute: Leah Johnson & David Yoon
Thu, November 19 from 3:30 pm - 4:15 pm PST
Contemporary YA romantic comedies about teens trying a new identity and grabbing the spotlight—and the girl. Moderated by Zan Romanoff.
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Caste: Isabel Wilkerson & Viet Thanh Nguyen
Thu, November 19 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm PST
An eye-opening story of people and history, and a reexamination of what lies under the surface of ordinary lives and of American life today. Pre-order from Powell's to attend.
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Free Events Portland Book Festival
Online: Slamlandia- November
Thu, November 19 from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm PST
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month. This mic provides a creative, fun, and welcoming space for all literary communities in Portland. We encourage poets new and old to come share their work. We strive towards a safer space for poets to read their own poetry, witness others, and participate in community. Register in advance for Slamlandia here. If you have any questions, please contact slamlandia@gmail.com or jessica@literary-arts.org. Make sure to check out the…
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Poetry Portland Book Festival
Postcolonial Love Poem: Natalie Diaz & Live Wire Radio
Fri, November 20 from 12:00 pm - 12:45 pm PST
Natalie Diaz’s brilliant second collection demands that every body carried in its pages—bodies of language, land, rivers, suffering brothers, enemies, and lovers—be touched and held as beloveds.
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Live Wire Radio with Jill Lepore
Fri, November 20 from 1:30 pm - 2:15 pm PST
A revelatory account of the Cold War origins of the data-mad, algorithmic twenty-first century.
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Fiction Portland Book Festival
Chosen Ones: Veronica Roth & Charlie Jane Anders
Fri, November 20 from 3:00 pm - 3:45 pm PST
What do you do when you’re the most famous people on Earth, your only education was in magical destruction, and your purpose in life is now fulfilled?
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Portland Book Festival
Black Joy Social Happy Hour
Fri, November 20 from 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm PST
A moment of casual celebration and recovery, where Black writers and makers, from PDX and across the country share things that bring them joy in 2020. Hosted by Shayla Lawson. Featuring: Jericho Brown, Danielle Evans, Kim Johnson, Nate Marshall, Natasha Marin, Nicholas Nichols, Phillip B. Williams. Musical guest: Donovan Edwards.
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Free Events Portland Book Festival
BIPOC Reading Series- November
Fri, November 20 from 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm PST
This bimonthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. This event will be hosted by Jessica Meza-Torres, Program Assistant for Programs for Writers. The theme this month is "Ghosts." Our featured readers are Chris Stuck and Jacqueline Fitzgerald. After our featured readers, there will be time for a few members of the audience to sign up and share their work. The readings will be followed by a…
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Fall 2020 Writing Classes
Writing Fairy Tales
Sat, November 21 from 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PST
The fairy tale is a fanciful storytelling genre that uses supernatural elements, personification, transformation, repetitive plot lines, and unambiguously good and evil characters to speak to social and cultural violence, oppression and shifts in power. How do we write an effective, inspiring modern fairy tale? We will read from the original Brother’s Grimm,Italo Calvino’s fairy tales,and Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber with the form, tapping into its nuances and reach as we find inspiration for our own fairy tales. Class…
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Nonfiction Portland Book Festival
Miami Book Fair x Portland Book Festival: Marcus Samuelsson & Dawn Davis
Sat, November 21 from 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm PST
This event will be broadcast on Miami Book Fair's platform; register at MiamiBookFairOnline.com.
Find out morePortland Book Festival
The Archive Project: Portland Book Festival highlights on OPB
Sun, November 22 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST
Listen to excerpts from the 2020 #PDXBookFest on OPB Radio!
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Fall 2020 Free Events Writing Classes
An Appointment with Emily and Your Chair: Free Writing Session
Mon, November 30 from 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm PST
An event every week that begins at 7:00 pm on Monday, repeating until Mon, Dec 21, 2020
Writing, even on a good day, is hard. So how do we do it on the not-good days, on the days when it feels like the world is upside-down? “Butt in chair” is the simple answer. We make ourselves sit down, and we don’t get up until we’ve gotten a few sentences down at the very least. But sometimes it feels impossible to even get to the chair. We’d honestly rather throw the chair out the window than sit in…
Find out moreDecember 2020
Free Events
One Page Wednesday: December
Wed, December 2 from 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm PST
Here is an opportunity to share or listen to one page of work in progress from talented writers from everywhere. Come with a single page of work and sign up to read – or come to listen and prepare to be inspired! Hosted by Natalie Serber. December's featured reader is Ellen Michaelson. Ellen is the author of The Care of Strangers. She is a physician in Portland and an MFA graduate from Pacific University. She is currently an assistant professor…
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Free Events
Hugo Moreno and Guadalupe García McCall
Thu, December 3 from 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm PST
Join us for a reading with two Oregon authors. Hugo Moreno, professor at Lewis & Clark college, will be reading from his new novel, Where The North Ends (Donde se acaba el Norte), and will be joined by Guadalupe García McCall, author of several books for young adult readers. Presented in partnership with Reed College and Lewis & Clark College. This event will take place on Zoom. Register in advance for this event: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtdOGpqzwoGNMGCwzVcC6cwQlo8SZZqePL .
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