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 community space and bookstore at 716 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.
This monthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. Come listen to our featured readers, or sign up to share your work in our open mic. Readings will be followed by a short community discussion. Hosted by Kyle Yoshioka and Jessica Meza-Torres. The featured reader
Join us for an evening of poetry and conversation celebrating janan alexandra's debut poetry collection come from (BOA Editions). janan will be speaking in conversation with Jennifer (JP) Perrine, author of five books of poetry including the recently published Beautiful Outlaw (Winner of the Kelsey Street Press QTBIPOC Book Prize). This event is free to
A generative writing workshop to create material from a variety of prompts, models, and methods. We will build community with each other, learn some revision hacks, share feedback, and come away from the weekend intensive with plenty more to think about and develop in our writing practice.
2024 Oregon Literary Fellow, Karleigh Frisbie Brogan, joins us to celebrate her new memoir, Holding with Jon Raymond. A stunning debut memoir about addiction, self-discovery, and the relationships between mothers and daughters, from an exciting new literary talent Brogan “ the world’s harshest truths into golden, beautiful sentences” reminiscent of the powerful writing in Wild and In the
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. Our host is the one and only, Emme Lund. The featured reader for October is Matthew
Join us for a solo violin performance and talk by Oregon Symphony 2025/26 Artist-in-Residence, Simone Porter. Porter’s presentation is inspired by the works of philosopher Simone Weil, and Weil’s insight that “Attention, taken to its highest degree, is the same thing as prayer... Absolutely unmixed attention is prayer.” The Latin root of the word
Join First Matter Press in celebrating the launch of their 2025 titles: The Dying Room by Annemarie Eayrs, Brava by Violeta Garza, first you must destroy the world by Claudia Saleeby Savage, and waling waling palpitations by nawa angel a.h. Covers feature art by Pearlyn Tan. Readings begin at 6:00 p.m. This event is free
Visual poetry is as expansive as it is playful which can complement any writer’s practice. Over the course of this six-week workshop, writers can expect to generate four new poetry experiments, one complete visual poetry project, and leave the workshop with a working knowledge of this exciting genre.
Kick off Banned Book Week with us on Sunday, October 5th , between 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.! We’ve teamed up with Libro.FM, Silent Bookclub, and over 400 bookstores nationwide to host a Read-In in protest of censorship. Bring your own book or try a recommendation from our shelves, grab a bite from our cafe, and come
In this six-week class, using 2024’s Best American Short Stories as our guide, we’ll explore a selection of contemporary fiction—deemed this year’s best—with an eye to steal from them. This year’s guest editor, Lauren Groff, writes that these stories “buzz with their own strange logic.” We’ll examine the inner workings of these stories to decipher some of that strange logic, but more pointedly, we’ll focus each week on one technique, discuss how the author is achieving a desired effect, and practice employing it in our own writing.
Throughout this eight week course, students will look at the many ways in which humans are connected to our natural surroundings, both urban and remote. Weather, soil, plants, wildlife, changing systems, and more will all be explored. By delving into the inherent close relationship humans have with the natural world, each student’s path to writing their own stories using the natural world as scaffolding will emerge.
Join us in welcoming Omar El Akkad, Jeff VanderMeer, and Crystal Willer for a conversation on the work of Katherine Dunn, celebrating the posthumous release of her short story collection Near Flesh.
Join us in celebrating Jade Chang's latest novel, What a Time to Be Alive. About the book: A deeply moving and often hilarious novel following a woman who becomes an internet folk hero in the most unexpected way, catapulting her into fame and influence just as she’s finally beginning to reckon with her complicated past Lola Treasure Gold can’t figure out her life. She’s broke, unemployed,
Roberto Bolaño’s posthumous novel 2666 attempts to explore the totality of evil in the 20th century. Ranging from World War II to Detroit to the deserts of Mexico, the nearly 1000-page book presents a huge cast of characters, each individual offering their pain and hope as exemplifications of the human condition.
Readers generally considered The Plague, published in 1947 (and a large factor in Camus receiving the Nobel Prize for literature a decade later), to be a superior metaphorical novel about life during wartime and Nazi occupation. As we learned in 2020, it was also a pretty accurate look at how humans react to life during
The Literary Arts Bookstore is pleased to welcome Victoria Redel in celebration of her latest,I Am You, in conversation with 2025 Oregon Book Award Winner Kimberly King Parsons. An unforgettable love story about sex, art, and politics in 1600s Amsterdam. At age eight, Gerta Pieters is dressed as a boy and put to work
Psychology wouldn’t be what it is today if it weren’t for Swiss psychologist C.G. Jung. Ever curious about the depths and machinations of the psyche, he developed an intellectual life and therapeutic practice based in a profound abiding with the human soul. In his singular memoir Memories, Dreams, Reflections, written in his later years, we’re treated to a panoply of reminisces, revelations, and personal myths.
This is a workshop for self-identifying Muslim artists to join together in a joyful, supportive, and courageous community space to share their short fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or screenplays and receive feedback with the expressed goal of submitting their work for publication upon conclusion.
Pick a card . . . or don’t! As always, our write-ins are free and open to everybody. Come share space with us as we channel some witchy October vibes with Tarot Card prompts and a special latte. Or just bring whatever it is you’re working on and hang out with us. Bonus points for
Join us at the Literary Arts Bookstore for a special interview with visiting Portland Arts & Lectures author Elizabeth Gilbert, with OPB's Dave Miller, as it is broadcast live on Think Out Loud. This event is free and open to the public, however space is limited so we kindly ask you to RSVP below. FROM
On Thursday, October 16, First Draft Writers Series, in partnership with Literary Arts, will present Oregon Book Awards Authors Becky Ellis, Charlie J. Stephens and tina ontiveros for a free reading.
Slamlandia is a poetry open mic and slam that meets every month, on the third Thursday. 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 safe space for poets to read their own poetry,
Literary Arts is pleased to present Elizabeth Gilbert as the first speaker of the 2025-26 Portland Arts & Lectures series. Click here to view the full lineup. Please note: a subscription to the entire 2025-26 Portland Arts & Lectures series is required to attend this event. Subscriptions are now SOLD OUT at all levels.
In partnership with Fishtrap, Literary Arts brings the Oregon Book Award Author Tour to Wallowa County.
The Oregon Book Awards Author Tour will be in Baker City, with four Oregon Book Awards authors.
Learn the craft of narrative writing. Participants will learn to write perceptively – deploying their five senses and delving into feelings as they write. They will learn how to leverage narrative distance, writing between their ideas and the immediacy of their experiences to see how distance can affect the emotional weight of the work. They will learn how to use metaphors as a means of discovery, to harness verbs, and to modify sentences for focus and impact.
Join us for GHOSTLY ENCOUNTERS, a spooky storytelling event at the Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe! There will be a sign up for the open mic where readers will have five minutes to enchant us with their ghoulish tales! Our only requirement is that these stories are true—or at least, true to you. Audience members
This six-week seminar is designed for writers interested in doing deep reads of contemporary literature from a craft perspective. We will dissect the structure and language from five very different short stories so that we can apply some of the same tools these writers use in their work to our own. Delve for Writers is an occasional series of seminars designed to help writers improve their craft through close readings of contemporary poetry and prose.
Since moving into our new permanent headquarters, a historic building turned bookstore and community space in Portland’s Central Eastside, we’ve been thinking a lot about the spaces we create and the communities we build. One thing is clear: when we share stories and experiences all together, our connections drive action and change. We invite you
Join us for a very special spooky story time with local author A.A. Livingston and her book, Grizelda the Green Hates Halloween! Costumes encouraged! About the book: Told in silly, rhyming text, this is a not-so-scary Halloween tale about a grouchy old witch named Grizelda the Green who tries to destroy Halloween! Perfect for fans
Every American city is divided by crumbling old highways. Every city is trying to figure out what to do with them. Join Ian Coss, host of the Peabody-Award winning podcast “The Big Dig,” for a live taping about Portland’s own attempts to solve that puzzle, and undo the harms of the past. Coss will be
Literary Arts is thrilled to present Timothy Snyder, bestselling author of On Tyranny. Literary Arts’ Executive Director Andrew Proctor will be in conversation with Snyder about his latest work, On Freedom at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Timothy Snyder has been called “the leading interpreter of our dark times.” As a historian, he has given us startling reinterpretations of political
Hosted by Kyle Yoshioka and Jessica Meza-Torres, this monthly reading series is intended to prioritize the safety, creativity, and stories of Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color. The featured reader for October is Jenny H. Lee. This event is open to everyone, but only people who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color will be
This foundational series is for personal nonfiction writers ready to shape real-life experiences into engaging stories with intention and clarity. Over four sessions, you’ll learn how to identify your memoir’s deeper message, build a strong narrative arc, and make structural choices that serve both your story and your reader.
In this class we’ll study and practice specific techniques used by established speculative fiction authors such as N.K. Jemisin and Nalo Hopkinson. We’ll examine examples of “worldbuilding in small doses” and try our hands at it. We’ll discuss the merits of creating worlds from the inside out versus going from the outside in. We’ll cover viewpoint, voice, neologisms, “found” texts, and other elements of this aspect of writing with exploratory and generative exercises.
The David P. Thompson Elk Fountain has been a Portland icon for 125 years. Removed from its home downtown due to collateral damage from community protests in 2020, the Elk has been out of sight but not out of mind as it makes its return this fall. The Elk is not just a fountain. It’s
In this three hour interactive workshop, you’ll refine your nonfiction book concept and clarify what your book is really about, who it’s for, and how it stands out. Whether you’re writing a memoir, self-help, personal growth, or thought leadership book, this session will help you focus your purpose and shape your message.
At this three-hour class, we will read the beginnings of short stories, discuss their effectiveness, tone, and structure, and discuss whether they encourage us to keep reading and why.
Join us in welcoming John Freeman to discuss his latest book, California Rewrtitten. Freeman will be joined in conversation by Deborah Miranda. This is a Portland Book Festival Cover to Cover event. Check out the full line up here. About the book: Dive into the revelatory worlds of California's most exciting writers, and discover how
In this four-week class, we’ll read and discuss ekphrastic poems by a wide selection of writers, creating our own definition of ekphrasis, pushing the boundaries of what an ekphrastic poem can be. We’ll engage with several essays by poets to get us asking questions and diving deeper into our craft.
You're invited to a special One Page Wednesday in collaboration with the Portland Book Festival's Cover to Cover program of events! ONE PAGE PRESENTS: ASK ME ANYTHING WRITERS' EDITION WITH MARGARET MALONE Join us on November 5th for a very special One Page Wednesday. Prior to the reading and open mic, we will host an author
Literary Arts is honored to present ‘A Conversation with Kamala Harris,’ November 5, 2025, at 7:00 p.m. at the historic Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, for the only Pacific Northwest stop on her 107 DAYS book tour. During this special event, Harris will share what she saw, what she learned, and what it will take to
Join us in celebrating Shay Mirk and Eleri Harris for the debut of their new graphic novel, Making Nonfiction Comics! About the book: The definitive guide to writing, drawing, and publishing nonfiction comics from award-winning creators Shay Mirk and Eleri Harris Making Nonfiction Comics is an accessible guide to nonfiction comics perfect for graphic novel readers,
In this one day class, we'll work to demystify the submission process. We’ll discuss how to find publications you’re excited to send your work to, set up personalized submission goals and to-do lists, and organize our own systems for keeping track of our submissions.
Portland Book Festival's 11th year kicks off on Friday, November 7, with an evening of special giveaways and exclusive offers at Readers Night. It's the ideal opportunity for literary lovers—beat
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