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 community space and bookstore at 716 SE Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, online, and at partnering venues across Portland and Oregon.

Saturday

Mar 14

Thursday

Mar 12

Wednesday

Mar 11

Tuesday

Mar 10

Saturday

Mar 7

Thursday

Mar 5

Wednesday

Mar 4

Tuesday

Mar 3

Wednesday

Feb 25

Tuesday

Feb 24

Tuesday

Feb 24

In-person   Writing Classes  

Humor Fiction Workshop

What makes a funny story more than just an elbow jabbing good time? In this class, we’ll read several humorous short stories and figure out what makes them impactful, lasting and literature.
In this six-week, workshop-meets-craft class, we’ll dissect five different short stories and figure out: How did the writer do that? We’ll then apply some of those same literary tools to your own stories. Each writer will have the opportunity to have one short story workshopped in this class, with written and verbal feedback from both instructor and peers.

Find out more
Monday

Feb 23

Saturday

Feb 21

Friday

Feb 20

Thursday

Feb 19

Tuesday

Feb 17

Thursday

Feb 12

Wednesday

Feb 11

Wednesday

Feb 11

Tuesday

Feb 10

Tuesday

Feb 10

In-person   Writing Classes  

The Art of Fiction

While this course will predominantly take the form of a workshop, it will also feature discussions of published works to explore the “absolutes” that govern the art of fiction and creative nonfiction, as well as to equip students to appreciate how they might bend if not break these rules in service of the stories that they hope to tell.

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Tuesday

Feb 10

Saturday

Feb 7

Friday

Feb 6

Friday

Feb 6

Wednesday

Feb 4

Sunday

Feb 1

Wednesday

Jan 28

Tuesday

Jan 27

Monday

Jan 26

In-person   Writing Classes  

So the Story Begins

Every story emerges from a prompt: a memory, an image, an historical incident, a song, a family tale. Experimenting with a wide array of such prompts can be a great way of discovering and developing stories, especially the ones that you didn’t know you wanted to tell.

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Sunday

Jan 25

Thursday

Jan 22

Tuesday

Jan 20

Tuesday

Jan 20

In-person   Writing Classes  

Your Novel’s First Pages

In this workshop, we’ll read the first pages of novels by writers like Virginia Woolf, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich, Celeste Ng, Julia Armfield and more. We’ll consider the craft of a novel’s beginning and ways this can fit into the process of writing the full manuscript. Students will workshop their own first pages with each other and receive instructor feedback on up to 25 pages that begin their novels.

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Thursday

Jan 15

Thursday

Jan 15

In-person   Writing Classes  

Get Writing 2026: New Prompts for the New Year

In this 8-week, in-person class, we’ll focus on one of the hardest parts of writing: writing. If you’ve taken Get Writing before, in January 2026 we’ll use all new writing prompts and exercises. If you’ve never taken it, we encourage you to get writing! This class is open to all writers wanting to generate new work and learn more about the craft of writing.

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Tuesday

Jan 13

Monday

Jan 12

In-person   Writing Classes  

Writing Comic Fiction

What makes a funny story more than just an elbow jabbing good time? In this class, we’ll read several humorous short stories and figure out what makes them impactful, lasting and literature.
In this six-week, workshop-meets-craft class, we'll dissect five different short stories and figure out: How did the writer do that? We’ll then apply some of those same literary tools to your own stories. Each writer will have the opportunity to have one short story workshopped in this class, with written and verbal feedback from both instructor and peers.

Find out more
Sunday

Jan 11

Saturday

Jan 10

Saturday

Jan 10

Tuesday

Jan 6

Tuesday

Dec 23

Thursday

Dec 18

Tuesday

Dec 16