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.

Tuesday

Nov 11

Sunday

Nov 9

Bookstore  

Fall Hand-Sewing Social with SCRAP PDX

  The Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe is thrilled to partner with SCRAP PDX for a special event. Hand-sew decorative fall plushies and felt garlands. Grab a beverage, browse the bookstore, and gather round to sew some leaves, mushrooms, acorns, and more in this seasonal celebration! This is a ticked event. Click here for more

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Friday

Nov 7

Thursday

Nov 6

Bookstore   Free Events  

Shay Mirk and Eleri Harris: Making Nonfiction Comics

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,

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Wednesday

Nov 5

Tuesday

Nov 4

Writing Classes   In-person  

WRITING EKPHRASTIC POETRY

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.

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Monday

Nov 3

Monday

Nov 3

Sunday

Nov 2

In-person   Portland Book Festival   Writing Classes  

Refine Your Nonfiction Book Concept: Finding the Hook

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.

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Thursday

Oct 30

Thursday

Oct 30

Wednesday

Oct 29

For BIPOC Writers   Free Events   In-person  

BIPOC Reading Series – October

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

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Sunday

Oct 26

Halloween Story Time: with A.A. Livingston

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

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Wednesday

Oct 22

Delve Readers Seminars   Writing Classes   Delve for Writers  

Five Decades of Short Stories: The 70s thru 2010s

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.

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Tuesday

Oct 21

Bookstore   Free Events  

Ghostly Encounters: Open Mic

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

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Tuesday

Oct 21

In-person   Writing Classes  

Tools for Nonfiction Narrative Writing

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.

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Thursday

Oct 16

Free Events   In-person  

Slamlandia

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,

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Thursday

Oct 16

Wednesday

Oct 15

Bookstore   Free Events  

October Write-In

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

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Tuesday

Oct 14

Tuesday

Oct 14

Saturday

Oct 11

Bookstore   Ticketed Events  

Lit Mic presents: Murder in the Bookstore

The Literary Arts Bookstore and Cafe are thrilled to welcome Lit Mic for a very special immersive writing workshop! Participants will search for clues, interview witnesses, and conduct their own investigation via creative writing prompts and sharing to solve the murder. About Lit Mic: Portland Lit Mic is a community-oriented organization, dedicated to getting writers

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Thursday

Oct 9

Bookstore   Free Events  

What a Time to Be Alive: Jade Chang in conversation with Genevieve Hudson

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,

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Tuesday

Oct 7

Sunday

Oct 5

Bookstore   Free Events  

Banned Books Read-In

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

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Sunday

Oct 5

Saturday

Oct 4

Friday

Oct 3

Wednesday

Oct 1

Monday

Sep 29

Saturday

Sep 27

Friday

Sep 26

Wednesday

Sep 24

Wednesday

Sep 24

In-person   Writing Classes  

Scene Writing for Memoir

This eight-week memoir workshop teaches writers how to transform personal experiences into compelling scenes that captivate readers. Students will learn to craft authentic moments from memory, weave reflection seamlessly into narrative, and build scenes that invite readers into their lived experiences while revealing deeper emotional truths.

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Thursday

Sep 18

Tuesday

Sep 16

Sunday

Sep 14

Delve Readers Seminars  

Apuleius: The Golden Ass

The Golden Ass is an outsider’s portrait of life in the Roman Empire, which is both shockingly familiar and alsi truly strange. It is the only complete surviving novel from Greco-Roman antiquity,

A rich young Roman named Lucius goes to the annual Festival of Laughter in a town in Thessaly and meets a witch. She mistakenly turns him into a donkey. On his travels to find the plant with the magic antidote that will restore his humanity, he experiences his society from the animal's point of view.

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Wednesday

Sep 10

Wednesday

Sep 10

Delve Readers Seminars   In-person  

The Monstrous Feminine

In Western literature, scholars often reduce supernatural fiction to pulp, pop, or entertaining"fluff," which is somehow less noteworthy than other works of literature. Yet horror fiction often uses supernatural tropes of haunting and monstrosity to depict oppression, marginalized identities, gender, and "madness."
Through conversation and writing, we can consider how these modern and postmodern feminist authors expand Western literature and the gothic tradition through provocative first-person narratives.

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Monday

Sep 8

Saturday

Sep 6

Saturday

Sep 6

Thursday

Sep 4

Wednesday

Sep 3

Tuesday

Sep 2

Chris La Tray: Becoming Little Shell

Join us in welcoming Montana Poet Laureate Chris La Tray for the paperback release of his bestselling memoir, Becoming Little Shell. “Nothing less than the history of a people in

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