Writers in the Schools publishes student work from creative writing residencies taking place in Portland, Woodburn, and Gresham every year in its annual anthology. Luna Gonzalez was a student in WITS Writer Brian Benson’s class at Lincoln HS last spring and was published in the 2021-22 anthology, To The End, Through the Tunnel. Read Luna’s poem “Coffee Trees” below. Coffee Trees by Luna Gonzalez Every time I travel to my hometown in Colombia I realize I love the country even more. And not for the cheerful people that are dancing and singing all the time in the streets. Neither for the touristi ..read more

Literary Arts is thrilled to announce this year’s Oregon Book Awards finalists. Thirty-four Oregonians across seven genre categories were chosen as finalists by panels of out-of-state judges, from a total of 202 submitted titles. Winners will be announced live at the 2023 Oregon Book Awards Ceremony, hosted by Luke Burbank, at Portland Center Stage at The Armory on Monday, April 3, 2023. KEN KESEY AWARD FOR FICTION   Judges: Zinzi Clemmons, Jonathan Dee, Shruti Swamy Sindya Bhanoo of Corvallis, Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories (Catapult) Cai Emmons of Eugene, S ..read more

Get your subscription for the 2022/23 Portland Arts & Lecture Series to see Patrick Radden Keefe on February 22nd! Click here for more information. On February 22nd, Literary Arts will host Patrick Radden Keefe as the fourth event of our 2022-23 season of Portland Arts & Lectures. Patrick Radden Keefe is an award-winning staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of four books including the New York Times bestsellers Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty, which was awarded the Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction and was a finalist for ..read more

Bestselling author Lauren Groff made a stop at McDaniel High School on Wednesday, January 18th for a conversation with students and Oregon Public Broadcasting. The award-winning author of Florida and Matrix talked with a group of 80 students and OPB’s Dave Miller for the radio show Think Out Loud. Groff discussed the craft of fiction, the importance of failure, and the reading habits she keeps for herself. OPB’s Dave Miller and writer Lauren Groff in conversation at Grant High School Listen to the conversation with Groff on this episode of OPB’s Think Out Loud. Order Lauren Groff’s latest tit ..read more

Ed Edmo has a new publication in the Confluence Project journal, Voices of the River. Learn more about the project: https://www.confluenceproject.org/support-donate/voices-of-the-river-ordering/ Bruce Poinsette has a new article in Oregon Humanities entitled My Heart Belongs Where The Trees Are: A road trip to Eastern Oregon with The Blacktastic Adventure. Read it here: https://oregonhumanities.org/rll/magazine/underground-winter-2023/my-heart-belongs-where-the-trees-are/ Alex Behr has new poetry in Kithe and forthcoming online at Ghost City Review. Her website www.altar-altered.co ..read more

Literary Arts was saddened to learn of Oregon author Cai Emmons’ passing on January 2, 2023. Cai lived in Eugene and was the author of the novels His Mother’s Son (Harcourt), The Stylist (HarperCollins), and Weather Woman (Red Hen Press), and a sequel to Weather Woman, called Sinking Islands (Red Hen Press), UNLEASHED  (Dutton), and LIVID (Red Hen Press).  Her story collection Vanishing, winner of the 2018 Leapfrog Fiction Contest was published in March 2020.   His Mother’s Son was awarded the Ken Ke ..read more

While it is always the season for getting young folks excited about reading and writing here at Literary Arts, this fall was a particularly great time for our Youth Programs. From high school students attending lectures by bestselling authors, to prospective college students participating in the return of the College Essay Exchange, it was a productive and exciting time. Let’s take a closer look at some of our programs from the fall, by the numbers. Writers in the Schools WITS reached 674 students across 5 schools in the Portland metro in the fall of 2022. A total of 23 different residencies w ..read more

Each month, Literary Arts staff will round up news, events, and more happening in Portland, and beyond. Let us know if you have any events or news to share. EVENTS Picture Day (Gallery GO GO) January 3 & 10, 2023 | Costs $35 | In person at Gallery GO GO, 700 SW 5th Ave. #3015, Portland Celebrated photographer Elle Hygge offers professional portraits and headshots that celebrate the diversity of Portland at an 80% discount. LGBTQIA2S+ friendly and support animals welcome. This is an event sponsored by the gallery and the urban art hike to encourage everyone to come to the gallery and take ..read more

Literary Arts’ Writers in the Schools program offers three professional development sessions to its roster of teaching artists throughout the school year, as well as 1:1 help with course outlines, lesson planning, and classroom management. On Wednesday, December 7th, ten writers joined WITS staff for a professional development focused on teaching challenges, both in and outside of WITS classrooms. The discussion-based session delved into solutions and strategies for classroom management, navigating teaching partnerships, and trauma-informed teaching. This semester, WITS writers are serving st ..read more

It is no surprise to anyone the people here at Literary Arts love books and we love to share that love for books with those around us. This is the time of year where people love to give. To aid you in the gifting process we have gathered a list of all the books that the staff here at Literary Arts will be gifting this holiday season. We would love to share it with you. Leah O’Sullivan (Receptionist) All three of these novels contain characters (especially young women) who are trying to cope with reality through unorthodox and often unhealthy coping mechanisms. These character come across as bo ..read more