Literary Arts

Mission

For over 40 years, Literary Arts has been engaging readers, supporting writers, and inspiring the next generation with great literature. Our programs include Portland Arts & Lectures, one of the country’s largest lecture series; Oregon Book Awards & Fellowships, which celebrates Oregon’s writers and independent publishers; Youth Programs, which inspires public high school students to revise, edit, publish, and perform their own creative writing; Portland Book Festival, which builds community around literature through authors events, workshops, a book fair, and more; Delve Readers Seminars, a series of discussion based groups led by experienced scholars that engage readers in exploring challenging books; and The Archive Project, our radio show on Oregon Public Broadcasting and a podcast that presents our live readings, conversations, and talks completely free to listeners in Oregon, SW Washington, and throughout the world. 

The Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe is located at the newly opened Literary Arts headquarters at The Susan Hammer Center in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District. This vibrant hub for the community, contains not only the Literary Arts Bookstore & Cafe, but also has classrooms for writing workshops and seminars, a podcast studio, staff offices, and a flexible event space for readers, writers, and community members. 

Bottom Line for Portland

By supporting Literary Arts, you help us offer diverse programming to our community and bring together readers and writers of all ages. Together, we will build bridges and ignite conversations that will create a more engaged, empathetic, inclusive, and strong community.  

Quote

“Literary Arts does an excellent job of connecting readers and writers. It is a mix of literary salon and community gathering, merging the best of both worlds. The staff and audience are among some of the most passionate and engaged readers I have come across, including the high school students, whose love of reading and writing blew me away. Chapo ba, as we say in Creole, or hats off to Literary Arts.” -Edwidge Danticat, 2021-2022 Portland Arts & Lectures author

Incentives

$10: Libro.fm Audiobook Credit

All donors who give between $10 and $49 will receive a 1-credit gift code to be redeemed from more than 500,000 audiobooks on Libro.fm, the audiobook platform for local bookstores (while supplies last).

$50: Coffee Beans from our Cafe!

The first 25 donors who give between $50-$99 will receive a sample bag of coffee beans from our cafe! 

$100: Gift Card to the Bookstore at Literary Arts

The first TEN donors to give between $100 and $249 will receive a $10 gift card to the Bookstore at Literary Arts.

$250: Access to Our Moth Event 

The first FIVE donors to give between $250 and $499 will receive a pair of tickets to The 2025 Moth Mainstage and join us at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 for an evening of storytelling. 

Note: Tickets must be claimed by 12/1/2025.

$500: A Spot in a Writing Class of Your Choice

The first TWO donors to give between $500 and $999 will each receive a spot in a writing class. Our classes allow students of all skill levels to achieve short-term and long-term goals and deepen their writing practice. Find our current schedule here. 

Note: this incentive cannot apply to the six-month screenwriting intensive or six-month short story intensive. Must be used before May 2026.

$1,000: Spring 2026 Literary Arts Season Pass 

The first TWO donors to give $1,000 will each receive a pair of VIP tickets to Everybody Reads 2025 with Justice Brown Jackson, our annual youth poetry slam Verselandia!, and the Oregon Book Awards Ceremony AND a bundle of books and goodies.

Note: Gifts must be made by 11:59 pm on December 31st, 2025. The winners will be notified by email. Limit one Literary Arts incentive per gift; if you have already received an incentive for your gift, it will not be counted as a qualifying entry.

Partner(s)

We are lucky to be partnering with some truly special organizations this year. Be sure to check out their vital work!

Portland Literacy Council

https://www.portlandliteracy.org/

The Old Church

https://www.tocportland.org/

Caldera Arts

https://www.caldera.org/

Loyal Legion 

https://loyallegionbeerhall.com/portland/

A special thanks to Loyal Legion who for the duration of our Give!Guide campaign will send $1 per drink from select taps toward our goal! They are located at 710 SE 6th Ave. Support our campaign by stopping in for a drink!

Libro.fm

https://libro.fm/

A special thank you to Libro.fm for generously donating audiobook codes as a campaign incentive this year. Check out their wide selection of audiobooks and earn a free credit when you give $10 or more to Literary Arts!