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A new story is about to unfold

1st annual Portland Book Week is a love letter to local readers, businesses

Powell's City of Books Portland Book Week.png

“The goal of Portland Book Week is to showcase the vibrancy of our independent bookstore community, foster connections between literary-minded people across the city, and to geek out about books together,” said Powell’s City of Books store manager Bry Hoeg. | Photo by Cambrie Juarez, PDXtoday

Bookworms, get out your favorite tote bag and wipe the smudges from your reading glasses because the first annual Portland Book Week is nearly upon us.

The event, intended to celebrate the community’s passion for the literary arts and support local businesses, begins Monday, June 10. Fifty-one independent bookstores across the Portland metro area — including Vancouver — are participating in the festivities, which include author events, a bookstore crawl, games, raffles, giveaways, and discounts.

Writers Melissa Febos, Kimberly King Parsons, Jules Ohman, and Caitlin Delohery will kick off Portland Book Week with the “Big Gay Reading” on Monday, June 10 at Bishop & Wilde.

Some other events include:

Blind Date Book Swap | Monday, June 10-Friday, June 14 | 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. | Jan’s, 12320 SW First St., Beaverton | Free | Bring a book from home or buy one in-store, leave your contact info if you wish, wrap it up, and leave it for someone else.
Trivia Night | Wednesday, June 12 | 7:30-9:30 p.m. | Rose City Book Pub, 1329 NE Fremont St., Portland | Free | You’re in for a night of wine, beer, books, and a little friendly competition.
Reading: Rene Denefeld and Liz Scott | Thursday, June 13 | 7 p.m. | Annie Bloom’s Books, 7834 SW Capitol Hwy., Portland | Free | Hear from the respective authors of “Sleeping Giants” and “This Never Happened.”
BwPCon | Saturday, June 15 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. | Books with Pictures, 1401 SE Division St., Portland | Free | Participate in a cosplay contest, witness a live drawing battle, browse 50+ comics and art vendors, and more.
Rose City Book & Paper Fair | Friday, June 14-Saturday, June 15 | DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Portland, 1000 NE Multnomah St., Portland | $5 | Shop for used, rare, and collectible items, from quirky vintage photo albums to signed first editions.

Portland Book Week runs through Sunday, June 16. See a map of participating bookstores.

Asked

Which of these Shakespearean titles is engraved in the sandstone pillar outside Powell’s City of Books?

“The Tempest”
“King Lear”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
“Hamlet”

To be, or not to be?

Events

Thursday, May 30

LEWDicrous: Eurovision | Thursday, May 30 | 8-10:30 p.m. | Atlantis Lounge at Mississippi Pizza Pub, 3552 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland | $20-$25 | Don’t miss this night of cabaret and comedy featuring renditions of Europe’s “wackiest and most wonderful songs.”

Friday, May 31

Portland Night Market | Friday, May 31-Saturday, June 1 | 4-11 p.m. | 100 SE Alder St., Portland | Free | Food, culture, music, drinks, and one-of-a-kind handcrafted items (and sometimes goats) are what you’ll find at this recurring event showcasing 175+ local vendors.

Saturday, June 1

Powell’s Books Warehouse Sale | Saturday, June 1-Sunday, June 2 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Powell’s Books Warehouse, 2720 NW 29th Ave., Portland | Free | Browse Powell’s Book’s backlog of 30,000+ titles, with hardcovers going for $3, trade paperbacks for $2, and mass market paperbacks for $1.
2024 PDX Modern Home Tour | Saturday, June 1 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Locations vary, Portland | $20-$145 | Step inside some of the area’s most stunning homes on this self-guided tour, chat with the architects and designers, and leave inspired.
Rose Garden Stroll | Saturday, June 1 | 11 a.m.-2 p.m. | International Rose Test Garden, 400 SW Kingston Ave., Portland | Free | Imagine yourself in a Jane Austen novel at this Oregon Regency Society event (regrettably, Mr. Darcy sightings are not included).

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Legacy

Bill Walton has died of cancer at 71. Drafted by the Trail Blazers in 1974 as the No. 1 overall pick, Walton helped Portland secure its only NBA title in 1977. The Basketball Hall of Famer became a legendary sportscaster — and a “guiding light” for the Locked On Blazers podcast. (KGW)

Sports

Oregon and Oregon State will both appear in the NCAA Division I baseball tournament. The Ducks are bound for the Santa Barbara Regional where they’ll take on San Diego; the Beavers will host Tulane in Corvallis. Both games will air this Friday, May 31 on ESPNU. (KGW)

Biz

Campbell Soup Co. will close its Pacific Foods manufacturing facility in Tualatin by summer 2026. Job cuts will happen in phases, with 120 employees laid off by early August of this year. The company said the plant “can no longer support the increased consumer demand and continued growth of the business.” (The Oregonian/Oregon Live)

Open

Oak Flat Vineyards recently opened a new winery and tasting room in Southeast Portland’s Belmont neighborhood. The Dalles vineyard exclusively grows Rhône varietals (think grenache and syrah). Sip them slowly — and enjoy a full, bistro-style French menu — at 4701 SE Belmont St.

Arts

You’ll find a new art gallery and event space in an old auto mechanic shop on Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The Roll Up, so named for its roll-up garage doors, contains Colours PDX, Top Shelf Records, and a mini fingerboard skatepark. Its events calendar includes comedy nights and drag shows. (Willamette Week)

Cause

After 20+ years spent raising HIV/AIDS awareness and money for more than 20 local charities, Portland’s Red Dress Party has taken its final bow. Red Dress PDX, the nonprofit behind the yearly ball, cited “a fundamental shift in the way that people spend time with each other.” (Willamette Week)

Concert

The self-proclaimed “Queen of Rap” is coming to Portland. Nicki Minaj announced a second leg to her current “Pink Friday 2” world tour, set to begin this September. It’s unclear when exactly the artist will perform in the Rose City, but tickets go on sale Sunday, June 9. (KGW)

Health

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University hope to advance a “new frontier” in children’s mental health care with the help of a new $16 million grant. The funds will support the collection of data via artificial intelligence to improve the prediction of mental health conditions such as ADHD, anxiety, and depression. (KOIN)

Real Estate

Want to know when new business permits are filed and local properties change hands? The Portland Business Journal keeps track of building permits and real estate transactions (among other public records), filing them into a searchable online database. (Portland Business Journal)

Wellness

The Couples Clinic of Portland isn’t just for couples. Therapists Scott Miller and Nicole Apted work exclusively with individuals and offer both in-person and online appointments with availability as early as next week. Book a session or a free 15-minute consultation with one of them today.*

Home

Did you know you could finance your fixer-upper with home equity? You could get up to $50K with a HELOC — calculate your payment.*

Pets

What does your pet need right now? For a limited time, get a $20 eGift card when you spend $49+ on Chewy.com — use code WELCOME.*

Read

While we’re talking about books...

Rose City Reads celebrates 6 months of selling used books

A room full of shelves and free-standing displays of books.

Proceeds support Multnomah County Library locations, fueling the organization’s mission to empower the community through literacy. | Photo courtesy of Friends of the Multnomah County Library

As the late, great Portland author Ursula K. Le Guin suggested, books have a power not unlike music in that, as we consume them, they shape our thoughts, feelings, and temperament. And perhaps the way in which such things enter our lives is also an important piece in this process of mutual creation.

Modern readers have many ways to obtain books; experiencing the quiet thrill of hunting through the shelves of a secondhand bookshop is one of them. Six months ago, Rose City Reads added its name to Portland’s used bookstore index.

The shop, operated by the Friends of the Multnomah County Library nonprofit, is stocked with 15,000 used books, DVDs, CDs, and audiobooks in like-new condition. Since opening, Rose City Reads has sold 26,000 books with $100,000 in total sales.

Find Rose City Reads next to the Multnomah County Library Operations Center at 221 NE 122nd Ave., Ste. A. The average cost of a book is $3.

The Buy

Handcrafted candles. Transport yourself to the breathtaking landscapes and scents of your favorite National Parks with scents from The Roosevelts Candle Co.

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Cambrie

From the editor

What’s your No. 1 favorite restaurant in all of Portland? I’m currently loving Oma’s Hideaway (that flatbread is what dreams are made of). For Portland Business Journal readers, the local favorite is RingSide Steakhouse, followed by Amaterra and Nostrana. Share your top pick with us.

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