It's a sensible move following 2015's very crowded Wordstock: Literary Arts is adding five new stages for this year's fest. Here's the announcement, sent by Literary Arts' Amanda Bullock and Andrew Proctor via email:

We are thrilled to announce that Wordstock will present author events at five new stages in the South Park Blocks neighboring the Portland Art Museum, thanks to new partnerships with The Old Church, Oregon Historical Society, and three of the stages of Portland'5: the Brunish Theatre, the Winningstad Theatre, and the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. We will also return to the First Congregational United Church of Christ. These new partner venues and stages more than DOUBLE the seated capacity for the festival, and will take pressure off of the traffic flow in the museum.

We are grateful that the Portland Art Museum (PAM) has been an enthusiastic partner from the outset of the relaunched Wordstock and will remain the heart of the festival. PAM will once again be home to Powell's festival bookstore; the book fair, which will expand this year to a second ballroom; and two of the eight author stages. Of course, PAM will also be home to our popular, dynamic pop-up events, which couldn't happen anywhere except the beautiful galleries of the museum.

This is good news. I heard a lot of complaints at last year's Wordstock about waiting in lines and venues being tremendously overcrowded. While both of these things are kind of to be expected at any festival (and I didn't think it was really that bad, although I have an abnormally high tolerance for massive concentrations of bookpeople), it's good to see Literary Arts making some serious adjustments for this year's festival. I'm equally glad they're not just going back to the dreary Convention Center, but opting instead for more spaces around PAM.

This year's Wordstock is scheduled for Saturday, November 5.