Two-and-a-half hours’ driving time from Portland and just across the state line from Astoria sits the Sou’wester Historic Lodge & Vintage Travel Trailer Resort, a longtime favorite of Rose City writers, artists, and oddballs. Five years ago, when the folks at Mother Foucault’s Bookshop—one of Portland’s favorite not-giant booksellers—were dreaming up a getaway for the local literary community, they turned to the Sou’wester and the resort’s collection of ’50s and ’60s-era accommodations.
“It began as a group of readers and shop customers going out informally for a weekend of books and writing and hanging out,” says festival coordinator Heather Brown. “But as more book events started happening at the shop, we thought it would be fun to invite publishers out, have readings and workshops, and involve the wider community with more intention, while preserving the feel of an informal gathering of friends.”