This year, the annual gathering of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP), the largest writer’s conference in the country, lands in Portland—which is huge! If you have any creative writers in your life, chances are they’re freaking out—if not for the conference itself, for the fact that it’s bringing fellow writers, editors, publishers, teachers, and friends in from all over the country.
But why does this matter to you, dear Portland book lover? Because some of the best writers in the country will be here and they’ll be spending their nights away from the convention center, reading at your favorite bars, restaurants, bookstores, and performance venues. You can see more authors than you’ve ever dreamed of, play literary bingo, perform poetry karaoke, tour the William Stafford archives, and dance to writers night-lighting as DJs. And these offsite events are almost entirely free and open to the public.