On the first full day of summer the sun is up
the sky as far as it will get and now it will
head south to warm the Antipodes, where today
it rains and gales blow up from the Antarctic.

Here it is summer already, the lawn mowed, garden
weeded and nostalgia for summers past makes her
way into this place.

— Excerpt from “Solstice” by Ellen Dudley

June is a bright and hopeful month here in Oregon, when the days become warm, everyone looks for excuses to spend more time outside, and the sun doesn’t set until nearly 9 o’clock. It also marks summer solstice — the official beginning of the season (this year on June 20) and the inspiration for American poet Ellen Dudley’s 2007 poem of the same name.

Prepare for those long days of reading by participating in Portland Book Week, June 6-15, celebrating independent booksellers in Portland and Vancouver. Pick up a bingo card for the book crawl, happening all week at stores including Belmont Books, Annie Bloom’s Books, Backstory, Broadway Books, Books With Pictures, Grand Gesture Books, Green Bean Books, Melville Books, Monograph Bookwerks, Powell’s Books, Up Up Books, Vivienne Culinary Books, and more than 50 others. Some stores will feature raffles, giveaways, and prizes for those who complete their bingo cards, and a limited edition Portland Book Week 2025 tote will be available for purchase. The 20th annual Rose City Book & Paper Fair will close out the week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 14-15 at the DoubleTree hotel in Portland’s Lloyd District.

WEEK 1: JUNE 1-7

Reading: Karen Russell With Rebecca Clarren
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, June 2
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Karen Russell, author of Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, will read from her new novel, The Antidote. The book takes place during the Great Depression as a historic dust storm ravages the fictional town of Uz, Neb. Following a wheat farmer, a photographer, a basketball star, and others, the novel explores themes of perseverance, climate chaos, and “the settler amnesia and willful omissions passed down from generation to generation.” Russell will be joined by Rebecca Clarren, author of The Cost of Free Land, winner of 2025 Oregon Book Award for General Nonfiction.

Bonus Books After Hours with Deborah Reed
Presented by Cloud & Leaf Bookstore
5 p.m. Wednesday, June 4
Cloud & Leaf Bookstore
447 Laneda Ave., Manzanita
Free

Join Deborah Reed, Berlin-based novelist, author of The Days When Birds Come Back, educator, and former owner of Cloud & Leaf Bookstore, for a reading from one of her seven novels. Her recent work, Pale Morning Light With Violet Swan, tells the story of a well-known abstract painter and the end of her life. Reed will also answer audience questions and may even hint at her forthcoming novel, soon to be announced.

Reading: Bill Ayers
Presented by Broadway Books
6 p.m. Wednesday, June 4
Broadway Books
1714 N.E. Broadway St., Portland
Free

Bill Ayers, author, activist, former Weather Underground member, and professor, will read from his newest book, When Freedom Is the Question, Abolition Is the Answer: Reflections on Collective Liberation, a combination of history and political theory. Ayers uses his knowledge of literature and social movements, as well as moments from his personal life, to create a resource for those interested in fighting for social justice. Angela Davis has praised the book, saying, “In combining his decades-long experience as an activist with his impressive erudition, Bill Ayers’s most recent book offers us the best possible framework for formulating the central questions of our time and for seeking answers with the most transformative potential.” 

Author Talk: Jane Kirkpatrick
Presented by NW Authors Series and Cannon Beach History Center
Saturday, June 7
2 p.m. at Cannon Beach History Center & Museum
1387 S. Spruce St.
5:30 p.m. at Cannon Beach Library
131 N. Hemlock St., Cannon Beach
Free

Jane Kirkpatrick, New York Times bestselling author of more than 40 books, will be in Cannon Beach — as well as Tillamook and Seaside — to celebrate her newest historical fiction release, Across the Crying Sands. She will speak at 2 p.m. at the Cannon Beach History Center & Museum and 5:30 p.m. at the Cannon Beach Library. She will be joined by poet Dana Huneke-Stone, author of Amuse Bouche: A Taste of Melancholy, for the reading at the museum. Both events are free and open to the public. If you miss Kirkpatrick in Cannon Beach, she will also give a book presentation and signing featuring Huneke-Stone at 5 p.m. June 13 at the Tillamook Library, and again solo at 11 a.m. June 14 at Beach Books in Seaside.

An Evening of Poetry and Music
Presented by Tsunami Books
7:30 p.m. Saturday, June 7
Tsunami Books
2585 Willamette St., Eugene
$20

Jorah LaFleur, writer, performer, Wordcrafters Eugene Writer in Residence, and former host of Eugene Poetry Slam, will perform spoken word poetry during an evening of words and music. She will be accompanied by Eugene-area musical collective Mood Area 52, featuring Michael Roderick on vocals and accordion, Amy Danziger on cello, Billy Barnett on guitar, Julia Frantz on violin, Dan Schmid on bass, Don Elkington on drums, and Kee Zublin on saxophone. General admission tickets are available in person, online, and via phone.

WEEK 2: JUNE 8-14

 PASTfuture Long Form Archival Conversation: Linda K. Johnson with Barry Johnson
Presented by Performance Works Northwest
11 a.m. Sunday, June 8
Performance Works Northwest
4625 S.E. 67th Ave., Portland
Free, donations accepted

Linda K. Johnson, long-time Portland dance educator and dance artist (and recent dance historian and archivist thanks to her Mycelium Dreams PASTfuture conversation series) will talk with Oregon ArtsWatch founder and former Executive Editor Barry Johnson at Performance Works Northwest. In 2011, Johnson launched ArtsWatch, where he continued for a decade. He will speak with Linda K. Johnson (no relation) about his career as an arts writer, editor, dance lover, and founder of ArtsWatch, and discuss his time in the field of local Portland arts and culture journalism.

Brian Goldstone in Conversation With Lydia Kiesling
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, June 9
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Brian Goldstone will read from There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America, his new book about the working homelessness crisis “in a country where hard work and determination are supposed to lead to success.” Goldstone uses vignettes and narrative to explore the problem of rising rents, falling wages, and lack of tenants’ rights that leads to working people who are unable to keep roofs over their families’ heads, arguing that the problem cannot be solved until housing is a fundamental human right. Goldstone will be joined by Lydia Kiesling, author of Mobility and The Golden State.

Oregon Book Award Author Tour: Willy Vlautin
Presented by Literary Arts
4 p.m. Friday, June 13
Coos Bay Public Library
525 Anderson Ave., Coos Bay
Free

Willy Vlautin, Portland-area author of five novels, PEN/Faulkner Award finalist, and recipient of three Oregon Book Awards, will host a writing workshop and read from his newest book, The Horse. The workshop is open to all levels and will help participants begin their novels or return to past works with renewed vision. The workshop will run from 4 to 5:30 p.m., followed by a reading by Vlautin at 6 p.m. in the library’s Myrtlewood Room. This event is part of the Literary Arts Oregon Book Award Author Tour series for 2025.

Caroline Fraser in Conversation With Leah Sottile
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Friday, June 13
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Caroline Fraser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Prairie Fires, will read from her new release, Murderland. The nonfiction work offers a true-crime look at serial killers in the Pacific Northwest and across the country. Fraser investigates how a toxic landscape of industrial violence managed to breed a new type of psychopath. Looking at Ted Bundy, the Green River Killer, the I-5 Killer, the Night Stalker, the Hillside Strangler, and Charles Manson, Murderland goes on a “Northwestern death trip” to uncover the deep mysteries and connections between environmental destruction and men who murder. Fraser will be joined in conversation by Leah Sottile, author of Blazing Eye Sees All.

WEEK 3: JUNE 15-21

Coll Thrush in Conversation With Catherine McNeur
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Tuesday, June 17
Powell’s Books at Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., Beaverton
Free

Coll Thrush, author and educator of Indigenous and settler colonial histories, will read from Wrecked: Unsettling Histories From the Graveyard of the Pacific, a collection of stories about vessels that wrecked along the notorious and treacherous Columbia River bar. Thrush highlights the inaccuracies in settler colonial myths, including the disappearance of Indigenous people, the ability to control nature, and the idea that the past should be forgotten. Thrush will be joined in conversation by Catherine McNeur, author of Mischievous Creatures: The Forgotten Sisters Who Transformed Early American Science.

Strange Birds
Presented by Fishtrap
7 p.m. Thursday, June 19
Fishtrap
107 W. Main St., Enterprise
$15, $12.50 for members, students under 18 free

Join Fishtrap for a staged reading of Strange Birds, the 2025 Oregon Book Award-nominated play by E.M. Lewis. The one-night-only event features a Portland-area cast of actors directed by Melory Mirashrafi and explores a tale of women, wolves, secrets, and fate. In this murder-mystery-like experience, a forest ranger and her trainee discover blood in the snow outside a remote mountain cabin and attempt to uncover the truth before getting stuck in a dangerous snowstorm.

WEEK 4: JUNE 22-30

Reading: Jess Walter
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Monday, June 23
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Spokane writer Jess Walter, author of novels including Beautiful Ruins and The Cold Millions, will read from his newest release, So Far Gone, a comedic, empathetic, and provocative contemporary adventure through modern America. A reclusive journalist and failed father and husband named Rhys Kinnick goes off the grid and retreats to a cabin in the woods. When his past comes back to haunt him, Kinnick must go on a wild journey to track down his missing daughter, save his grandchildren, and road trip across a fractured nation.

Reading: Chris Campanioni With Rachel King & Kevin Maloney
Presented by Annie Bloom’s Books
7 p.m. Thursday, June 26
Annie Bloom’s Books
7834 S.W. Capitol Hwy., Portland
Free

Chris Campanioni, researcher, writer, and Pushcart Prize winner, will read from his new book, north by north/west. The new hybrid book of creative nonfiction utilizes montage and collage to explore exile, expression, and the political impacts of Cold War colonialism. Campanioni will be joined by Rachel King, 2024 Oregon Book Award finalist and author of People Along the Sand, and Kevin Maloney, author of The Red-Headed Pilgrim, Horse Girl Fever, and Cult of Loretta.

Kelly Ramsey in Conversation With Emma Pattee
Presented by Powell’s Books
7 p.m. Thursday, June 26
Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside St., Portland
Free

Kelly Ramsey will discuss her newest release, Wildfire Days. The memoir considers Ramsey’s personal experience with wildfire as the only woman and oldest member of a hotshot firefighting crew, as well as meditations on the beauty of Northern California’s mountains and forests. Ramsey explains how major wildfires are fought, discusses the psychological toll of fires on firefighters and civilians, and considers what it means to break old self-destructive patterns — asking the question, “Which fires do you fight, and which do you let burn you clean?” Ramsey will be joined in conversation by Emma Pattee, climate journalist and author of Tilt. If you miss Ramsey in Portland, she will be at Roundabout Books in Bend at 5:30 p.m. June 26 for another reading.

SLANT Live Queer Storytelling
Presented by SLANT
7 p.m. Thursday, June 26
Mississippi Studios
3939 N. Mississippi Ave., Portland
$26.05, 21 and older only

SisterBritt will host a show that includes 7-minute-long stories from a half-dozen queer storytellers including Ebo Barton, Jermaine Blackwell, Mercy M’Fon, and Anwar Musa. A portion of ticket sales
will go to benefit the Equal Rights for All campaign.