Bookish Spotlight: Portland Book Week 2026
If you are a reader of our blogs, you know that we like to spotlight book events in our city, Portland, Oregon. One of the things that we love about Portland is how friendly it is to creative spaces and how they take over the city. Last year, we followed Independent Bookstore Day and I attempted the bookstore crawl! You can read about that here. This year, I wanted to talk about Portland Book Week and what this event brings to the community.
In 2026, Portland Book Week is ten days long, from June 5 to June 14, and includes events, a bookstore BINGO, and partnerships with local organizations that make sure those who want to read, can. In our town, we believe that no one should go without access to literature. These organizations give all members of our community, especially the underserved, access to reading materials and resources.
Also during Portland Book Week, participating stores are hosting an insane amount of bookish events like book launches, conversations with authors, storytimes, and book group meetups. I’m particularly interested in these events:
June 9, 4:00 p.m. and/or 6:00 p.m.: The Stacks Coffeehouse is hosting two low-stakes writing sessions and mini open mics at their cafe.
June 10, 6:30 p.m.: At Two Rivers Bookstore, local author Neil Cochrane is hosting a queer book club to discuss Masquerade by Mike Fu.
June 13, 11:00 a.m.: Books with Pictures is putting on BwpCon!, a market full of comics artists and illustrators as well as live music, cosplay, panels, and more.
For the folks who like to have a little adult drink with their book, you can check out these local libation + book collabs:
June 8–June 14: Pairings Portland Wine Shop & Bar has curated a special Dungeon Crawler Carl wine flight for books two–eight.
June 10, 5:00 p.m.: Selected Stories is putting on a Sip & Shop at their bookstore.
The main event of Portland Book Week is BINGO! You can pick up a BINGO card at any bookstore participating in Book Week. As you visit bookstores, look out for any space on the card that the bookstores could stamp. Some examples of the spaces include “a bookstore that sells used books,” “a woman owned bookstore,” and “a bookstore with a cafe or a beverage counter.” You can only use each store for one space, so take time to strategize. If you get a BINGO, you can submit your card for the raffle. The prize is currently unknown, unfortunately.
The beautiful thing about this book event is that there is something for everyone, and there's a pretty good chance your favorite indie bookstore is participating. You may even spot one of us, or all of us, from Hellebore at one of the events as well—if you do, feel free to say hi! ✿
