Skip to main content
Authors Rebecca Yarros (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm) and Stacey Abrams (Coded Justice) will be the two headliners of this fall’s Portland Book Festival on Saturday, Nov. 8. Literary Arts, the nonprofit arts organization that hosts the event, announced the full lineup today and opened ticket sales.
“We’re thrilled to present the 2025 Portland Book Festival at a time when broad access to literature and meaningful dialogue are more important than ever,” said Andrew Proctor, executive director of Literary Arts, in a press release. “The festival remains a vital place for readers and writers to come together to celebrate diverse stories that connect, challenge and inspire us.”
Yarros is the bestselling romance author of over 20 novels, including the romantasy Empyrean series. Abrams is a lawyer and politician who served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 2007 to 2017 who has also found success writing both fiction and nonfiction books.
The 2025 festival will feature onstage author discussions with more than 80 writers across 10 stages. The event also includes writing workshops, pop-up readings and a book fair, all in downtown Portland’s South Park Blocks.
The Yarros and Abrams events will both be held at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Events at the Newmark Theatre include: Nicholas Boggs (Baldwin: A Love Story), Emma Donoghue (The Paris Express), Angela Flournoy (The Wilderness), Jill Lepore (We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution) and Susan Orlean (Joyride: A Memoir).
In July, about 275 authors published a letter in the journal Literary Hub calling for Literary Arts to end its sponsorship with Wells Fargo, saying the bank has profited from the war in Gaza. Writers who both signed the letter and are set to appear at the Portland Book Festival include: Omar El Akkad, Jon Raymond, Emma Pattee, Leni Zumas, Lidia Yuknavitch, Sara Jaffe, Ever Jones, Leah Sotille and Lisa Wells.
The full lineup is available here: pdxbookfest.org. The list represents fiction, nonfiction, poetry, young adult, middle readers and picture books.
GO: Portland Book Festival, multiple locations in downtown’s South Park Blocks, pdxbookfest.org. Saturday, Nov. 8. General admission passes $18 in advance, $25 at the door. Children 17 and under, veterans and active military free. Arts for All passes $5.
