Parallel Worlds Bookshop: Events
CRAFTERNOON: TWILIGHT BOOK BEDAZZLE
CRAFTERNOON: TWILIGHT BOOK BEDAZZLE
Our monthly Crafternoon just got a little more hoa hoa hoa. Join us for a Twilight-themed book bedazzling afternoon and glitz your favorite book into something even Edward Cullen would sparkle next to.
Bring a book to bedazzle, pick your sparkle, and make it aggressively Forks-coded.
🐀 Twilight vibes encouraged
✨ Bedazzling supplies provided
📚 Bring your own bookm (anybook, doesn’t need to be twilight hehe)
💎 $10 to participate
This is the skin of a killer, Bella... or the cover of a very sparkly book…..
🌲💀 Back Into the Ground: PNW Horror Night
🌲💀 Back Into the Ground: PNW Horror Night
Join us for the inaugural release from Portland’s Caretaker Press! Back Into the Ground features 13 horror stories inspired by the dark corners of the Pacific Northwest.
Editors Erick Mertz & James Strayer will be joined by local contributors for readings + conversation about the anthology. 🖤
📅 Tuesday, October 13
⏰ 6:30–8 PM
📍 Parallel Worlds Bookshop
🎟️ Free + open to everyone!
ACOTAR 6 Midnight Release + Tattoo Flash Party
ACOTAR 6 Midnight Release + Tattoo Flash Party 🌙🗡️✨
Film Screening & Author Talk with Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu
Film Screening & Author Talk with Jane Schoenbrun and SenLinYu at Hollywood Theatre
MILKTEETH by CAITLIN STARLING RELEASE
MILKTEETH by CAITLIN STARLING RELEASE
🦷✨ Join us for the release of MILKTEETH, the newest release from Caitlin Starling.
We're thrilled to welcome Caitlin in conversation with Stephanie Binx for an evening of author discussion, reader Q&A and a book signing.
📚 Books available for purchase and signing at the event.
When: Tues Nov 10 @ 630pm
Curtis Chen X Jessie Kwak Author Talk
Curtis Chen X Jessie Kwak Author Talk
Join us as we are celebrating the 4th book in Chen's Kangraoo series, Kangaroo Forth Curtis will be in conversation with local SF author Jessie Kwak
Conversation, Q&A, followed by book signing
When: November 18th. 630-8pm
Bios:
Once a Silicon Valley software engineer, Curtis C. Chen (陳致宇) now writes stories near Portland, Oregon. He's the award-winning author of the bestselling KANGAROO series of funny science fiction spy thrillers and has written for the Realm original podcasts Echo Park, Ninth Step Murders, and Machina. Curtis' shorter works have appeared in Playboy Magazine; the ENNIE Award-winning Kobold Guide to Roleplaying; The Year's Best Fantasy, Volume 2; Aliens vs. Predators: Ultimate Prey; and elsewhere. His homebrew cat feeding robot was displayed in the "Worlds Beyond Here" exhibit at Seattle's Wing Luke Museum. Visit him online: https://CurtisCChen.com
Jessie Kwak is an author, storyteller, and business book ghostwriter living in Portland, Oregon. When she’s not writing, she can be found sewing, mountain biking, and exploring the Pacific Northwest (and beyond). She is the author of thriller novels, two series of space scoundrel sci-fi crime novels, and a handful of productivity books including From Chaos to Creativity and From Big Idea to Book. You can learn more about her at www.jessiekwak.com.
Horror Bookclub!
Horror Bookclub! The Eyes Are The Best Part Monika Kim
Where: PW
When: Thurs Nov 19 @ 6:30pm
Author Talk: Tyler Jones x Wendy N. Wagner
Author Talk: Tyler Jones x Wendy N. Wagner
Join us in celebrating Tyler Jone’s debut novel Depth Charge in conversation with Wendy N Wagner.
Books for both authors will be available for purchase and signing!
CRAFTERNOON
CRAFTERNOON
BYOC: Bring Your Own Craft and come craft with us! Knitting, crochet, collage, drawing, junk journaling, embroidery.
Where: PW
When: 6:30pm-8pm
Speculative Poetry: Weavings and Unweavings
Speculative Poetry: Weavings and Unweavings
Featuring readings by Brian U. Garrison, Katherine Quevedo & Haley Bossé
📅 October 6
⏰ 6:30–8:00 PM
🎟️ Free
Join us for an evening of speculative poetry featuring three local poets whose work explores imagined futures, fantastical worlds, identity, ecology, resistance, and everything that poetry can make strange and luminous.
Brian U. Garrison, Katherine Quevedo, and Haley Bossé will each take the floor for a featured reading, with their books available for purchase throughout the evening.
Come discover poetry from the speculative edges. 🔮📚
About the Poets
Brian U. Garrison (he/him) writes poetry for children, adults, and grand adults. His latest book, The Future is Antifascist, channels rage while pointing toward hope. His homage to Pluto and friends, Micropoetry for Microplanets, earned third place in the Elgin Awards. He serves as President of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association and Managing Editor for Eye to the Telescope.
Katherine Quevedo was born and raised in Beaverton, Oregon, where she works as an analyst and lives with her husband and two sons. She is the author of the Elgin Award-winning poetry chapbook The Inca Weaver’s Tales, the fantasy novella Thrice Petrified, and the forthcoming video game poetry chapbook Extra Lives in Verse, as well as a forthcoming full-length poetry collection. She is a Rhysling Award finalist and Pushcart Prize nominee whose poetry and short fiction have appeared in Asimov’s, Nightmare Magazine, Best of Utopian Speculative Fiction, and elsewhere.
Haley Bossé (they/them) is a queer writer and image artist concerned with ecological, bodily, social, and planetary systems. They are a founding editor of the Monarch Queer Literary Awards, editor of Eye to the Telescope: (non)binaries, and founder of the Eugene-based Mycelial Writers Workshop. Their writing has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, Best Microfiction, Genrepunk’s Haunting Award, the Dwarf Stars Award, and the Rhysling Award. In 2026, they placed third in Passionfruit Review’s Being in Bodies Contest. Their first book, Aurora Comes Online, is available now from Game Over Books.
SF+F Bookclub
SF+F Bookclub - Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le’Guin
When: Thurs Oct 1 @ 630pm
Where: PW!
Romantasy Bookclub!
Romantasy Bookclub!
Blood Oath by Megan B Lee
Where: Parallel Worlds Bookshop
When: 630pm
Horror Bookclub X Author Talk with Sarah Gailey + Kelsea Yu
Parallel Worlds Bookshop Horror
Bookclub x Author Talk: Sarah Gailey & Kelsea Yu
Bookstore Romance Day - Golden Ticket Treasure Hunt
Bookstore Romance Day - Golden Ticket Treasure Hun
Visit the shop and search for our hidden Golden Ticket for a chance to win a Romancing Portland day pass!
Crafternoon
Parallel Worlds Crafternoon
Bring your current craft project and spend the evening creating alongside fellow makers at Parallel Worlds Bookshop. Knitting, crocheting, painting, drawing, collage, LEGO, jewelry-making, and wonderfully unclassifiable crafts are all welcome.
Crafternoon is a relaxed, social gathering for all skill levels. Bring your own project and supplies, or come ready to gather inspiration from the creative community around you.
Monday, August 10
6:30–8pm
Parallel Worlds Bookshop
Free
$2 Side Walk Sale! All Books $2
$2 Side Walk Sale!
We'll be putting out hundreds of books on August 7th & 8th, and you can pay what you want for them
🎉🎉🎉
100% of the sales will be donated to The Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs Wildfire Recovery Fund. We will also be matching that total donation.
All books outside are $2!
Romantasy Bookclub
Romantasy Bookclub #25 : Providence Girls by Morgan Dante
When: Thursday July 30 @ 630pm
Where: Dreamhouse PDX - Upstairs
Horror Bookclub + Author Visit
Horror Bookclub: Wife Shaped Bodies with Laura Cranehill
Author Talk: Ling Ling Huang + Laura Cranehill
Author Talk: Ling Ling Huang + Laura Cranehill
PRIDE MONTH ROMANTASY BOOK CLUB
PRIDE MONTH ROMANTASY BOOK CLUB 🌈
Book: Captive Prince by CS Pacat
June 25 2026 6:30pm
Second Annual Portland Bookweek Tattoo Flash Fundraiser
Portland Book Week: Tattoo Flash Fundraiser
Portland Book Week: Banned Books Reading Seminar: Brave New World
Reading Seminar: Brave New World
Portland Book Week: Crafternoon
Portland Book Week: Crafternoon
🗓 Monday, June 8 | 6:30PM
Tiny crafts. Big vibes.
Bring your crochet, knitting, embroidery, sketchbook, mending pile, chainmail project, or beautifully cursed WIP and join us for a cozy community crafternoon at Parallel Worlds 💫
Low-pressure, welcoming, and deeply bookshop-coded. Come make things with fellow readers, artists, and fiber goblins.
All skill levels welcome!
Portland Book Week: Robin Hobb Author Talk with Evan Leikam
Author Talk: Robin Hobb & Evan Leikam
Portland Book Week Kick off: Jeff Vandermeer Bookclub + Author Q&A
Jeff VanderMeer Bookclub + Author Q&A
🗓 Thursday, June 4 | 6:30PM
The border between ecology and horror has never looked this beautiful.
Help Parallel Worlds Bookshop kickoff Portland Book Week with our Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookclub featuring Jeff VanderMeer, author of Annihilation and the Southern Reach series.
We’ll discuss Annihilation, dive into environmental horror, weird fiction, transformation, and the uncanny, followed by a live Q&A and signing with Jeff Vandermeer himself.
Come ready to talk spores, survival, obsession, and the terror of becoming part of something larger than yourself.
Romantasy Two Year Anniversary: By Blood, Shadow, and Fire by Orin Steele
Romantasy Two Year Anniversary:
By Blood, Shadow, and Fire by Orin Steele
Join us for a special Romantasy Bookclub as we celebrate two years of reading together!
Our next selection is By Blood, Shadow, and Fire, the debut novel from Orin Steele. To mark the occasion, Orin will be joining us in person for a conversation, Q&A, and signing!
Run of Show:
6:30-7pm: Bookclub Discussion
7-7:30pm: Author QA
7:30-8pm: Book Signing
When: May 28th 2026 at 6:30pm
Where: Parallel Worlds Bookshop
Reading Seminar: Xenogenesis Series
Xenogenesis Reading Seminar
A 6-session reading seminar exploring Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy
Horror Bookclub
Horror Bookclub #9 | Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
Book: Earthlings by Sayaka Murata
When: Thursday May 21th 6:30-8pm
Reading Seminar: Xenogenesis Series
Xenogenesis Reading Seminar
A 6-session reading seminar exploring Octavia E. Butler’s Xenogenesis Trilogy