In this episode of The Archive Project, we take you behind the scenes at the 2023 Portland Book Festival, which we hosted in downtown Portland on November 4, 2023. The festival featured over 100 writers in more than 50 events throughout the day.

One of the best things about book festivals is the magic of having that particular group of authors all together at the same place at the same time. It might be the only time some of them are at the same event. This makes for great on-stage conversations and connections, but it also means that authors get to connect with each other off stage – in the green room, at the post-fest party, and even going to each other’s events.

Thinking about that magic and that opportunity, we asked six of the festival authors to recommend a book by another author in the festival. The ask resulted in some wonderful cross genre action: A young adult novelist recommends a science journalist and essayist; an adult novelist shares her love for a poet; and a cultural essayist shouts out a memoir; and more.

We’ll hear from:

Given the holiday season, we thought you might get some gift-giving inspiration from their recommendations. And you will get a peek behind the scenes at the festival, where authors geek out about their fellow authors.

Each author will share their recommendation and why they chose it, and we’ll hear a bit from the author of book they are recommending. The Archive Project editor and producer Matthew Workman narrates our journey, taking us from the author green room out to the festival stages and finally to the author party – your only chance to join this exclusive festival event.