What we’re about
Welcome! We are a coffee shop bookstore located in SW Portland featuring great coffee and diverse books. We host readings and book launches on Friday and Saturday evenings, and children's storytime on Saturday mornings. We also host recurring write-ins, writing contests, and open mics. https://boldcoffeeandbooks.com
Upcoming events (4+)
See all- Author Reading: Steve Arndt and the Spanbauerians!BOLD Coffee & Books, Portland, OR
BOLD is thrilled to host an author reading with Steve Arndt and the Spanbauerians!
Author and instructor Tom Spanbauer had a profound effect on many writers in the Portland area and beyond. Indeed, there are generations of Spanbauer writers who have gone on to publish, lead other writing groups, teach, and most importantly, continue the legacy of community and craft. Spanbauerian Steve Arndt leads the charge for this reading series, curating a selection of Spanbauer authors to read each quarter at BOLD Coffee & Books.
The second iteration of this series brings us readings from Jan Baross, Doug Chase, Brian Stephen Ellis, and Dian Greenwood.
Jan Baross is an award-winning novelist, poet, filmmaker, screenwriter, playwright, librettist, and taught filmmaking at OSU. Jose Builds a Woman, her debut novel, received first place for Kay Snow Awards. Ursula Le Guin called it “a wild ride through the extravagantly carnal Mexico of the imagination.” Her second novel was a political satire, Sylvia, the 100-year-old Assassin. Her current novel, Bye-Bye Bakersfield, won First Place in the International San Miguel Writers Competition, 2023.
Doug Chase revived his writing jones in 2012 when he joined Tom Spanbauer’s weekly workshop. He has one unpublished book, one unfinished book going through major reconstruction, and half of a draft of an evil robot story. His current work in progress is called “What’s a Nice Jewish Boy Like Me Doing in a Church Like This?” Doug has stories in the classic Portland anthology City of Weird, the remarkable book of Stephen O’Donnell’s paintings The Untold Gaze, and a horror-themed volume of Deep Overstock. Doug lives in Portland with his remarkable spouse Tracey and their two utterly ridiculous kittens, Abner and Daisy.
Brian Stephen Ellis is the author of five collections of poetry and one collection of short fiction. His most recent collection of poems, Against Common Sense, was a finalist for the 2025 Oregon Book Award. He lives in Portland.
Dian Greenwood studied writing (emphasis on poetry) at San Francisco State University. She later studied novel writing with Janet Fitch (White Oleander) and Tom Spanbauer (In the City of Shy Hunters). Dian published About the Carleton Sisters (2023, She Writes Press) and, a year later, Forever Blackbirds (2024). The Blackbird sequel, Blackbird Whistling is due in September 2025, both books from Traveler’s Moon Press. Dian previously published essays in the online magazine, The Big Smoke, America. Her Substack essays can be found at It’s Never Too Late. Dian lives in Portland, Oregon, where she writes and works as a family therapist. She can be reached at greenwooddian@gmail.com or 503-791-6106.
Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to grab a snack or drink. The event will start at 7:00 p.m.
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Event cohosted by BOLD Coffee & Books and Indigo: Editing, Design, and More.
- Children’s Storytime: Angie Drake Reads King of the CondorsBOLD Coffee & Books, Portland, OR
BOLD is thrilled to host a special children’s storytime. Featured presenter Angie Drake will read King of the Condors by Justin T. O´Conor Sloane.
Join us for a bilingual storytime featuring King of the Condors, a beautifully illustrated folktale full of adventure, magic, and a message of hope. Told in both English and Spanish, this family-friendly event includes a reading, a short photo presentation about the real Kichwa family behind Ecuador’s Tambo Cóndor Interpretive Center, and a look at the amazing wildlife they help protect. Audience members can help decide how the story is read—one language or both! Perfect for families, language learners, and nature lovers of all ages. Stay for Q&A and discover how storytelling can help save endangered species.
Angie Drake is the writer behind Not Your Average American, a blog focused on Ecuador’s culture, nature, and conservation. She works closely with Tambo Cóndor, a Kichwa-owned eco-project in the Andes, and shares stories that connect people to place. She’s thrilled to present King of the Condors to new readers.
Justin T. O´Conor Sloane is the author of King of the Condors, a bilingual children’s book inspired by Andean folklore and his time living in Cuenca, Ecuador. A lifelong storyteller, Justin believes in the power of imagination to inspire change. A portion of each book sale supports wildlife conservation in Ecuador.
Justin collaborated closely with his wife, Ana Ximena Caroso Montero, an Ecuadorian advocate and the book’s Spanish translator.
Stephanie Suter is a Swiss-born artist based in Cuenca, Ecuador. She illustrated King of the Condors using ink on silk, creating dreamlike images that bring the story to life. This is her first children’s book. Stephanie is also active in local conservation efforts alongside her husband.
From each book sold, $3 is donated to support their efforts to build the Tambo Cóndor Interpretive Center, a local education hub where schoolchildren and community members will learn about endangered species like the Andean condor and the spectacled bear—and how to help protect them. You can read more about this grassroots initiative here.
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Event cohosted by BOLD Coffee & Books and Indigo: Editing, Design, and More.
- Author Reading: Patricia Haim in Conversation with Sarah Baker MunroBOLD Coffee & Books, Portland, OR
BOLD is thrilled to host a reading with Patricia Haim, author of Lifelines: A Viennese Family’s Letters from Home and Exile, 1938-1947 in conversation with local Portland author, Sarah Baker Munro, author of Timberline Lodge: The History, Art, and Craft of an American Icon.
Patricia will read from Lifelines and both authors will discuss this historical memoir, which gives voice to the daily survival of a family during the Holocaust, through letters that portray their present-tense thoughts as they connect through the traumas of separation and oppression.
Discussion to be followed by an audience Q&A and signing.Patricia Haim was born and raised in New York City. After graduating from the University of Melbourne’s English language and literature honors program, she attended graduate school at Duke and Notre Dame Law School. She retired after a career in employment, labor, and immigration law. She lives in Bend, Oregon.
Sarah Baker Munro majored in Anthropology and Art History at Pitzer College and received an MA in Folklore at the University of California Berkeley. She wrote several publications on the lodge, including Timberline Lodge: The History, Art, and Craft of an American Icon; a Multiple Property Documentation form for PWA and WPA resources in the State of Oregon; and other local history articles. Currently, she serves on the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation.
Arrive at 6:30 p.m. to grab a snack or drink. The event will start at 7:00 p.m.
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Event cohosted by BOLD Coffee & Books and Indigo: Editing, Design, and More.
