Portland Public Library hosts nationally touring authors at the Spotlight Series. Authors talk about newly released work followed by audience Q&A and a book signing. The series is co-hosted by Portland Public Library and sponsored by the Press Hotel and Bangor Savings Bank.

Our Book of the Week project is created by Reader’s Advisory staff and is focused on sharing one great book from the library’s collections each week. The book might be fiction or nonfiction, a new title or an older gem from the stacks. You can see a photo of each new book of the week and a list of the books in our library catalog here.

Portland Public Library has organized a month-long lineup of engaging poetry readings and panel discussions for National Poetry Month. Join the celebration by attending one of these events and be inspired to celebrate poetry all year long!

Linda Aldrich, Portland’s Poet Laureate, hosts a series of poetry readings that feature a range of local voices through varying themes and collaborations of poets.

In celebration of National Poetry Month, we are pleased to present a reading of new works by Betsy Sholl, Richard Foerster, Elizabeth Tibbetts, and Jeffrey Thompson, followed by thoughtful conversation about the craft of poetry. Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served.

In honor of National Poetry Month, Wesley McNair will offer a recollection of his literary friendship with poets Donald Hall and Jane Kenyon. Interspersing his account with poems and personal anecdotes, McNair will show how he and his New Hampshire neighbors developed as poets of place.

Our Literary Lunch Series is held at noon the last Wednesday of each month. We host New England authors with recently-released work in conversation with a literary friend, colleague or critic. Bring your lunch and join us!

Join one of our ongoing book groups at our branches, or let us help your book group with suggestions for what to read, book sets you can borrow, advice on book group strategy, and extra copies to supply you.

The second annual Portland Public Library Reading Challenge is here! We have selected 24 book prompts and we challenge you to read one book from each category throughout the year. That’s just two books a month – will you accept the challenge?

Looking for help with reading suggestions? Would you love to get a personalized list of ideas based on your own reading interests? Our Reader’s Advisory staff is here to help! We’re ready to put our professional book-matching skills to work.