If you want to book Laura for an event, contact her publicist, Feliza Casano.

Upcoming

Pop-up Publishing Classes with Liz Prato, January and February 2024

Past Events

North Plains Library, with Kesha Ajose-Fisher, Sept. 26, 2023

In conversation, Broadway Books, with author Dian Greenwood, Sept. 12, 2023

Spoken Word, Oregon Country Fair, summer 2023, last minute fill-in monologue

Keynote, Terroir Writing Conference, April 29, 2023

Oregon Writers Colony, annual spring conference speaker, March 27, 2023

Hillsboro Public Library, March 16, 2023, with Curtis Chen and Emily Prado

Willamette Writers, in person, keynote speaker, Portland, Oregon, 2022

American Library Association, in person, Washington, DC, in conversation with Amy Casey, summer 2022

Oregon Country Fair, in person, summer 2022, Veneta, Oregon

Write on the Sound, online, Edmonds, Washington writing conference

Thursday, June 16, 6 p.m.: Roundabout Books, in person, Bend, Oregon, in conversation with Julie Swearingen.

Writer in residence, The Cottonwood School of Civics and Science, 4th/5th grade, spring 2022

Speech to booksellers—virtual author appearance, PNBA, CALIBA, and Mountains & Plains, Oct. 22, 2021

Keynote, Words & Pictures, virtual, Ft. Vancouver Library System, Vancouver, Wa., Oct. 9, 2021

Publisher panel, Words & Pictures, virtual, Ft. Vancouver Library System, Vancouver, Wa., Oct. 9, 2021

Signing ARCs of Singing Lessons for the Stylish Canary, PNBA tradeshow, Portland, Oregon, Oct. 4-6, 2021

Mineral School guest speaker, with Claudia Savage, Sept. 17, 2021

Chasing Chaos with Sheila Hamilton, April 28, 2021

Garden Home Library, submissions lecture, Feb. 23, 2021

Reading, Coffee and Grief, online, Nov. 5, 2020

Adjunct instructor, Book Editing, Portland State University’s publishing program, winter term 2020

PNBA annual trade show, October 2019, including a panel on publishing

Facilitating Create More, Fear Less,  a middle school elective at a Portland K-8 charter school, fall term, 2019

Portland State guest lecturer on publishing, October 2019

Writing retreat through the Oregon Extension Service--operated property in Lincoln, Oregon, August 2019

American Library Association Conference, June 2019, Washington D.C.

Career day speaker, Linwood Elementary School, June 6, 2019

Fiction class guest lecturer, Clackamas Community College, June 3, 2019

Reading, Mothers and Daughters, Rose City Book Pub, May 22, 2019

Panelist, Write to Publish, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, April 27, 2019

Panelist, University of New Mexico Continuing Education’s writing conference, Albuquerque, NM, April 13, 2019

The Attic, Symposium speaker, Portland, Oregon, April 7, 2019

Plonk Reading Series, Untold Gaze event, Portland, Oregon, March 6, 2019

Guest speaker, Washington State University, Vancouver, Wash., Feb. 22, 2019

Panelist, Use Your Words, Manzanita Writers Center, Oregon, Feb. 16, 2019

PubWest editorial panel, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Feb. 9, 2019

The Writers’ Workshoppe and Imprint Books, Port Townsend, Washington, Oct. 6, 2018

PNBA Educational Session, Tacoma, Washington, Sept. 28, 2018

Filament Reading Series, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, May 28, 2018

Compose Writing Conference, Clackamas Community College, Clackamas, Oregon, May 19, 2018

Independent Bookstore Day, Annie Bloom’s, Portland, Oregon, April 28, 2018

Write to Publish, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, April 21, 2018

Terroir Festival, McMinnville, Oregon, April 14, 2018

The Hummingbird Global Writers’ Circle, Broadway Books, Portland, Oregon, March 22, 2018

Tucson Festival of the Book, Tucson, Arizona, March 10-11, 2018

Portland State University, guest lecturer, March 28, 2018

PubWest conference in Pasadena, California, Feb. 15-18, 2018

Tucson Festival of the Book, Tucson, Arizona, March 10-11, 2018

The Hummingbird Global Writers’ Circle, Broadway Books, March 22, 2018

Terroir Festival, McMinnville, Oregon, April 14, 2018

Write to Publish, Portland State University, Portland, Oregon, April 21, 2010

Compose Writing Conference, Clackamas Community College, Clackamas, Ore., May 19, 2019

Filament Reading Series, Portland State, featured fiction reader, May 26, 2019

Lit Crawl event with The Rumpus and Future Tense Books, Portland, Oregon, Nov. 10, 2018

Intro to Book Publishing, Portland State University, guest speaker, Oct. 30, 2018

Ashland Literary Arts Festival, two panels, booth, and Main Street Writers Movement sponsored a panel on community building, Oct. 28, 2018

Independent Book Publishers Association webinar, “Going from Nothing to National in Five Years,” an online version of the speech she gave at the IBPA Publishing University conference in April, Sept. 13, 2018

Parade of Authors participant at Another Read Through Bookstore, Portland, Oregon, Aug. 26, 2017

Willamette Writers – Corvallis Chapter, Corvallis, OR, July 24, 2017

Intro to Book Publishing, Guest Lecturer, with Rob Broder, publisher of Ripple Grove Press, Portland State University, Portland, OR, May 8, 2017

Faculty member, Independent Book Publishers Association’s Publishing University, Portland, OR, April 7-8, 2017

Business of Book Publishing, Guest Speaker, Portland State University, Portland, OR, Feb. 23, 2017

Intro to Book Publishing, Guest Lecturer, Portland State University, Portland, Ore., March 8, 2017

AWP conference, Washington, D.C., Feb. 8-11, 2017

The League of Extraordinary Writers, Powell’s Cedar Hills, featured speaker, Beaverton, Oregon, Jan. 14, 2017

Garden Home Library writers’ group, featured speaker, Nov. 22, 2016

Willamette Writers, Newport, Oregon, “Anatomy of a Submission,” October 16, 2016 

Spalding University MFA program, addressing graduates of Spalding on the independent press movement, October 5, 2016

Willamette Writers Conference, Portland, Oregon–“What Every Author Needs to Know about Distribution,” Saturday, Aug. 13, 2016

Oregon Writers Colony’s Literary Lounge Small Press Panel, Key Community Center, Portland, Oregon, July 20, 2016

Book Expo America, Chicago, IL, May 11-14, 2016

Kickstarter Presents: Celebrate Portland’s Independent Publishing Culture, IPRC, Portland, Oregon, April 10, 2016

Willamette Writers Salem Chapter, April 6, 2016: Guest speaker, “Anatomy of a Submission,” at the Salem Public Library, including member query critiques and a raffle.

Portland State University, February 9, 2016: Guest in Kent Watson’s publishing class as part of the university’s master’s program.

Word FestLongview, Washington, October 13, 2015: Hosted by Alan Rose, in conversation with publicist Mary Bisbee-Beek

Liz Prato’s Baby’s on Fire (Press 53), Powell’s City of Books, May 5, 2015: Introduction of the author

Willamette UniversitySalem, OR, March 18, 2015

  • Hosted by Scott Nadelson and featuring KMA Sullivan of YesYes Books and Michael Heald of Perfect Day Publishing

Ooligan Press Write to Publish Conference, at Portland State, Jan. 31, 2015

  • Live pitches during the Pitch Roundtable

Pacific University MFA program, Astoria, OR, Jan. 16, 2015

  • Addressed students during the term’s low-residency requirement

  • 1.5-hour talk: “How I Started a Small Press”

Pacific University Creative Writing Department, Forest Grove, OR, Nov. 5, 2014

  • Small group session about publishing with creative writing students, led by Professor Kathlene Postma

  • Q and A on Forest Avenue Press and the state of publishing with about fifty students

  • Post-event conversations with Silk Road volunteers and author Naseem Rakha

Institute for Continued Learning, Willamette University, Salem, OR, Oct. 16, 2014

  • Two-hour presentation for a crowd of about a hundred senior citizens

Mentor in the House, Oregon Writers Colony, Rockaway Beach, OR, June 5-7, 2014

  • Led a group of writers through exercises, conversations about the industry, and critique sessions throughout a weekend

  • In conversation with author Nancy Slavin about small press vs. self-publishing

Compose, Clackamas Community College, Oregon City, Oregon, May 31, 2014

  • Title of seminar: “The World of Small Press Publishing”

Manzanita Writers’ Center, Manzanita, OR, May 17, 2014

  • Panel discussion of independent publishing with Meg Storey of Tin House and Rhonda Hughes of Hawthorne Books

Story and Commerce, University of Oregon, April 16, 2014

  • Appeared on a panel about publishing and finance, taught by bestselling author Lauren Kessler

  • Panelists included bestselling author Karen Karbo and successful ghostwriter Teresa Barker

Oregon Writers Colony, Literary Lounge, TaborSpace in Portland, OR, April 9, 2014,

  • On a panel with Mary Rosenblum, the Literary Midwife, and VoiceCatcher’s Carolyn Martin

University of Oregon’s Turnbull Center Winter Open House Lecturer, Jan. 23, 2014

  • 1.5-hour talk on “The Promise and Peril of Self-Publishing”

  • More than 50 students, professors, and community members in attendance

VoiceCatcher Reading, In Other Words Bookstore, Portland OR, Dec. 7, 2013

  • Read “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow,” published in the journal’s summer 2013 issue

Wordstock, October 3-6, 2013 

  • Organized and participated in “The Power of Print-on-Demand” with Jeremy Robert Johnson of Swallowdown Press, Jarret Middleton of Dark Coast Press, Cameron Pierce of Lazy Fascist Press, and Kevin Sampsell of Future Tense Books

  • Participated in “Writing Guides: Help & Inspiration for Your Journey,” with writing guide authors Sage Cohen and Christi Krug

Portals Writing Conference, Corban University, Salem, Oregon June 20-23, 2013

  • Appeared on a publishing panel hosted by author/professor Gina Ochsner.

Writers’ Night at the Springwater Grange, Estacada, Oregon, April 20, 2013

  • Featured speaker with Jon Bell, author of On Mount Hood, and hosts Stevan Allred and Joanna Rose

  • Speech on becoming a publisher while also being a writer, an editor, and a mother

Brave on the Page, Powell’s City of Books, Jan. 7, 2013

  • Emceed the event, which featured authors Kristy Athens, Jon Bell, Kate Gray, Robert Hill, Gigi Little, Gina Ochsner, Joanna Rose, Scott Sparling, and Yuvi Zalkow, with an overflow crowd of 120

Brave on the Page launch, Fulton Park Community Center, Portland, OR, Nov. 3, 2012

  • Organized the event, and shared the stage with numerous writers