Fill your winter days with some literary fun! If you’re looking for something to do in December, here are some upcoming literary events* that may pique your interest!
- December 2, 2025 Allison Adelle Hedge Coke Poetry Reading & Discussion
Zoom, 6:30 – 7:30 pm
Hedge Coke’ poems form a taxonomy of threatened lives — human, plant, and animal — in a century marked by climate emergency. Her ecopoetry insists upon a reckoning and resistance with and redress of America’s continuing violence toward Earth and its peoples. - December 4, 2025 Visiting Author: Susan Bruzas “Turning on the Light: My Mysterious Illness and the Year that Transformed Me”
Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St.
Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Welcome Nebraskamemoirist Susan Bruzas to Francie & Finch Bookshop. She will be reading from her new book Turning on the Light: My Mysterious Illness and the Year that Transformed Me. “This powerful new memoir shines a light on the silent struggle of a life-threatening, unexplained illness—and the resilience it takes to reclaim your life when the odds are against you.” –Kirk House Publishers. - December 4, 2025 Verse & Vibes
Indigo Cottage Crafts, 2063 Creekside Dr.
Papillion, 6:30 pm
An open mic at an artsy space full of good vibes, and not just because of the coffee and liquor bar ;). Open to poets, authors, writers, musicians, anyone who has talent to share. Everyone is welcome. Free event. Jules Coral, MC. - December 5, 2025 First Friday Book Talk & Reading w/ Abby E. Murray
Zoom, 12:00 pm
Abby E. Murray is the editor of Collateral, a literary journal concerned with the impact of violent conflict and military service beyond the combat zone. They’ve spent their adult life writing and researching conflict, contradiction, and the necessity of voice. Their first book, Hail and Farewell, won the Perugia Press Poetry Prize and was a finalist for the Washington State Book Award, and their second book, Recovery Commands, won the Richard-Gabriel Rummonds Prize from Ex Ophidia Press and has been nominated for the National Book Award. Abby served as the 2019-2021 poet laureate for the city of Tacoma, Washington, and currently teaches writing to Army War College fellows at the University of Washington. - December 6, 2025 Writing Autobiographical Poetry with Todd Robinson
Zoom, 10:00 – 11:30 am
Turn your life into art. In this workshop, we will explore how autobiographical poetry can honor both your magnificence and your messy humanity. You will leave with new ways to tell your story with beauty and depth. - December 6, 2025 25th Annual Teen Poetry Bash
Omaha Public Library, Milton R. Abrahams Branch, 5111 N. 90th St.
Omaha, 1:00 – 4:00 pm
Whether you’re a poet or you just appreciate poetry, join us in celebrating this milestone! All Writes Reserved coaches from Nebraska Writers Collective will serve as the judges and host. Interested in competing for the prize? Contestants must be in grades 8-12 and be a resident of Douglas County, Nebraska, or its surrounding Metro area. Check out the official rules for complete details! - December 7, 2025 The Poet as Historian: John G. Neihardt and Gerard M. Hopkins
The John G. Neihardt State Historic Site, 306 W. Elm St.
Bancroft, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
The last “Sunday at the Museum” of the year will features a popular Humanities Nebraska speaker and one of our favorite historians, Nancy Gillis, with The Poet as Historian: John G. Neihardt and Gerard M. Hopkins. This presentation provides a look at how a poet writes of an historical event differently than an academic historian by comparing the work of two contemporary poets, the American John G. Neihardt and the English Anglican Priest Gerard M. Hopkins, and how each relates a tragic historical event. Gillis believes “if you want to learn the facts, read the textbooks, but if you want to feel them, read the poets.” Admission is free. A light reception will follow. - December 10, 2025 Visiting Author: Tom Chorneau “Mrs. Cook and the Klan: Booze, Bloodshed, and Bigotry in America’s Heartland”
Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St.
Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Tom Chorneau will discuss his book Mrs. Cook and the Klan, a true crime investigation that not only sheds new light on Myrtle Underwood Cook’s unsolved killing but also explores the confluence of the social, political, and economic forces that brought the Klan, lawless street gangs, a local mob boss, and the temperance movement together in a small American town. - December 12, 2025 Poetry Readings at The Lion: a Poetry Feature and Open Mic with Stephen Buhler, Reading from Ted Kooser’s Poetry
St Mark’s on the Campus, 1309 R St.
Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Guests may study, write, read, relax, sit, talk, and generally socialize with friends over coffee, tea, and other beverages from opening at 5:30 pm until 6:00 pm when Steve Buhler reading for Ted Kooser will feature. If time remains, Open Mic will will follow until closing. - December 13, 2025 BookFest Omaha 2025
IBEW Hall, 13306 Stevens St.
Omaha, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Mark this event on your calendar! BookFest Omaha will host a variety of local authors and craft vendors. This is the perfect festival to complete your holiday shopping, with truly special products created by local writers and crafters: affordable gifts that can be personalized for your loved one. - December 17, 2025 Book Launch: Carole Levin “The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I: Politics, Culture, and Society”
Francie & Finch Bookshop, 130 S. 13th St.
Lincoln, 5:30 – 6:30 pm
Join us as we celebrate the release of Carole Levin’s latest book The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I: Politics, Culture, and Society! “A result of Levin’s nonpareil archival research and decades of her seminal scholarship on Queen Elizabeth I, this book situates meticulously researched facts about Elizabeth’s queenship within broader political, religious, social, and cultural issues, developments, and events. The Reign and Life of Queen Elizabeth I is both an encyclopedia and textbook, and it will serve as an invaluable asset for teachers, students, and scholars alike. This book is a treasury of new information that clarifies and illuminates the historical record and brings Elizabeth’s world to life like never before.” –Anna Riehl Bertolet, Auburn University, USA.
Check out the NCB Calendar to stay up to date on upcoming literary events happening near you!
*The time, date, and location of these events are subject to change.
Some of this month’s events, workshops, or conferences may require registration or charge a fee.
Feel free to contact us if you have an event that you would like to be featured.