Introducing Littsburgh (Sorta) 3.0!
Featured in this Issue: Lots of new events, poems, prizes, excerpts, and more!
I know a couple of people who are reading this email remember the very first version of Littsburgh, back in 2015 when we thought the site would be a sort of yellow pages for literary Pittsburgh and would “pretty much run itself” (famous last words):
Littsburgh 1.0 (Screenshot from November 17, 2015)
We’ve had to update the site a couple of times since then… and Littsburgh’s readership has grown, too. Like, a lot. This newsletter has subscribers in every single state — including Alaska and Hawaii (thank you, Pittsburgh diaspora!) — and our mailing lists are getting bigger every day, so we figured it was time for an upgrade.
Updating our newsletter isn’t a big thing, really, but it did get us thinking about how far Littsburgh has come since 2015… and how cool it is that so many people have signed up for emails from a hyper-local website celebrating literary Pittsburgh!
Yours in books,
P.S. Nick’s still taking breaks from writing to make some baking videos (aka top-level procrastination). If you’re interested in king cakes, croissants, bagels or pumpkin-shaped pumpkin bread, you can check those out here!
Autumn House Press Rising Writer Prize (Deadline: Nov. 30)
“Emerging poets, you’ve got until the end of November to submit your first full-length collection to our Rising Writer Prize! Donika Kelly, the author of THE RENUNCIATIONS, will choose a […]
Start Reading Mousetrap, Inc. by Joseph Guzzo…
From the Publisher: “New college graduate Nick Adano doesn’t realize it, but he’s about to move from the frustration of unemployment into the despair of being a vital cog in […]
PA Humanities Releases Motivational Crowd-Sourced Poem for World Kindness Day
PA Kindness Poem Project encouraged Pennsylvanians to share kindness-themed messages for original poem by Philadelphia poet laureate Notable Pennsylvanians release poem in campaign video to spread kindness statewide PHILADELPHIA […]
The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books: First Preview of Participating Authors!
“It’s coming closer every day… The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books (GPFB), will be taking place LIVE (pending COVID status) on May 14, 2022, in various indoor and outdoor venues […]
Start Reading Beneath the Veil of Smoke and Ash: A Novel by Tammy Pasterick…
From the Publisher: “It’s Pittsburgh, 1910—the golden age of steel in the land of opportunity. Eastern European immigrants Janos and Karina Kovac should be prospering, but their American dream is […]
The City Books Writer’s Residency Now Accepting Applications! (Deadline: Nov. 30)
About the Residency: The City Books Writer’s Residency offers flexible access to a comfortable, creative space within Pittsburgh’s oldest bookstore for adult writers to develop new writing or to advance […]
Now Accepting Proposals for Presentations: The Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia (WCoNA®)!
“The Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia (WCoNA®), happening live at Duquesne March 11-13 2022, and featuring keynote speakers Lee Gutkind, Vanity Fair’s ‘Godfather behind creative nonfiction,’ and Edgar Award-winning novelist […]
About the Author: “Ken Gormley is president of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. A lawyer, constitutional scholar, and author, Gormley’s work has earned him national and international acclaim. His
Events - Littsburgh: Celebrating Literary Pittsburgh
Do you have an event you’d like to see listed on our calendar? We want to help spread the word. Send an email (with event details) to news@littsburgh.com! Selected listings below:
House Publication Block Party | Alphabet City
We just finished our fifth “house publication”—the writer houses with artworks on their façades. This House Publication is based on texts and drawings by City of Asylum’s writer-in-residence Tuhin Das.
November 17, 2021: Wednesday Webinars with Creative Nonfiction - Revision Made Simple® @ Online More information
November 17, 2021: STEEL City SLAM Hybrid Event (online & in person) @ The PA Market More information
November 17, 2021: Penguin Bookshop Writers Series: A Conversation with Ethan Joella @ Online More information
November 17, 2021: I’ve Been Here All the While: An Evening with Dr. Alaina E. Roberts @ Mt. Lebanon High School – Fine Arts Theater More information
November 17, 2021: Reading & Conversation: “Memorial Ride,” Stephen Graham Jones w/ Anjali Sachdeva @ Online More information
November 18, 2021: Book Discussion: LITTLE BLUE ENCYCLOPEDIA (for Vivian) by Hazel Jane Plante More information
November 18, 2021: Reading & Conversation: “The Future of Black” w/ Yona Harvey, Cynthia Manick, and Yvonne McBride @ Online More information
November 19, 2021: Book Launch! “The Blue Book of Nebo,” written & translated by Manon Steffan Ros @ Online More information
November 20, 2021: Parsec Monthly Meeting @ Online More information
November 20, 2021: Author Chat with Sheryll Cashin @ Online More information
November 20, 2021: Schereeya: Prayers & Pixies Book Release Party @ Vestige Concept Gallery @ Vestige Concept Gallery More information
November 21, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Sharon Draper @ Online More information
November 22, 2021: Common Reads Book Club: The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith @ Online More information
November 22, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Maggie O’Farrell @ Online More information
November 23, 2021: Outdoor Storytimes at the Pleasant Hills Arboretum (Fall 2021) @ Pleasant Hills Arboretum More information
November 23, 2021: Gregg Behr & Ryan Rydzewski @ Riverstone Books – McCandless More information
November 29, 2021: Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water in Appalachia @ City of Asylum Bookstore at Alphabet City More information
November 30, 2021: Call for Poetry Submissions: A Critique of the Gods! (Deadline: Nov. 30) @ Online More information
December 1, 2021: Weekly Webinars with Creative Nonfiction: Lightening Up! Finding Moments of Humor in Heavy Stories @ Online More information
December 1, 2021: Bebop Fairy Tales: On Jazz, Intolerance, and Baseball @ Online More information
December 2, 2021: Poetry Reading: “My Wilderness” by Maxine Scates & "The Thicket” by Kasey Jueds @ Online More information
December 3, 2021: An In-Person Signing with Ryan Shazier celebrating the launch of Walking Miracle @ Penguin Bookshop More information
December 3, 2021: In Person Poetry Book Launch! "Gun/Shy” by Jim Daniels (w/ Ellene Glenn Moore) @ White Whale Bookstore More information
December 5, 2021: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
December 6, 2021: An evening with Kirthana Ramisetti & Jennifer Armstrong celebrating the release of Dava Shastri’s Last Day @ Online More information
December 6, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Yaa Gyasi @ Online More information
December 8, 2021: Weekly Webinars with Creative Nonfiction: What’s Wrong With This Work? Turning Rejections into Publications @ Online More information
December 9, 2021: Aaron Reynolds (Effin’ Birds) at City Books @ City Books More information
December 9, 2021: A reading with Duquesne University President Ken Gormley - HEIRESS OF PITTSBURGH @ Online More information
December 11, 2021: Literature and Catholic Imagination @ Brother Andre’s Cafe More information
December 12, 2021: Reading: “The Pastor” w/Hanne Ørstavik & Martin Aitken @ Online More information
December 15, 2021: Weekly Webinars with Creative Nonfiction: Bringing Place to the Page: Writing about Landscape, Home, and Travel @ Online More information
December 27, 2021: Common Reads: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde @ Online More information
December 29, 2021: Weekly Webinars with Creative Nonfiction - Cosmic Zoom: Make Your Writing More Appealing & Important to a Broader Audience @ Online More information
January 12, 2022: STEEL City SLAM Hybrid Event (online & in person) @ The PA Market More information
January 24, 2022: Common Reads: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury @ Online More information
January 24, 2022: An Evening with Marie Benedict Celebrating the Launch of Her Hidden Genius @ Online More information
January 24, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Douglas Stuart @ Online More information
February 6, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Avi @ Online More information
February 6, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
February 21, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Ayad Akhtar @ Online More information
February 28, 2022: Common Reads: Fences by August Wilson @ Online More information
March 6, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
March 21, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: George Saunders @ Online More information
April 3, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
April 5, 2022: Mt. Lebanon Public Library Speaker Series Presents: An Evening with Amor Towles @ Mellon Middle School Auditorium More information
April 11, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Robin Wall Kimmerer @ Online More information
May 1, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
May 9, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Isabel Wilkerson @ Online More information
May 26, 2022: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Rita Williams-Garcia @ Online More information
May 26, 2022: An Evening with Neil Gaiman! @ Carnegie Music Hall of Oakland More information
June 5, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information
July 3, 2022: The Poetry Atelier @ The Space Upstairs More information