Literary Pittsburgh in 2021!
In this newsletter: Black History Month, 2021 Virtual Events, Pittsburgh's first female moonshiner and numbers bookie, and more!
Stuck at home in the snow?
We've just added a bunch of virtual book events and workshops to Littsburgh's literary calendar... and if you're anything like us, catching a couple of author talks without having to leave the house is sounding preeeeetty good right now :)
This newsletter we're highlighting CLP’s Black History Month celebration, some locally based calls for writing submissions, and a couple of excerpts and interviews we’ve recently posted to the site (one’s about Pittsburgh’s first female numbers bookie!).
Pittsburgh is charging into 2021 with a ton of online events and literary programming —and we’re adding to the calendar weekly, so check back early and often for more!
Your friends,
Rachel, Nick, and Katie
The Littsburgh Crew
“International storyteller Donna Washington and Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, widow of civil rights advocate and Maryland Congressman Elijah Cummings, will headline Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s (CLP) Black History Month celebration…”
Start Reading Ride the Wild Pony and Other Stories from 57 Steuben Street
“James V. Gambone Jr. (a Pittsburgh native) revisits the stories of his Polish grandmother — reportedly the city’s first female numbers bookie and moonshiner — in an entertaining new collection...”
Call for Submissions: Northern Appalachia Review (Deadline – End of February)
“The Northern Appalachia Review welcomes submissions of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction written about, representing, or engaging with the experience of living in or being from what we define in our mission statement as northern Appalachia…”
Q&A: Walter G. Meyer (If You Weren’t Here, This Wouldn’t Be Happening)
“As an award-winning author, Walter G. Meyer has told fascinating stories throughout his career. Known for his keen and heartwarming insights into the human condition in books such as Rounding Third, Meyer is now exploring his own life extraordinaire. His first autobiographical anthology, If You Weren’t Here, This Wouldn’t Be Happening: plogs from my life, stems from his daily writing activity during the COVID lockdown…”
Parsec Short Story Contest – Deadline: April 15, 2021!
“The theme for the 2021 contest is: Still Waters, Deep Thoughts. This can be conveyed in the setting, plot, characters, dialogue…the only limit is your imagination. The theme must be integral to the story in some way and not just mentioned in passing…”
Certain and Impossible Events by Candace Jane Opper
“Certain and Impossible Events is unlike anything I’ve ever read.” —Cheryl Strayed, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail
In the Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh
“In the Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh celebrates the history, culture, and community of the Steel City Slam, from its founding in the early ’90s to present day…”
Two poems from Hallelujah Science by Kelli Stevens Kane
“Turning bad apples / into baked apples”
February 1, 2021: Haki Madhubuti: Taught By Women, Poems as Resistance Language @ Online More information
February 1, 2021: "Actors Talk August" presented by August Wilson House @ Online More information
February 2, 2021: Red Dog Reading Series: Lockett & McNally @ Online More information
February 2, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Karen Russell (Virtual Access) @ Online More information
February 3, 2021: Storylab Virtual Day Camp @ Online More information
February 3, 2021: Showcase Reading for "Honey is the Knife" Workshop w/ Hannah Eko @ Online More information
February 4, 2021: Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Online: An Evening of Reading and Conversation with Music Journalists Will Hermes and Amanda Petrusich @ Online More information
February 6, 2021: 1-Day Writing Workshop: Nonfiction and the Scene w/ Steffan Triplett @ Online More information
February 6, 2021: Get Fresh Books Reading (Online): Engel, Langstroth, Garcia, Carter-Jones, Himeles @ Online More information
February 7, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Pam Muñoz Ryan (Free & Online!) @ Online More information
February 7, 2021: Free Association Reading Series presented by City of Asylum (Online) @ Online More information
February 7, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
February 10, 2021: Scholastic Parents Night: Keeping Kids Engaged as Readers! @ Online More information
February 11, 2021: Virtual Author Discussion with Amy Stewart! @ Online More information
February 11, 2021: Reading & Conversation: "F**cked at Birth" by Dale Maharidge w/ Jessica Bruder @ Online More information
February 11, 2021: A Virtual Conversation with Anne Corley Baum @ Online More information
February 12, 2021: Prime Stage Theatre (Online): Sojourner @ Online More information
February 12, 2021: Poetry Book Launch! "Romantic Portrait of a Natural Disaster" by Hannah Cajandig-Taylor @ Online More information
February 13, 2021: 4-Week Writing Workshop: Stories of History w/ Katie Booth @ Online More information
February 14, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
February 16, 2021: Poetry & Pints (Online) @ Online More information
February 16, 2021: Four Mystery Authors, One Debut Event (Online)! @ Online More information
February 17, 2021: A Virtual Conversation with Rebecca Sacks More information
February 18, 2021: Informational (Online) Session: Youth Writer's Camp @ Online More information
February 18, 2021: "In the Shadow of the Mic" showcase presented by Bridge & Tunnel Books @ Online More information
February 20, 2021: Between Poetry and Performance: From Page to Stage with Anya Pearson @ Online More information
February 21, 2021: Virtual Author Visit with Susan Meissner! @ Online More information
February 21, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
February 22, 2021: Virtual Book Club: We’re Better Than This @ Online More information
February 22, 2021: We’re Better Than This by Elijah Cummings — A Virtual Conversation @ Online More information
February 22, 2021: Riverstone Books' Monthly (Zoom) Bookclub: Smoketown @ Online More information
February 24, 2021: Well-Read Black Girl Book Club (Online) @ Online More information
February 25, 2021: Susan Hans O'Connor (Penguin Bookshop) Talks to PittWire Live! @ Online More information
February 25, 2021: (Online) Poetry Reading: Perigee by Diane Kerr w/ Langstroth, Bacharach, and Gainey @ Online More information
February 25, 2021: Penguin Evening Readers: City of a Thousand Gates @ Online More information
February 26, 2021: Lit Fridays with Ming Smith @ Online More information
February 27, 2021: Between Poetry and Performance: Animating Poetry with Remy Davison @ Online More information
February 28, 2021: Call for Submissions: Northern Appalachia Review (Deadline – End of February) @ Online More information
February 28, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
March 4, 2021: MEDICARE FOR ALL: A CITIZENS GUIDE with Abdul El-Sayed & Micah Johnson @ Online More information
March 7, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
March 10, 2021: A Conversation with Abby Schneiderman & Adam Seifer, Authors of IN CASE YOU GET HIT BY A BUS @ Online More information
March 11, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Naomi Shihab Nye (Free & Online!) @ Online More information
March 14, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
March 20, 2021: 4-Week Writing Workshop: Write F*cking Now w/ Monica Prince @ Online More information
March 20, 2021: Between Poetry and Performance: Writing to Find Inspiration with Paloma Sierra @ Online More information
March 21, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
March 22, 2021: Riverstone Books' Monthly (Zoom) Bookclub: The Thursday Murder Club @ Online More information
March 22, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Ocean Vuong (Virtual Access) @ Online More information
March 24, 2021: Well-Read Black Girl Book Club (Online) @ Online More information
March 25, 2021: Penguin Bookshop Writers Series Book Launch: A MILLION REASONS WHY by Jessica Strawser @ Online More information
March 25, 2021: Riverstone on the Zoom Road - An Evening with Marie Bostwick and Mt. Lebanon Public Library @ Online More information
March 25, 2021: Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Online: An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with Cecilia Vicuña and Rosa Alcalá @ Online More information
March 28, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
March 29, 2021: Between Poetry and Performance: Turning Emotion into Visual Metaphor with Danny Cho @ Online More information
March 30, 2021: Tamara Winfrey Harris, author of LETTERS TO BLACK GIRLS in conversation with Rochelle Riley @ Online More information
April 1, 2021: Penguin Bookshop Writers Series: A Conversation with Laura Munson @ Online More information
April 4, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
April 5, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Bernardine Evaristo (Virtual Access) @ Online More information
April 11, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
April 12, 2021: Riverstone on the Zoom Road - An Evening with Madeleine Henry and Mt. Lebanon Public Library @ Online More information
April 14, 2021: Martha Hall Kelly Returns to Riverstone (virtually)! @ Online More information
April 15, 2021: Parsec Short Story Contest - Deadline: April 15, 2021! @ Online More information
April 18, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
April 24, 2021: 4-Week (Online) Writing Workshop: About Poetry: A Crash Course w/ Jessica Fischoff @ Online More information
April 25, 2021: The Poetry Atelier on ZOOM @ Online More information
April 26, 2021: Blood and Treasure: Daniel Boone and the Fight for America's First Frontier by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin @ Online More information
April 26, 2021: Riverstone Books' Monthly (Zoom) Bookclub: Sunflower Sisters @ Online More information