Littsburgh's back on KDKA! + Big Nonfiction, "a worthy successor of Annie Dillard," Pittsburgh Dog and Frog, Video Spotlights, and more!
This is another big one: we’ve got our KDKA Talk Pittsburgh Book Club Pick, a couple of fantastic interviews with authors of regional interest, some big nonfiction by a local award-winning journalist, a Pittsburgh picture book, video spotlights, a whole bunch of new events added to our literary calendar . . . and more!
Thanks (sincerely) to everyone who’s been forwarding these emails on to their bookish friends—with social media being so weird lately, that’s the best way to help spread the word about all the cool stuff going on in Littsburgh :)
Yours in books,
The Littsburgh Crew
P.S. For any elementary and middle school teachers on here, check out a summer camp adventure story by Littsburgh’s Nick Courage in the May/June issue of Scholastic’s Storyworks magazine!
Littsburgh on KDKA: Talk Pittsburgh Book Club Selection for May!
“Here’s our second entry into the Talk Pittsburgh Book Club! Rachel Ekstrom Courage of Littsburgh picks Myriad by local science fiction author and college professor Joshua D. Bellin. The time-traveling story takes place in a Pittsburgh of the future…”
You can start reading Myriad right here on Littsburgh—and don’t miss out: Bellin will be launching Myriad at Riverstone Books on May 23rd and will a featured author at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books on May 13th!
Featured Interview: Jolene McIlwain (Sidle Creek) in Conversation with Meredith Mileti (Aftertaste)
“[An] impressive debut collection spotlights the hard-edged people who call rural western Pennsylvania home . . . McIlwain’s reverent regard for the natural world makes her a worthy successor of Annie Dillard.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
Don’t miss out: Penguin Bookshop is presenting “An Evening with Jolene McIlwain & Meredith Mileti” on May 16th as part of their Writers Series!
Start Reading A New War on Cancer: The Unlikely Heroes Revolutionizing Prevention by (Pittsburgher) Kristina Marusic….
“For more than fifty years, we have been waging, but not winning, the war on cancer. We’re better than ever at treating the disease, yet cancer still claims the lives of one in five men and one in six women in the US. The astonishing news is that up to two-thirds of all cancer cases are linked to preventable environmental causes. If we can stop cancer before it begins, why don’t we?
That was the question that motivated Kristina Marusic’s revelatory inquiry into cancer prevention . . .”
Don’t miss out: Kristina Marusic will be launching A New War on Cancer in Pittsburgh on May 9th (in conversation with Dani Wilson, Executive Director of the Cancer and Environment Network of Southwestern Pennsylvania).
Video Spotlight: Sarah Cypher (author of The Skin and Its Girl)!
Today’s featured author is Sarah Cypher (author of The Skin and Its Girl) who “grew up with [her] ankles in the Allegheny.”
You can watch our video spotlight and read our interview with Sarah Cypher right here on Littsburgh, and . . .
Don’t miss out: you can also catch Sarah Cypher in Pittsburgh on May 5th (if you’re reading this email on the day we sent it: that’s today)!
Press Release: Hayes, Krygowski, and McDaniel confirmed as Series Editors of the distinguished Pitt Poetry Series…
“The University of Pittsburgh Press is pleased to announce that the Interim Series Editors have now been named Series Editor of the Pitt Poetry Series. Terrance Hayes, Nancy Krygowski, and Jeffrey McDaniel have served as Interim Series Editors since 2021, following the departure of Ed Ochester, who retired after more than four decades at the helm of the series. Together they select and advise the Press on the hundreds of poetry manuscripts submitted for possible publication.”
Start Reading Pittsburgh Dog & Frog by Annette Hostoffer!
“Pittsburgh Dog & Frog is an all-Pittsburgh children’s book that engages youth to learn about the city from historic sites to landmarks, rivers, bridges, and so much more. In the story, a hometown dog named Heinz is waiting on Mount Washington for a 57-foot frog to float up the Ohio River.”
Don’t miss out: Annette will be selling her book at the Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books on Saturday, May 13.
Excerpt and Q&A: Linda Lee Blakemore (Author of Entrenched)
“None of us is bigger than our trauma. No matter how strong, smart, educated, or resourceful we may be, we cannot ‘will’ ourselves through or beyond trauma. We cannot ignore or stuff it. We must confront it.
Healing is a life-long journey. It comes in baby steps and awkward, unsuspecting tugs and jerks. For many, like me, a traumatic event can trigger multiple psychological wounds—a myriad of issues that may not present at the time same time or in the same way. But each of these reactions to trauma must be addressed, each in its own time, each in its own order, if we are to fully heal.”
Video Spotlight: Write Pittsburgh!
“Today’s featured program is Write Pittsburgh, which strives to amplify voices, empower writers, and encourage relationships that build writer agency and foster relationships that grow and strengthen community.”
ICYMI: The 2023 Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books is on May 13th!