New Pittsburgh Lit Mag, Call for Authors, Book Fest(s), Farm Life, Historical Fiction Set in Pittsburgh, Q&As, Excerpts, and more!
It’s springtime in Littsburgh!
It feels like we just sent out our last newsletter, but the site is bursting with new book launches and excerpts and library book sales and q&a’s with local and visiting authors . . . so we figured it was probably time for another one. If you haven’ve visited the site in a while, now’s a great time to click around and check it out.
Yours in books,
The Littsburgh Crew
P.S. If you know any young writers, Write Pittsburgh is hosting a Spring Writing Contest for 13 - 18 year olds (and submissions will be published in their lit mag).
And thanks for all the nice notes about our Talk Pittsburgh segment!
Introducing: Short Reads!
We’re so excited to share this Q&A with our friends at Short Reads, a brand-new (and free) literary magazine publishing out of Pittsburgh, PA!
Q&A: Sarah Cypher (author of The Skin and Its Girl)
“I grew up with my ankles in the Allegheny, and I come back to the city often to see my parents and poke around at Labad’s and Penn Mac. When I can, I also just walk—I love the Highland Park reservoir and the trails near Freeport. This area has so much history, and some of it feels very immediate to me. My father’s ancestry goes back to the pre–American Revolution era—basically when this was unceded Native American territory and Fort Pitt still had walls and British soldiers. My mother’s grandfather came from Greater Syria as a carpenter and then brought his family over during the height of the steel era. I spent almost my entire life in Western Pennsylvania until graduating from Carnegie Mellon in 2002, and then I moved to the West Coast. To this day, however, there might always be at least one dozen pierogies in my freezer, and a Terrible Towel somewhere in the car. You never know what you’re going to need.”
Don’t miss out: Cypher will be reading at White Whale Books on May 5th!
Call For Authors and Save the Date: The Festival of Books in the Alleghenies!
“We are now accepting author applications for a spot as a featured author at this year’s Festival of Books in the Alleghenies to be held on Saturday, September 16, 2023, in Ebensburg, Pennsylvania…”
Local Interest: Start Reading A Farm Life: Observations from Fields and Forests by Daryln Brewer Hoffstot…
“Daryln Brewer Hoffstot has observed the fields and forests of her Western Pennsylvania farm for thirty-five years. This collection of twenty-seven essays explores birds, mammals, bees, fungi, trees, and other aspects of the natural world…”
Q&A: Gregory Laski (co-editor of Democracies in America: Keywords for the Nineteenth Century and Today)
Editor’s Note: We messed up and included the wrong link for this feature in our last newsletter… so here’s the right one! Thanks to everyone who let us know :)
“What’s the Pittsburgh connection? There are a few! I grew up in the region and still call Pittsburgh home, even as work and school have taken me away. But I am in Pittsburgh a lot, and even spent a wonderful year as visiting professor at CMU, developing a community-engaged writing course. The book took shape during that year. And the final product features work by two Pitt professors Jean Carr, who has a fascinating take on the meaning of moderation, and Alaina Roberts, who narrates the story of Native American settlement after the Civil War…”
Featured Kickstarter – Picturing Joy: Stories of Connection by George Lange!
“As a 7-year-old Pittsburgh kid, George Lange began snapping photos, exploring the world, and asking tons of questions. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design, George worked for Duane Michals and Annie Leibovitz before establishing his own career. His work has appeared in Vogue, Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Esquire, People, The New York Times and many other publications. He shot many of the iconic images from TV shows such as Friends, Frasier, and Seinfeld, as well as…”
Q&A: Christine Fallert Kessides (Author of Magda, Standing – Set in Pittsburgh!)
Magda, Standing is a historical Young Adult fiction novel set in Pittsburgh during World War I and the Spanish flu pandemic. It’s by debut author Christine Fallert Kessides and is publishing this June!
ICYMI: The 2023 Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books is less than a month away!
Littburgh on KDKA to Help Launch the Talk Pittsburgh Book Club!
Start Reading Steel City: A Story of Pittsburgh by William J. Miller, Jr.
City of Asylum Jazz Poetry Month Returns for 19th Year this May!
Q&A + Excerpt: Sheridan Jean (author of Slow Simmer – set in Sewickley!)
Q&A: Jessica Whipple (author of Enough Is… and I Think I Think a Lot)