Our Big February Newsletter!
Festival of Books, Lit Org Updates, Radical Acceptance, Excerpts, Calls for Submission, New Events, & more...
We made it through January (hooray!) and things are really starting to heat up in literary Pittsburgh…
Not literally—it’s freezing right now—but we have added a bunch of new events, excerpts, and interviews to the site.
It also recently came to our attention that a whole bunch of local lit orgs closed up shop over the last couple of years. It makes sense given <gestures at the world>, but we’ve recently updated our Lit Org and Places pages to reflect those changes—deleting organizations that haven’t been active in a year or more and adding newer orgs and bookstores (hey there, Bottom Feeder Books!).
From what we’ve heard, these pages are visited mostly by students, visitors, and locals trying to learn more about Pittsburgh’s literary scene (and also by people who are thinking about moving to Pittsburgh). So if you know of any orgs or places that should be on these lists and aren’t, just respond to this email with details!
And if you have a local lit org that you love, maybe let them know? Pittsburgh’s literary scene is always growing and evolving… but these past few years have taken kind of a lot of local lit orgs with them.
Reading by the fire,
The Littsburgh Crew
“The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books will be back for its Second Annual event May 12-13, 2023. With plans for more authors and expanded programming, the festival will be taking place at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in the heart of East Liberty, offering a larger space to celebrate our region’s literary offerings.”
“The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books is in need of funding…”
“We need your help! The Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books is in need of funding to continue sharing our region’s literary offerings with the community.”
“Like your main characters, Hannah, and her friend Sam, you’re originally from northeastern Pennsylvania, and you have lived in Pittsburgh. Is there a way you see your Pennsylvania background playing into the novel and your vision of—and for—the characters…”
Four Poems from Flowers in the Dark by Mark Saba
“Once or twice we skipped school / to fish in the dirty Monongahela / or Allegheny, catching carp that fed off / vegetable detritus from the Heinz factory…”
Call for Submissions: RUNE—RMU’s Literary Magazine!
“RUNE—RMU’s student-edited literary magazine—publishes high-quality poetry, prose, and graphic works submitted by Robert Morris University students, faculty, and staff and by writers and artists in the Pittsburgh region.”
Searching for Literacy by Harvey J. Graff…
“Originally from Pittsburgh, Harvey J. Graff is Professor Emeritus of English and History at The Ohio State University, USA. One of the world’s authorities, his books are recognized landmarks, from The Literacy Myth to The Legacies of Literacy, The Labyrinths of Literacy, and Literacy Myths, Legacies & Lessons, among others on children and youth, cities, and interdisciplinarity…”
Q&A: Jul (Author of Performance: Poetry and Fleeting Thoughts)
“If alarms didn’t exist, I’m afraid I would never wake up.”
“[Pittsburgher] Dana Ziemniak lost her son, Evan, because of a dare from a school bully. Since then, she’s made it her mission to educate people everywhere about the dangerous social media challenges that prompted the dare…”