Our Big October Update!
Banned Books! OcTBRfest! Calls for Proposals! Events, interviews, and more!
This is another big email, so we’re going to keep this intro short: we’ve been adding a TON of amazing events to the site (if you’re a V.E. Schwab fan or you loved Legends and Lattes, you’re in luck!) . . . and there’s so much going on that we couldn’t fit it all here, so we’re going to be sending another big update in a week or two!
For anyone with bookish kids and teens: Littsburgh’s Nick Courage and Rachel Ekstrom Courage are going to be talking about books and publishing with kids in grades 4 -8 and grades 7 - 12 at Peters Township Public Library today - Oct 3!).
Yours in books (and more from us soon)!
The Littsburgh Crew
P.S. THANK YOU to everyone who’s already pledged their support and donated to Littsburgh!
We’re not a non-profit—we’re just a website!—but we’re renewing all of Littsburgh’s web stuff (like the servers that keep the site running) this month, so if you’d like to help out by becoming a paid subscriber here on Substack, there should be a link for that at the bottom of this email. We also accept donations on the site . . .
And whether or not you’re able to donate, we always appreciate your support!
Littsburgh on KDKA: Talk Pittsburgh Book Club - October Pick!
“Our book of the month, Exile Poems: In the Labyrinth of Homesickness, explores the journey of leaving behind everything you’ve ever known, and starting all over again. We were joined by the book’s author, Tuhin Das, and the founder of Littsburgh, Rachel Ekstrom Courage…”
You can also read our interview with Tuhin Das right here on Littsburgh!
“Tuhin Das’s Exile Poems: In the Labyrinth of Homesickness, translated from Bengali by Indian translator Arunava Sinha, comprises sixty-five poems written in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, after Das is forced to flee from his home in Barishal, Bangladesh, in 2016. These poems chronicle Das’s innermost thoughts, insuppressible fears, and poignant observations as he considers both places, the one he left behind and the one that offered him sanctuary.”
The New Republic‘s Banned Books Tour 2023 Comes to Pittsburgh (Today- Oct 3)!
“The first week of October is Banned Book Week, and we were thrilled to hear that the New Republic’s Banned Book Tour tour will be making a stop in Pittsburgh…”
“Last year, City Books held a one-day OcTBRfest at the end of the month with author signings, refreshments, and giveaways. This year, they’re kicking off the month with a big celebration on Saturday, October 7–then continuing weekly throughout the month. See the schedule after the jump…”
Start Reading They Write Your Name on a Grain of Rice by award-winning Pittsburgh author Lori Jakiela . . .
“(Jakiela) is an exceptionally talented writer who is only one New York Times book review away from a national reputation.” – Tony Norman, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Start Reading The Eerie Brothers and The Witches of Autumn by Sheldon Higdon!
“Sheldon Higdon delivers a fun, freaky, and frightening novel–first in what I hope is a long series–for young readers. It’s Goosebumps meets Supernatural!” –Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Rot & Ruin and editor of Don’t Turn Out the Lights
Start Reading The Neorealist in Winter: Stories by Salvatore Pane (Winner of the Autumn House Press Fiction Prize)…
“A wildly inventive book that’s both hilarious and heartbreaking, about the strange comforts we find in desperate moments: a man holds off his sorrows by obsessively watching Goodfellas; a son copes with his absent father via professional wrestling; a woman works through trauma by way of a talking-animal sitcom…” —Nathan Hill, author of Wellness: A Novel
Event Spotlight: V.E. Schwab comes to Pittsburgh!
Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures Announces Appointment of Sony Ton-Aime as Executive Director . . .
“The Board and staff of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures are thrilled to announce the appointment of Sony Ton-Aime as the new Executive Director of the organization…”
Q&A: Susan Helene Gottfried (Maybe the Bird Will Rise and West of Mars)!
“There are a lot of Pittsburgh references in the parts of the series that I’m writing […] Keep your eyes out for them. Some are obvious and point to events that happened here. Some are homages to things like sinkholes and PAT buses, and a certain influx of reptilian visitors we had in 2019…”
WCoNA (Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia®) Is Now Accepting Presentation Proposals!
“The WCoNA Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia® invites proposals for presentations at the 2024 live conference on March 15-16th 2024 at St. Francis University. Participants will explore opportunities, challenges, and trends specific to writers of northern Appalachia…”