Probably Our Biggest Update Ever!
Writer Residencies, Contests, Workshops, Big News at White Whale, and MORE...
This is our biggest email yet, so we’ll keep the intro super-short. Briefly, ICYMI: two local authors (Brian Broome & Sharon G. Flake) are finalists for the Kirkus Prize; Karen Lillis wrote a moving tribute to Jude Vachon; & publishing is having lots of supply chain issues, so we recommend shopping early and pre-ordering if you’re gifting books this year!
Yours in books,
The Littsburgh Crew
P.S. Teachers: Nick’s been writing a lot of letters to classrooms this month. If you’d like one for your class, you can request one here!
Big News Month at White Whale Bookstore!
“White Whale Bookstore has a lot going on this month: a brand new website and an expansion that includes a coffeeshop, plus a five year anniversary!”
Start Reading The Heiress of Pittsburgh by Ken Gormley (New York Times Bestselling Author and President of Duquesne University)…
“The Heiress of Pittsburgh is Gormley’s first work of fiction. Over thirty years in the making, it speaks to a subject that is universally relevant. A love story about people, places, and simple virtues that flourished in working-class towns and ordinary communities that once built America, this beautifully crafted novel provides hope that precious qualities of the past can be recast to create a rich new future…”
Write Pittsburgh Announces Free “Boys Write Pittsburgh” Workshops!
“You asked for a workshop for boys and now, it’s here! Register today for this free weekly workshop for boys ages 13-18. Drop in workshops are online every Thursday starting October 14 from 6-7pm. Fill out an application to join us!”
The City Books Writer’s Residency Now Accepting Applications! (Deadline: Nov. 30)
“The City Books Writer’s Residency offers flexible access to a comfortable, creative space within Pittsburgh’s oldest bookstore for adult writers to develop new writing or to advance existing work-in-progress.”
Announcing the First Annual After Happy Hour Contest!
“Two things we’ve always wanted to try as a journal are a themed issue and a print issue. We’ve decided to combine them this fall into the First Annual After Happy Hour Contest!”
“This winter, we’re intentionally (and strategically) expanding our reach across the Keystone State to collaborate and build community with our counterparts in Pittsburgh. As we continue to engage in the BIG conversations, we’d love to welcome you and yours as subscribers, contributors, and partners.”
“How Do You Like It Now, Gentlemen? – the just-released poetry collection by Pittsburgh author Lori Jakiela – won the 2021 Wicked Woman Prize from Washington, D.C.-based-publisher Brickhouse Books. The Wicked Woman Prize celebrates poems that focus on women who’ve ‘broken the mold…’”
Start Reading Summoner of Sleep by A.I. Winters…
“In the isolated mountain town of Marble Woods, the townspeople harbor a dangerous secret. It’s here, away from the civilized world, that they can experiment with human genetics that have the power to alter your mind and body…”
Start Reading Liminal Summer by Jamie Beth Cohen…
“Recent college graduate Alice Burton typically has a Plan A, B, and C. But now that her decisions have real consequences, she’s feeling the delayed after-effects of the night her life was rocked by twin disasters…”
October 5, 2021: Chapbook Launch! "Ghost-Mother," Valerie Bacharach (w/ Angele Ellis, Emily Mohn-Slate, Jen Ashburn) @ Online More information
October 5, 2021: CMU professor Andy Norman on MENTAL IMMUNITY @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 6, 2021: Wit(h)ness: A CAAPP Black Study - Helga Davis & Naima Ramos-Chapman in Creative Conversation @ Schenley Plaza More information
October 6, 2021: Air and Nothingness Press authors Brandon Ketchum and Jamie Lackey at Riverstone Books - Squirrel Hill @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 6, 2021: Poetry Reading: Daniel Biegelson, Jason Schneiderman, and Cameron Barnett @ Online More information
October 7, 2021: Wit(h)ness: A CAAPP Black Study - Afternoon Salon with Kiese Laymon & Wura-Natasha Ogunji @ Online More information
October 7, 2021: Wit(h)ness: A CAAPP Black Study - An Evening with Elizabeth Acevedo (co-presented with Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures) @ Schenley Plaza More information
October 7, 2021: Chapbook Launch for local poet, Valerie Bacharach, with guest readers @ Online More information
October 7, 2021: Penguin Evening Readers: Book Club! @ Online More information
October 8, 2021: Writers' Cafe with Catherine Gammon: From Prompt to Publication: Creative Play in a Burning House @ Online More information
October 9, 2021: City of Asylum: Freedom to Create Keynote with Wole Soyinka @ Online More information
October 9, 2021: 1-Day Writing Workshop: Using Dream Logic in Poetry w/ Mathias Svalina @ Online More information
October 12, 2021: Outdoor Storytimes at the Pleasant Hills Arboretum (Fall 2021) @ Pleasant Hills Arboretum More information
October 12, 2021: Reading & Conversation: "Gumbo Ya Ya” by Aurielle Marie (w/ Deesha Philyaw) @ Online More information
October 12, 2021: Christina Avallone on how to help families get out from under the control of Surveillance Capitalism and break the addiction of technology @ Riverstone Books – McCandless More information
October 13, 2021: "Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia," Kris Maher w/ John W. Miller @ Online More information
October 13, 2021: STEEL City SLAM Hybrid Event ( online & in person) @ Two Frays Brewery More information
October 13, 2021: Gregg Behr & Ryan Rydzewski on Their Mr. Rogers Inspired Advice Book @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 14, 2021: Poetry Reading: "origin story” by Gary Jackson (w/ Esther Lee & Yona Harvey) @ Online More information
October 16, 2021: 2-Day Writing Workshop: Roots & Branches: Writing Family Stories, Part 2 w/ Sarah Shotland @ Online More information
October 16, 2021: Parsec Monthly Meeting @ Online More information
October 16, 2021: Laser Cat/Vaser Cat Reading! KJ Miller and Deena November @ Online More information
October 17, 2021: Haunted Pittsburgh (with Tom White, author of Forgotten Tales of Pittsburgh) @ Lauri Ann West Community Center More information
October 18, 2021: City of Asylum: Drue Heinz Winner Joanna Pearson @ Online More information
October 19, 2021: Outdoor Storytimes at the Pleasant Hills Arboretum (Fall 2021) @ Pleasant Hills Arboretum More information
October 19, 2021: White Whale Books | Tolstoy Together: 85 Days of War and Peace with Yiyun Li @ Online More information
October 19, 2021: Local Author Abby Mendelson with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 20, 2021: Comfy Cozy BookTalks @ Robinson Township Library More information
October 20, 2021: Ghost Stories for Grownups @ Green Tree Public Library More information
October 20, 2021: The 2021 Coniston Prize Reading: Bitting, Erny, Flavin, MacNair, Martinez @ Online More information
October 20, 2021: Dr. Barbara Burstin discusses and signs her biography of Pittsburgh Mayor Sophie Masloff @ Riverstone Books – McCandless More information
October 21, 2021: Local Author Anthony Balbo signing GIMME A SIX-PACK @ Riverstone Books – McCandless More information
October 21, 2021: Local Poets Janine Certo & Kimberly Ann Priest @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 22, 2021: Book Talk: "Until I Am Free" by Dr. Keisha N. Blain (w/ Deesha Philyaw) @ Online More information
October 23, 2021: 1-Day Writing Workshop: Say Less, Tell More w/ Tereneh Idia @ Online More information
October 24, 2021: Autumn House Press Fall Poetry Release Party! Shayla Lawz, Natalie Homer, Carly Inghram, Sean Cho A. @ Online More information
October 25, 2021: Riverstone Book Club @ Online More information
October 26, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Mark Oppenheimer, author of Squirrel Hill: The Tree of Life Synagogue Shooting and the Soul of a Neighborhood (Made Local) @ Online More information
October 26, 2021: Outdoor Storytimes at the Pleasant Hills Arboretum (Fall 2021) @ Pleasant Hills Arboretum More information
October 26, 2021: Mark Oppenheimer will sign copies of his book, 'Squirrel Hill' @ Riverstone – Squirrel Hill More information
October 26, 2021: PPC Virtual Open Studio via Zoom @ Online More information
October 27, 2021: Reading & Conversation: "Dear Memory" by Victoria Chang (w/ Kao Kalia Yang) @ Online More information
October 28, 2021: Reading: "Deadheading & Other Stories" by Beth Gilstrap w/ Flick, Squillante, and Timblin @ Online More information
October 28, 2021: Mystery Lovers - Book + Author: Gregg Hurwitz @ Online More information
October 28, 2021: Megha Majumdar, Author of the Bestselling Novel A Burning @ Online More information
October 29, 2021: Poetry Reading: “about:blank” by Tracy Fuad and “Little Pharma” by Laura Kolbe @ Online More information
October 31, 2021: Craig Johnson - Daughter of the Morning Star In Person / Zoom Event @ Mystery Lovers @ Mystery Lovers Bookshop More information