We’ve been busy since our last email!

If you haven’t been following along on social, we’re posting 12 days of independent bookstores in Pittsburgh (day one: City Books, day two: Penguin Bookshop) courtesy of the excellent Joy Givens, who many of you may know from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and Pennwriters.

The 12 Days of Indies

It’s kind of mind-boggling that the ‘burgh has enough indies to fill out a Twelvetide (we just learned this word 🤯) - so if you’re #givingbooks this holiday season, we hope you’ll show our local indies and authors some love… and we hope our bookish Twelfthtide celebration gives you some gifting ideas!

Keep scrolling for more from literary Pittsburgh,

Rachel, Nick, and Katie
The Littsburgh Crew

P.S. Speaking of gifts, in our last newsletter we shouted out the subscription boxes at Mystery Lovers and White Whale, but forgot to mention the subscription boxes for kids and adults from City of Asylum and Riverstone Books (who happen to have a brand new website where you can check out the Riverstone Express!).

Literary Job Alert

In other news: Sometimes local literary orgs send us job listings, and this could be a fun one for the right person… so if you’re looking or if you know someone who might be interested in event organizing post-quar, check out the listing here.

Recent Posts

We’ve also been posting a bunch of new excepts to the site, some of them tied to forthcoming (online) book launches and all of them by local authors!

Sweet Water by Cara Reinard

A thriller set in Sewickley (where we met the author in the audience at Penguin Bookshop a few years ago!): “Sewickley, the Shawnee word for sweet water, derived from the tribe’s belief that the borough’s shores were a little sweeter on that stretch of the Ohio River, the maple trees that grow at its shores only part of the saccharine story…”

Hallelujah Science by Kelli Stevens Kane

An explosive debut by a local poet and Cave Canem Fellow, August Wilson Center Fellow, and recipient of Advancing Black Arts in Pittsburgh grants from The Pittsburgh Foundation. White Whale Books will be helping Kelli Stevens Kane launch Hallelujah Science (online) with Rose M. Smith, Adriana E. Ramírez, and Mariahadessa Ekere Tallie on Dec. 11, 2020!

Vertical Bridges: Poems and Photographs of City Steps by Paola Corso

“In Vertical Bridges: Poems and Photographs of City Steps, Paola Corso celebrates public stairways in her native Pittsburgh and around the world. Inspired by her Sicilian grandfather, a stonemason who built concrete steps, and her Calabrian grandfather and father, steelworkers who once climbed them to the mill, Corso is a storyteller. She shares memories of her family, the history behind Pittsburgh having more public staircases than any other city in the country, and curiosities about some of the world’s most famous steps. Vertical Bridges includes photos by the author along with archival photos from the University of Pittsburgh Library’s Pittsburgh City Photographer Collection…”

The Star Child by Stephanie Keyes

“The Star Children have lit the stars in the sky at night for countless millennia, but when the eldest goes rogue, he’ll seek to shroud the world in darkness.” Littsburgh readers might also remember Keyes’previous excerpt on Littsburgh, which was inspired by the Byers-Lyons house (a North Side mansion on the former millionaire’s row of Pittsburgh where Keyes once studied the clarinet!).

One Hand on the Sink: A Novel by Ken McCarthy

“Mike Turner is eight years sober and still putting his life back together when a routine encounter with a common household product threatens to throw him back into active addiction. As Mike stands at the second-floor bathroom window watching the snow fly outside, a storm that has been brewing inside his head might be ready to blow…”

Noteworthy

This week on WESA, there’s a write-up about In the Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh (which “includes interviews with key figures and honors now-shuttered venues like the Oakland Beehive and East Liberty’s iconic Shadow Lounge”).

The virtual launch party for In the Shadow of the Mic is Dec. 4th!

Online Events

If you have an event or publication to promote, you can reach us at news@littsburgh.com (or tag us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram).

December 2, 2020: The Complete Stories of Truman Capote: Book Discussion @ Online More information

December 3, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 3, 2020: Poetry & Pints Online @ Online More information

December 3, 2020: City of Asylum's Emerging Poet Laureate of Allegheny County & Finalists (Online) @ Online More information

December 4, 2020: Virtual Launch for In the Shadow of the Mic: Three Decades of Slam Poetry in Pittsburgh! @ Online More information

December 5, 2020: Penguin Bookshop Virtual Storytime with Stefanie Hohl! @ Online More information

December 5, 2020: 2-Day (Online) Writing Workshop: Writing Your Family Tree w/ Sarah Shotland @ Online More information

December 5, 2020: Breaking Piñata Theory Book Tour: Alan Chazaro, Kim Sousa, Malcolm Friend (Online) @ Online More information

December 6, 2020: Free Association (Online) Reading presented by City of Asylum @ Online More information

December 7, 2020: American Monster (Online0 Reading presented by City of Asylum @ Online More information

December 7, 2020: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Ta-Nehisi Coates & Damon Young (Virtual Access) @ Online More information

December 8, 2020: Between Poetry and Performance: From Page to Stage with Jasminne Mendez (Online) @ Online More information

December 8, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 8, 2020: Steel City Slam Open Mic & Hang via Zoom @ Online More information

December 9, 2020: Wednesday Webinars with Creative Nonfiction: They Walk! They Talk! Secrets to Writing Engaging Characters with Vivid Dialogue with Dinty Moore @ Online More information

December 9, 2020: Online: An Evening with Marie Benedict! @ Online More information

December 9, 2020: On Confederate Statues in America: Connor Towne O'Neill @ Online More information

December 10, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 10, 2020: Virtual Author Visit with Deesha Philyaw (Mt. Lebanon Public Library) @ Online More information

December 10, 2020: Online Reading w/ Mason Jar Press & Barrelhouse: Zaccagnino, Myers, & Lourette @ Online More information

December 11, 2020: Prime Stage Theatre (Online): One Christmas Carol @ Online More information

December 11, 2020: Poetry Book Launch: Hallelujah Science by Kelli Stevens Kane w/ Smith, Ramírez, Tallie! @ Online More information

December 12, 2020: "Black in the Middle" Virtual Book Conversation Series: Pt. 1, "Home" @ Online More information

December 13, 2020: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Lauren Tarshis (Free & Online!) @ Online More information

December 15, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 16, 2020: Wednesday Webinars with Creative Nonfiction: How to Navigate the Lit Mag Landscape and Find the Right Home for Your Work @ Online More information

December 16, 2020: "Black in the Middle" Virtual Book Conversation Series: Pt. 2, "Past" @ Online More information

December 18, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 19, 2020: Between Poetry and Performance: Choreopoems as an Avenue for Joy with Monica Prince (Online) @ Online More information

December 22, 2020: Virtual Stories with Santa (Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens) @ Online More information

December 22, 2020: Whitehall Public Library: Choose Your Own Adventure Book Club! (Online) @ Online More information

December 28, 2020: Riverstone December Book Club (Online) @ Online More information

January 11, 2021: Solving the Mystery: Understanding Kidlit Mysteries and How to Write Them with author Jan Fields (SCBWI) @ Online More information

January 16, 2021: "Black in the Middle" Virtual Book Conversation Series: Pt. 3, "Now" @ Online More information

January 18, 2021: Freehof Book and Author Series (Online, Hosted by Women of Rodef Shalom) @ Online More information

January 18, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: David Treuer (Virtual Access) @ Online More information

January 24, 2021: Reading Into History Virtual Family Book Club: Around the World @ Online More information

January 25, 2021: Riverstone January Book Club (Online) @ Online More information

January 28, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Laurie Halse Anderson (Free & Online!) @ Online More information

February 2, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Karen Russell (Virtual Access) @ Online More information

February 4, 2021: Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Online: An Evening of Reading and Conversation with Music Journalists Will Hermes and Amanda Petrusich @ Online More information

February 7, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Pam Muñoz Ryan (Free & Online!) @ Online More information

February 17, 2021: A Virtual Conversation with Rebecca Sacks  More information

March 11, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Naomi Shihab Nye (Free & Online!) @ Online More information

March 22, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Ocean Vuong (Virtual Access) @ Online More information

March 25, 2021: Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series Online: An Evening of Poetry and Conversation with Cecilia Vicuña and Rosa Alcalá @ Online More information

April 5, 2021: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures: Bernardine Evaristo (Virtual Access) @ Online More information

April 24, 2021: 4-Week (Online) Writing Workshop: About Poetry: A Crash Course w/ Jessica Fischoff @ Online More information