“I've made so many connections with writers that started with Lit Youngstown's Lit Festival, in particular.”
2023 Fall Lit Festival
Please join us for the 7th annual Fall Literary Festival featuring Jill Christman, Ross Gay & Alison Stine!
The presenter proposal submission portal will be open the month of February. Send us your talks, workshops, readings and roundtables on all aspects of the literary arts.
THURSDAY
October 20, 7:00-9:00 pm
Gathering In
Concept Studio
Warm welcome, Fall Literary Festival attendees and presenters! Join us downtown at the Concept Studio for a reception, open mic and the start of a great conference.
FRIDAY
October 21
9:15 WELCOME ADDRESS
Karen Schubert
Creative Reading
Mixby Dickon, Jim Ferris, Sara Moore Wagner
Life Like: Crafting Memorable Settings in Creative Works
Melissa Dunlap, Amanda Miller
Honoring Others with Our Fiction Research
June Gervais
Poem and Place Caught on Film: An Interactive Workshop Responding to Photography, Movies, and Other Art Forms
Marjorie Maddox
Writing Great Nonfiction with Kids
Candace Fleming
Creative Reading
Ashley Cowger, LaPerle, Tara Stillions Whitehead
From the Small Screen to the Big Screen: Crafting Stories for News and Documentary Films
Karla Murthy
Crabgrass and Hummingbirds: A Generative Workshop with a Focus on Incorporating -- and Maximizing -- Natural Elements in Poetry and Prose
Erica Anderson-Senter, Christian Whitney
Moving Past Influence
Ali Black, Mary Biddinger, Dylan Morris
Creative Reading
Karen Frank, Jeff Gundy, Becca J.R. Lachman
1:00-2:00 Changing Narratives and Building Connection: the Power of Documentary Film to Redefine, Reimagine, and Break Stereotypes by Creating Empathy
Karla Murthy
Let's Deconstruct a Story Part 1
Kelly Fordon
Literary Mapping: The Place in Our Metaphors
Joy Priest
Marketing Your Book--Tips from a Professional Marketer and Writer
Gabriel Welsch
Literary Citizenship: Writing for Other Writers
Christina Consolino, Meredith Doench, Erin Flanagan, Amy Gustine
Creative Reading
Matthew Graham, Julia Wendell
Screenwriter Katerina Stoykova
Redirection as Reinvigoration
Molly Fuller, Robert Miltner
Let's Deconstruct a Story Part 2
Kelly Fordon
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION, POETRY!
Rikki Santer
The Danger of Forced Silence: Why Fighting Book Bannings and Problematic Educational Legislation Matters
Christopher Barzak, Timothy Francisco, Jackie Mercer, Sarah Valingo
Launching a Writer’s Residency on the Eve of a Pandemic
Arlan Hess, Dade Lemanski, Alyssa Velazquez
Strengthening Artistic Communities Through Podcasts
Jeremy Jusek
5:00-6:00 Happy Hour Noble Creature Cask House or Tour Museum of Industry & Labor
6:00-7:00 Dinner & Jazz
7:00 Reading (Free and Open to the Public)
Featured Presenters Kelly Fordon & Joy Priest
Lou Yuhasz Writing Award Winner Charity Morris
St. John's Episcopal Church | 323 Wick Ave.
SATURDAY
October 22
9:15 WELCOME ADDRESS
Karen Schubert
Creating a Creative Writing Infrastructure at the Community College
Michael Dittman, Jacqueline Kunkel
Creative Reading
Susan McKenzie, Mary Ozbolt, Amber Ree Robinson
How to Get Somewhere Without Going There: A Panel Discussion on Writing Authentically about Place
Marion Starling Boyer, Marjorie Maddox, Barbara Sabol
Building Community & Empathy through Creative Writing
Cynthia Larsen, Amy Rosenbluth
Persevering to Publication: Some Practical Tips
June Gervais
Screening Exact Change
Screenwriter Christine Howey
Ohio's Girlhood Landscape: Exploring the Intersection of Place and Identity
Christen Noel Kauffman, Sara Moore Wagner, Sarah Ann Winn
The Objects That Reveal Who We Are
Jim Ferris, Jonie McIntire
Creative Reading
Janet Beard, Jennifer Militello, Rikki Santer
Writing Into and Out of Landscapes
Joee Goheen, Anastasios Mihalopolous
Evoking the Spirit: Place as Character in Fiction Writing
Karen Frank
Sponsored by the Bitonte College of Health & Human Services
Creative Reading
Candace Fleming
Creative Reading
Jen Knox, Jonie McIntire, Sarah Ann Winn
Publishing Law 101
Jacqueline Lipton
Been There, Lit That
Mario J. Ricciardi
Characteristics of Appalachian Literature and Film
Larry Smith
Make Your Mark(eting)
Lannie Stabile
NAG the Competition -Naming, Aiming, and Gaming - A Guide to Titles and Marketing
Dianne Borsenik
The Window or the Door: Transitioning from Writing Stories to Novels
Erin Flanagan
Talking About Tough Topics
Candace Fleming
Creative Reading
William Heath, Lannie Stabile, Katerina Stoykova
Excavating a Protagonist's Inner Wounds
Meredith Doench
Women & Words: Stories that Connect
Mary Leoson
Persona's Not Just People
Heather Dobbins, Christian Anton Gerard
Centering Writing in our Community
Cynthia Larsen, Amy Rosenbluth
Panel Discussion, “The Places That Make Us”
5:00-7:00 Dinner & bowling
The Westside Bowl | 2617 Mahoning Ave.
7:00 Screening of The Place That Makes Us & Panel Discussion (Free and Open to the Public)
Youngstown Playhouse | 600 Playhouse Lane
