Lit News

Baby, it's cold outside! Join us for the evening of warmth and fun that we deserve. Doors open at 6:15pm with our famous charcuterie and desserts, and jazz by the Catro Trio at Culturati Studios, 350 E Federal St. We'll begin the program at 7:00pm. Tickets cost $55 online (until Jan. 28), $65 at the door.  Click here for ticket ordering information.  This fun evening will include Jazz by the Catro Trio's Dave Kana, Glenn Schaft & Mark DeWalt Charcuterie and desserts with glu

We are making progress! We have two chapters sketched in. We are in awe of the submitted work, and we'll continue to chip away on building this beautiful book while we keep our other plates spinning. We are still months away from making announcements. With apology, we are unable to respond to individual queries; when we announce our selections, if you'd like to withdraw a piece then, we invite you to do so. If you decide to publish with us, we hope you'll feel it was worth th

𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗜𝗖𝗘: The February meeting will be held at the 𝗕𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗟𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆, located at 7680 Glenwood Ave, Boardman, OH 44512. Gather in a safe space with other writers. All genres, experience levels, and ages are welcome. Any children under 13 should be accompanied by an adult. Socialize, share tips, experience, and events. Become part of a community that understands both the joys and the struggles of the writing life. We will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00pm. at PO

Join us for Lit Youngstown's Food for Thought book discussion. We meet each month Sept.-May, at 5:30pm on the 2nd Thursday at Noble Creature, 126 E. Rayen. Haven't read the book yet? No worries. The February title is There's Always This Year  by Hanif Abdurraqib. This book is available at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, and POP! Art Books Culture via Bookshop . There’s Always This Year is a triumph, brimming with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, an

First Wednesday Reader Series presents Cleveland poets Conor Bracken & Lindsay Turner on Wednesday, February 4 at 7:00pm at the Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave. Jenny Tullis will co-host with an open mic to follow. This reading will be downstairs in the Trophy Room, accessible only by stairs. Meagan Albani will provide ASL interpretation. The First Wednesday Reader Series receives support from POP! Art Books Culture. Conor Bracken’s latest translation is of Jean D'Amérique's

Join us for Lit Youngstown's Food for Thought book discussion. We meet each month Sept.-May, at 5:30pm on the 2nd Thursday at Noble Creature, 126 E. Rayen. Haven't read the book yet? No worries. The January title is the speculative novel Bewilderment by Richard Powers. This book is available at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, and POP Arts, Book, Culture via Bookshop . AN OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB SELECTION An Instant New York Times Bestseller Shortlisted for the

We're moving this reading upstairs! First Wednesday Reader Series presents Cleveland fiction writers Nicole D. Miller & Candice Zee on Wednesday, January 7 at 7:00pm at the Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave. Kara Zone will co-host with an open mic to follow. This reading will be fully accessible, upstairs by the main stage. Meagan Albani will provide ASL interpretation. The First Wednesday Reader Series receives support from POP! Art Books Culture. Nicole D. Miller is a 5x’s

Baby, it's cold outside! Join us for the evening of warmth and fun that we deserve. Doors open at 6:15pm with our famous charcuterie and desserts, and jazz by the Catro Trio at Culturati Studios, 350 E Federal St. We'll begin the program at 7:00pm. Tickets cost $55 online (until Jan. 28), $65 at the door.  Click here for ticket ordering information.  This fun evening will include Poets Kortney Morrow & Philip Terman Jazz by the Catro Trio's Dave Kana, Glenn Schaft & Mark DeW

Our New Year's resolution is to see more plays by our wildly talented theater community. Our first pick is "Emma" at the Trumbull New Theatre in Niles, in honor of Jane Austen's 250th birthday. Grab a friend, buy your tickets online (or at the box office the night of the show), and meet us at the theater on Friday, January 16 at 7:15pm for the 7:30pm performance. Click here  to let us know you're coming! This comedy/romance is directed by Allison Bye, and stars Sydney Stalne

Join us in welcoming Chris, our newest board member. Christopher Barzak's   novels and short story collections have earned numerous accolades including the Stonewall Honor, Shirley Jackson, Crawford Fantasy, and Whippoorwill Awards and his novel  One for Sorrow  has been made into the Sundance feature film  Jamie Marks is Dead. He is a professor of English at Youngstown State University and Director of the YSU Poetry Center.

Warm up and write at the 9th Annual Winter Writing Camp! This day-long event offers writing activities led by regional writers for adults and youth ages 5 and up. Registration is required for this free event, and includes a delicious catered lunch. Registration is open until February 1 or all seats are filled. Register here! Please note that children in Kindergarten and First Grade require an adult to be with them all day, and children 10 and under require an adult in the bui

Thank you for your patience, anthology submitters. We are working hard to keep the project on track. It will take us many months to catch up, and we don't yet have an estimated timeline. We are unable to respond to individual queries; when we announce our selections, if you'd like to withdraw a piece then, we invite you to do so. Many thanks to Jordan Shaver for submitting this evocative poem, a collaboration with D. Harley Hall, printed here with permission. Cradles of Carbo

We are wrapping up our 10th anniversary and our hearts are full and sticky as a jar of fig jam. The Andrews Avenue Memory Mural, a collaborative celebration of Youngstown, was just added to the Ohio Mural Map ! We had a wonderful time with you at the Fall Literary Festival and you're going to love the pictures. We'll post them soon. And our new year is bright! We hope to see you at Just Desserts: a Lit Winter Evening, Flash Nonfiction Writing Intensives, Youngstown Writers Gu

Gather in a safe space with other writers. All genres, experience levels, and ages are welcome. Any children under 13 should be accompanied by an adult. Socialize, share tips, experience, and events. Become part of a community that understands both the joys and the struggles of the writing life. We will meet from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00pm. at POP! Art Books Culture (6949 Market St, Boardman, OH 44512) . Critique hour will take place from 11:00am - 12:00pm. If you would like feedba

Join us for Lit Youngstown's Food for Thought book discussion, sponsored by the Raymond J. Wean Foundation. We meet each month Sept.-May, at 5:30pm on the 2nd Thursday at Noble Creature, 126 E. Rayen. Haven't read the book yet? No worries. The December title is Passion Play  by Sarah Ruhl. This book is available at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, and POP Arts, Book, Culture via Bookshop . "PASSION PLAY Pen American award; The Fourth Freedom Forum Playwriti

First Wednesday Reader Series presents poets Dom Fonce of Youngstown, Mark Sebastian Jordan of Mansfield & Katherine Orr of Kent on Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00pm at the Westside Bowl, 2617 Mahoning Ave. David Wheeler will co-host with an open mic to follow. This reading will be downstairs in the Trophy Room, accessible only by stairs. ASL interpretation will be provided by Meagan Albani, with funding support from the Raymond J. Wean Foundation. The First Wednesday Reader Se

Beautiful Things : Tiny Windows to Difficult Things In this nonfiction session, we’ll look at a handful of published examples from Beautiful Things ( River Teeth ’ s weekly online magazine of micro essays) and think about specific strategies we can recruit to identify the images, locate the voice, build the structures, and sculpt the language that will help us to craft our difficult material into miniature essays that “[magnify] some small aspect of what it means to be huma

Sydney Stalnecker is a writer, teacher, and former journalist. She received her B.A. and M.A. degrees in English, as well as her Teaching of Writing Certificate, from Youngstown State University. She remains at the university as an adjunct first-year writing instructor. Her news articles are published in The Jambar , where she was Editor-in-Chief and Executive Producer in 2021 and 2022. Occasionally, you may find her reading her poems at local open mic nights.

Thank you for your patience, anthology submitters. We are working hard to keep the project on track, and now that the festival is behind us, we'll have more time to move forward. Many thanks to Judy McCartney for her submission including this charming poem, printed here with her permission. TWIN MOON CAFE GOURMET Twin Moon Cafe was open day and night It catered to a beautiful gourmet. She liked to drop in for a little bite. It never crossed her mind to thank or pay. She dress

Registration is now closed Let's write small true stories with a big big bite. Registration closes December 15 for the next round of writing intensives: a sustained, in-depth workshop for writers of all experience levels.  Each month from January to May, participants will bring one 250 word story to our in-person workshop. The registration fee of $200 is due January 10 and will include a copy of the Rose Metal Press Guide to Flash Nonfiction.  The monthly assignment will in