Lit News

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 we will you know first, and 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 p

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

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 include a brief reading and pr

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

The children of immigrants bring insights on culture and language to an Uplifting Voices series reading. Click here to watch the reading.    Simmons Buntin is author of Satellite: Essays on Fatherhood and Home, Near and Far;  a collection of sustainable community case studies Unsprawl: Remixing Spaces as Places;  and books of poetry Bloom  and Riverfall. He’s also co-editor of Dear America: Letters of Hope, Habitat, Defiance, and Democracy.  Founding editor-in-chief of Terrai

Contemporary writers bring their perspectives and experiences to the next Uplifting Voices series reading. Click here to watch the reading.    Julia Kolchinsky is the author of four poetry collections: The Many Names for Mother, Don't Touch the Bones, 40 WEEKS, and PARALLAX. Her nonfiction has appeared in Brevity, Shenandoah, and Michigan Quarterly Review.  She is Assistant Professor of English/Creative Writing at Denison University. An internationally renowned Latina author

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 November title is the graphic memoir Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?  by Roz Chast. This book is available at the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County, and POP Arts, Book, Culture via Bookshop. https://bookshop.org/ "Told through four-color cartoons, family

Come as you are! or as... someone else!  Join us for a delicious bite and unique cocktails and mocktails to support your lit org and a great establishment. The Darlene Lounge is on the square in Warren at 145 E. Market St.

First Wednesday Reader Series presents poets Wendy McVicker of Athens, Ohio, and Philip Terman of Grove City, Pa., accompanied by the...

Join Lit Youngstown during the 9th Annual Fall Literary Festival for an evening reading featuring poets Todd Davis, Lauren Camp and...

The Craig Paulenich Endowed Lecture on Literary Community presents poet, editor and associate professor Caryl Pagel on "Small Press...

From Philadelphia to Erie, shale fields to coal mines, Keystone Poetry  celebrates the varied landscapes and voices of Pennsylvania....