Writeful

a weblog for readers and writers

Friday, April 15, 2016

Find Your Perfect Literary Match at the CityLit Fest


The 13th annual CityLit Festival takes place this Friday and Saturday. Headliners include Claudia Rankine, E. Ethelbert Miller, and Paul Lisicky, Stanley Plumly, Susan Muaddi Jarraj, Kathy Flann, Amber Sparks, Laura Shovan, Reggie Harris, Elisabeth Dahl, Jill Coupe, Shirley Brewer, and many more.

I’ll be participating on Saturday, April 16 as part of the @ CityLit Speed session. The event includes two hours of “speed dating” with literary magazines, small presses, and reading series. Bring your best writing sample along and share for five or 10 minutes with us to find your perfect literary match. Is your work suited for this literary journal, that press, or one of the area’s popular reading series?

I’ll be representing the popular Lit and Art reading series, so if you’ve always wanted to be considered as a featured reader at the series, be sure to stop by.

Learn more about the CityLit Festival at www.citylitproject.org/index.cfm?page=news&newsid=164

 


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Thursday, September 17, 2015

Lit and Art at Baltimore Book Fest’s CityLit Stage

It’s that time of year—time for the annual Baltimore Book Festival. This year’s festival, taking place on September 26, 27, and 28, features such authors and personalities as Kwame Alexander, Laura Shovan, John McCain, Lalita Noronha, and Wes Moore.

In what’s become a long-standing tradition, the Lit and Art Reading Series will host an hour of readings at the CityLit Stage on Sunday, September 28 from 2 to 3 p.m.  Guess who’s with us this year?

Holly Morse-Ellington has published essays and photographs with Wanderlust and Lipstick, Matador Network, Three Quarter Review, Baltimore Fishbowl, Outside In Literary & Travel Magazine, Urbanite, The Journal of Homeland Security, The Washington Times, and elsewhere. She and Jason Tinney co-authored the play, Fifty Miles Away, winner of Frostburg Center for Creative Writing’s 2015 One Act Festival. They perform together as Limestone Connection. Holly is also an editor for Baltimore Review.

Aaron Henkin has produced The Signal on WYPR for the past 11 years. His work has aired nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition, All Things Considered, PRI’s Studio 360, & The World. His current project is a documentary series called, Out of the Blocks. Aaron also teaches at MICA and UMBC, and he plays the drums in The Barnyard Sharks.


Richard Peabody is the founder and co-editor of Gargoyle Magazine and editor (or co-editor) of 23 anthologies including Mondo Barbie, Conversations with Gore Vidal, and A Different Beat: Writings by Women of the Beat Generation. The author of a novella, three short story collections, and seven poetry books, he is also a native Washingtonian. Peabody taught fiction writing at Johns Hopkins University for 15 years. His new book is The Richard Peabody Reader (Alan Squire Publishers, 2015).

Manzar Rassouli was born in Tehran, Iran. Her work’s been exhibited throughout the country and around the world. The Watermark Gallery in Baltimore houses her permanent collection.

Jason Tinney is the author of Ripple Meets the Deep, Louise Paris and Other Waltzes, and Bluebird and has been a contributor to several publications, including Baltimore, Style, Urbanite, and Maryland Life. As an actor, he has appeared in more than 30 stage productions. He and Holly Morse-Ellington co-authored the play, Fifty Miles Away, which won first prize in the 2015 One Act Festival sponsored by the Frostburg Center for Creative Writing. They perform together as Limestone Connection.


Gregg Wilhelm founded the literary arts organization CityLit Project in 2004 and serves as publisher of its CityLit Press imprint.  He has worked for several independent presses and has taught writing and publishing courses at several universities. In 2014, Gregg earned an MFA from the University of Tampa and won a Rubys Artists Project Grant from the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance. www.GreggWilhelm.com.


Eric D. Goodman is co-founder and co-curator of the Lit & Art Reading Series. He’s a Baltimore author who writes about trains, animals, wombs, and more. Visit him at www.EricDGoodman.com.

Nitin Jagdish is a regular contributor to The Potomac and Syndic.  


Started in 2007, the Lit & Art Reading Series takes place five times a year at the Watermark Gallery at 100 South Charles Street on the second floor of the Bank of America building across from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The program features artists who represent various literary genres combined with visual art. 

Manzar, of the Watermark Gallery, will have a booth this year with information about the gallery, her art, Lit & Art, Rumi, and more. Be sure to stop by the booth!

This festival edition is emceed by Aaron Henkin of WYPR’s “The Signal,” which takes listeners on a weekly tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape. Come get “lit” with us!

Learn more at our Facebook Page.



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Wednesday, October 29, 2014

GEO-POE at Westminster Hall


Looking for a bookish Halloween event? Or a Halloween Literary event? Tonight’s the night. Join the CityLit Project at Westminster Hall (the final resting place of Edgar Allan Poe) for GEO-POE

In October 2014, fourteen writers hid fourteen stories inspired by the death of Edgar Allan Poe or written in a Poesque fashion. Geo-cached in spots around Baltimore, each story is part of a puzzle that is GEO-POE: A Literary Geo-Caching Adventure.

www.facebook.com/geopoebaltimore

Free Fall Baltimore Event
Geo-Poe: The Reading
Oct 29, 7pm at Westminster Hall
Please RSVP for free admission here
http://bit.ly/1yHDH4Y

At last, let the identities of these fourteen warped writers be revealed!

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Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Get Your Lit On at Baltimore Book Festival City Lit Stage

For many in the local literary community, this is the Literary New Year celebration. It's time to get your lit on!

Yes, it’s that season again—time for the Baltimore Book Festival. It’s the Mid-Atlantic Region’s biggest literary celebration! The event takes place from Friday, September 26 at noon to Sunday, September 28 at 6 p.m.

Once again, the Lit and Art Reading Series has a place at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage—the hottest stage of the festival! Our program takes place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 26 and features Tom Glenn, Eric D. Goodman, Holly Morse-Ellington, Nitin Jagdish, Nathan Leslie, Liz Moser, and Manzar. The event will be emceed by NPR’s Aaron Henkin, whose program “The Signal” takes listeners on a weekly tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

Other featured writers participating in this year’s festival include Alice McDermott, Rafael Alvarez, Jessica Anya Blau, Sid Gold, Jen Michalski, Lalita Noronha, and a multitude of others.

Learn more about this year’s Baltimore Book Festival at www.baltimorebookfestival.org.

Go right to the CityLit Stage!

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Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Lit and Art at Baltimore Book Fest


It’s that season again—time for the Baltimore Book Festival. It’s the Mid-Atlantic Region’s biggest literary celebration! The event takes place from Friday, September 26 at noon to Sunday, September 28 at 6 p.m.

Once again, the Lit and Art Reading Series has a place at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage—the hottest stage of the festival! Our program takes place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, September 26 and features Tom Glenn, Eric D. Goodman, Holly Morse-Ellington, Nitin Jagdish, Nathan Leslie, Liz Moser, and Manzar of the Watermark Gallery. The event will be emceed by NPR’s Aaron Henkin, whose program “The Signal” takes listeners on a weekly tour of Baltimore’s cultural landscape.

Other featured writers participating in this year’s festival include Alice McDermott, Rafael Alvarez, Jessica Anya Blau, Sid Gold, Jen Michalski, Lalita Noronha, and a multitude of others.

Learn more about this year’s Baltimore Book Festival at www.baltimorebookfestival.org.

Go right to the CityLit Stage!

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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Fiction! Poetry! Live Music! Original Art! Lit & Art at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage

The Baltimore Book Festival kicks off this Friday, September 27 and runs through Sunday, September 29.
 
Join the Smile Hon You’re In Baltimore crowd on Friday night at the CityLit Tent where they’ll kick off the festival with the release party and reading of the latest issue. The Occupational Hazards issue features such authors as D.R. Belz, Fernando Quijano III, Earl Crown, Caryn Coyle, Eric D. Goodman, Jeffrey Shipley, and more! Plus live music and beer. It all starts Friday at 6 p.m. at the CityLit Stage. Pick up your copy there.
 
And be sure to join us at 1:30 on September 29 at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage for the Lit and Art Reading Series. NPR’s Aaron Henkin of The Signal emcees the event, which features original art by world-renowned artist Manzar, live banjo by Pop-Grass star Jacob Panic, and original readings by Jessica Anya Blau, Eric D. Goodman, and Nitin Jagdish, and Bathsheba Monk.
 
Then … You don’t want to miss the next big event at The Watermark Gallery during Baltimore Literary Arts Week. Join us on Sunday, October 13 from 2 to 5 p.m. for Lit & Art at the Watermark, 100 S. Charles St., across from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Original art by Manzar; original songs by Goodloe Byron; readings by Lauren Eisenberg Davis, D.R. Belz, and Barbara Friedland; an exciting presentation by Tom Glenn on the fall of Saigon (he was there as it happened); and a special musical performance by National Book Award nominee Madison Smartt Bell. Did we mention free wine and refreshments?
 
But first … we’ll see you at 1:30 on September 29 at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage.
 
We look forward to seeing you there!
 

 

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Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Lit and Art Hits Baltimore Book Fest’s CityLit Stage


When is Lit & Art at the Watermark not at The Watermark?
 
When it is at the Baltimore Book Festival!
 
Join us at 1:30 on September 29 at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage as we feature original art by world-renowned artist Manzar, live banjo by Pop-Grass star Jacob Panic, and original readings by Jessica Anya Blau, Eric D. Goodman, and Nitin Jagdish, and Bathsheba Monk.
 
NPR’s Aaron Henkin (who hosts the weekly cultural exploration of Baltimore’s cultural landscape on WYPR’s The Signal) emcees the event on Sunday, September 29 from 1:30 to 2:30.
 
Then … You don’t want to miss the next big event at The Watermark Gallery. Join us on Sunday, October 13 from 2 to 5 p.m. for Lit & Art at the Watermark, 100 S. Charles St., across from Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. Original art by Manzar; original songs by Goodloe Byron; readings by Lauren Eisenberg Davis, D.R. Belz, and Barbara Friedland; an exciting presentation by Tom Glenn on the fall of Saigon (he was there as it happened); and a special musical performance by National Book Award nominee Madison Smartt Bell. Did we mention free wine and refreshments?
 
But first … we’ll see you at 1:30 on September 29 at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage.
 
We look forward to seeing you there!
 

 

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

George Saunders Celebrates 10 years of CityLit Fest

The annual CityLit Festival, a favorite spring event in Baltimore, is celebrating 10 years this Saturday. From its very inception, ringmaster Gregg Wilhelm has brought in top names to headline the festival: the likes of Edward P. Jones and Junot Diaz.

This year, the fiction headliner is George Saunders, author the bestselling Pastoralia, set against a warped, hilarious, and terrifyingly recognizable American landscape; CivilWarLand in Bad Decline, a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award; and In Persuasion Nation, one of three finalists for the 2006 STORY Prize for best short story collection of the year. The New York Times Magazine called Saunders's latest collection, Tenth of December, "the best book you'll read this year."

Headlining poets are poets laureate Stanley Plumly of Maryland and Dick Allen of Connecticut read their latest work. Plumly is the author of Orphan Hours and is recipient of the 2010 John William Corrington Award for Lifetime Achievement in Literature). Allen is the author of Present Vanishing and recipient of the 2013 New Criterion Poetry Prize, one of the country's most prominent prizes for a book-length collection of poems that pays close attention to form.

Other featured authors include Jen Michalski, Elisabeth Dahl, Nathan Leslie, Tim Wendle, Nik Korpon, and CL Bledsoe. I’ll be on hand as well in the Literary Marketplace.

Join us on April 13, 2013, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in downtown Baltimore, and discover (again) why Baltimore magazine called CityLit Festival "a can't miss event on the city's social scene."

www.citylitproject.org/index.cfm?page=news&newsid=130


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Friday, September 28, 2012

Party Like a Librarian!

The Baltimore Book Festival begins today at Noon, and the party continues through Sunday evening at 7 p.m.

All weekend long, book lovers in Baltimore will party like librarians!

The party is at Mt. Vernon Place, surrounding the monument, and features such authors as Emily Griffin, Laura Lippman, Kate Dolan, Joya Fields, Michael Kimball, Kevin O’Malley, Marion Winik, and Justin Sirois.

Learn more about the Baltimore Book Festival and get a full schedule of events at www.baltimorebookfestival.com.



Lit and Art at the Baltimore Book Festival

The highlight of the literary weekend? Don’t miss Lit & Art at the Baltimore Book Festival's CityLit Stage on Sunday, September 30 at 2:30 p.m.

Featured authors include Bathsheba Monk, Jessica Anya Blau, Charles Rammelkamp, Fernando Quijano III, and Nancy Greene with music by Goodloe Byron and original art by Manzar. Hosted by Eric D. Goodman and Nitin Jagdish, the event takes place at the CityLit Stage and promises to be one literary-packed hour. Thanks goes to Gregg Wilhelm for the gig!

Learn more about Lit & Art at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage at www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/event-detail/334/Event%20Details.

Finally, Baltimore Book Fest Video! Pay attention at the 2:09 minute mark and you may see someone you recognize!

www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=i5vXQed674o


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Wednesday, April 04, 2012

CityLit Festival 9


Saturday, April 14 is the 9th annual CityLit Festival!

The CityLit Festival is a day-long celebration (from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) held at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in downtown Baltimore and presented in partnership with the CityLit Project.

According to Baltimore Magazine, “CityLit Festival is a can’t miss event on the city’s cultural scene.”

Three floors of literary activity will fill the library. The Literary Marketplace will present literary organizations, small presses, magazines, literary journals, and will even feature the Lit & Art reading series and my own novel in stories, Tracks.

Headliners include Walter Isaacson, Benjamin Busch, Edward Hirsch, Tom Lux, Jennifer Bodine, and Jon Michaud.

Learn more about the 9th annual CityLit Festival at the Enoch Pratt website.

http://www.prattlibrary.org/calendar/series.aspx?folder=856


Or see the brochure here.

http://www.prattlibrary.org/uploadedFiles/www/calendar/CityLit_Festival/CityLitBrochure_2012_smallerfile.pdf


Find out more about the CityLit Project at their website.
http://www.citylitproject.org/

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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Almost a Presidential Blurb

This week started with a Federal Holiday: Presidents’ Day.

In the introduction to Tracks, the conductor quotes President Truman: “You get a real feeling of this country and the people in it when you are on a train.”


Tracks can’t boast a presidential blurb … but here’s one from the CEO and founding father of the CityLit Project!


“In an age of commuter rush, virtual friends, and novels written in 140-character bursts, Eric D. Goodman reminds us of the richness of train travel or a good book: when the pace is slower, you never know what sort of souls will greet you.”


Learn more about Gregg Wilhelm and CityLit Project.

www.citylitproject.org/index.cfm?page=about

Learn about Harry Truman at The White House.

www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/harrystruman

Hop aboard Tracks.

www.TracksNovel.com

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Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Novels in Stories at Baltimore Book Fest

The novel in stories has been around for a long time in one form or another. But in recent years, with novels in stories winning Pulitzers and National Book Awards, it seems that the form is making a big comeback.


Perhaps that is why the CityLit Stage decided to host “Novels in Stories” hour at the Baltimore Book Festival. As the festival’s website puts it, “Books by two Baltimore writers have recently been published that are described as "a novel in stories": Eric D. Goodman's Tracks and Susi Wyss's The Civilized World. Join Eric and Susi for a reading and discussion about the form, which seems to be back in vogue.”

http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/event-detail/21/Novels-in%20Stories


“Novels in Stories” at the Baltimore Book Festival’s CityLit Stage, takes place on Sunday, September 25 at 3 p.m.


Learn more about Susi Wyss, whose book was picked as a book to watch by Oprah, at her website.

http://www.susiwyss.com/


And here’s my page on the Baltimore Book Fest website.

http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/participants/author/178/Eric%20D.-Goodman

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Monday, August 22, 2011

Check Out the Baltimore Book Fest


Looks like the Baltimore Book Festival—the Mid-Atlantic’s largest celebration of the literary arts—already has a library full of events on the schedule. It takes place September 23, 24, and 25 from noon to 8 p.m. at Mt. Vernon Place. Take a look at www.baltimorebookfestival.com.

There are more than 100 authors and participants on this year’s lineup, including Sherman Alexie, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Terry McMillian, Laura Lippman, Susi Wyss, and many others. You can see the complete lineup here:

http://www.baltimorebookfestival.com/participants/participants-category/2/presenting-authors


I’ll be busy with two gigs at this year’s book fest.

On Saturday evening, stop by as the Lit & Art reading series presents an expanded program, Lit & Art & You, featuring fiction, poetry, nonfiction, memoir, live music, original art, open mic, and refreshments. It takes place from 5:30 to 8 p.m. at the Baltimore Free School Lit + Language Tent. See all of Saturday’s events at the following link.

www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/saturday


On Sunday I’ll join Susi Wyss at the CityLit Stage to talk about Novel in Stories as a form. Susi will read from The Civilized World and I’ll read from Tracks. The reading and discussion takes place from 3 to 4 p.m. Learn more about it and all of Sunday’s events at this link.

www.baltimorebookfestival.com/schedule/saturday


Whether you can make one of my gigs, be sure to enjoy part of the Baltimore Book Festival where you’ll find books, readings, discussions, plays, food, drinks, music, and lots of literary fun. See you there!

www.baltimorebookfestival.com/participants/author/178/Eric%20D.-Goodman

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