WRITEFUL PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Eric D. Goodman, MWA Public Relations Director
DATE: April 7, 2007
EMAIL: edgewriter@gmail.com
The CityLit Project’s Fifth Annual Celebration of Literature
Poet Afaa Michael Weaver joins authors Lippman, Fesperman, Suri, Carson, and others at the CityLit Festival V.
The fifth edition of the festival takes place on Saturday, April 19, 2008, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Enoch Pratt Free Library. The event is free and open to the public.
Weaver wrote and published poetry while working factory jobs at Procter & Gamble and Bethlehem Steel. He founded 7th Son Press and published the journal “Blind Alleys,” which featured Andrei Codrescu, Frank Marshall Davis, and Lucille Clifton among others. As a freelancer, he has written for the Baltimore Sun, the Boston Globe, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Chicago Tribune, and the Baltimore Afro-American. He began his teaching career as an adjunct in 1987, teaching at New York University, the City University of New York, Seton Hall Law School, and Essex County College. In 1990, he began at Rutgers Camden and received tenure with distinction there as an early candidate. In 1998, Weaver joined the English Department at Simmons College, where he founded the Zora Neale Hurston Literary Center.
Deputy Mayor Salima Siler Marriott, Pratt Library Executive Director Dr. Carla Hayden, and CityLit Project Executive Director Gregg Wilhelm join the poet at 10:30 to declare April 19 “Afaa Michael Weaver Day.” Weaver reads from The Plum Flower Dance at 2:00.
The Maryland Writers’ Association will be present all day at the Festival—find out more about the MWA and learn how you can become a part of the organization by stopping by the booth.
Meanwhile, three of Baltimore’s most prominent literati share their brand new books at 1:00 in Pratt Library’s Wheeler Auditorium. Tom Hall, Culture Editor for WYPR’s “Maryland Morning,” talks with Dan Fesperman, The Amateur Spy; Laura Lippman, Another Thing to Fall; and Manil Suri, The Age of Shiva.
Dr. Ben Carson, world-renowned pediatric neurosurgeon, shares his insight and advice from Take the Risk: Learning to Identify, Choose, and Live with Acceptable Risk. Dr. Carson presents at 3:00. The Maryland Humanities Council’s Maryland Center for the Book honors its “Letters About Literature” contest winners from around the state at 11:00 with special guest children’s chapter book author Margaret Meacham. S. James Guitard and Victoria Christopher Murray read from and discuss their latest novels, and sports writer John Eisenberg revisits the Barbaro story in his new book. Michael Olesker, Tonight at Six; Diane Scharper, Reading Lips; and contributors to Freshly Squeezed, a new anthology based on writing from the popular “Write Here, Write Now” workshops, all present special pre-publication previews of their new books. Featured authors reading their work from the anthology include Rick Connor, Fernando Quijano III, Nicole Walton, Tamara Keurejian, Barbara Friedland, Holly Myers, Mare Cromwell, Eric D. Goodman, Nancy O. Greene, and Leo Horrigan. For families, Caldecott Honoree and New York Times bestselling children’s book author Carole Boston Weatherford shares her latest book, Freedom on the Menu: The Greensboro Sit-Ins.
Poetry is never in short supply at CityLit Festival. Reggie Harris returns to host “Poetry by Place,” a spoken word tour de force featuring poets who appear at various venues around Baltimore. Poets Ink is back again conducting a workshop and reading.
Attendees are also encouraged to browse and buy at the Literary Marketplace, featuring more than fifty authors, editors, literary journals, presses and organizations.
CityLit Festival is made possible with the support of the Maryland State Arts Council and the Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts.
Programs take place throughout the library. A complete schedule of times and locations is available at CityLit’s website below.
Learn more about this and other literary news and events at
F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference
March 18, 2008
PRESS RELEASE:
THE F. SCOTT FITZGERALD LITERARY CONFERENCE, INC.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Eric D. Goodman, Public Relations Director
DATE: March 17, 2008
EMAIL: edgewriter@gmail.com
Mary Gaitskill Headlines Authors at Fitzgerald Spring Event
Renowned author Mary Gaitskill will read from her work at the Spring Event of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 4 at the Rockville Vis Arts Center.
Mary Gaitskill has been nominated for the National Book Award, National Book Critics’ Circle Award and PEN/Faulkner Award. She is the author of Two Girls, Fat and Thin; Veronica; Bad Behavior; and Because They Wanted To. Her short story “Secretary” was made into a feature film.
Gaitskill will be joined by four local authors: Dave Housley (Ryan Seacrest is Famous), Nathan Leslie (Madre, Believers), Susan Muaddi-Darraj (The Inheritance of Exile), and Lalita Noronha (Where Monsoons Cry).
Don’t miss this rare opportunity to see Gaitskill and other talented authors read from their work. The event is free to members of the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, Inc. and their guests, and the cost is $10 for the general public. There will be a minimal charge for students. Parking at Town Center is free after 7 p.m., and refreshments will be served.
For directions to the Vis Arts Center, visit www.visartscenter.org.
To learn more about this event or about the F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference, Inc., email FSFconference@gmail.com or potomacrevieweditor@montgomerycollege.edu.
Maryland Writers’ Association Press Release
February 24, 2008
MARYLAND WRITERS’ ASSOCIATION PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Eric D. Goodman, MWA Public Relations Director
DATE: January 28, 2008
EMAIL: edgewriter@gmail.com
BEST WAY TO KEEP YOUR LITERARY RESOLUTIONS
Each year, countless writers make resolutions about their writing goals. This is the year you’ll publish that short story, write that novel, or at least put pen in hand and write a few pages each day.
And in May, where will you be? Here’s a great way to keep your writerly resolutions in check.
Register yourself now to attend the 20th annual Maryland Writers Association on Saturday, May 3, 2008 from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum.
Keynote speaker Thomas F. Monteleone is but one of many professional, successful writers planning to spend the day helping you reach your own writing goals.
Join local experts and established writers at the 20th annual Maryland Writers’ Association’s conference. You’ll have the opportunity to hone your craft in sessions led by established authors, instructors, and experts. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, there’s plenty for you at the conference. Come explore the many worlds of writing.
To register, or for more information, visit the conference website.
