Bmag Names "City Sages" a "Best of Baltimore"
07/23/2010
Baltimore magazine has bestowed a "Best of Baltimore" award upon CityLit Press's first book, City Sages . Congratulations to editor Jen Michalski, cover designer Justin Sirois, and all the "sages" who contributed their literary art to the anthology. Bravo! ...
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New Mercury Sets Slate of Readers for July
07/18/2010
Journalists Rafael Alvarez, Heather Dewar, and Rashod Ollison will share their latest nonfiction at the third New Mercury readings. The event takes place on July 28, 2010, at 7pm at the series' venue Jordan Faye Contemporary/BE in Federal Hill. For bios on this month's...
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CityLit E.D. Describes Baltimore's Lit Scene to The Loft's E.D.
07/12/2010
Gregg Wilhelm talked briefly with Jocelyn Hale, executive director of Minneapolis-based The Loft Literary Center, a major inspiration behind Gregg launching CityLit in Baltimore in 2004. The Loft just celebrated its 35th anniversary...congratulations! Under the direction of Jocey...
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Legal Clinic for Writers Features Lawyer and Agent
06/15/2010
Questions abound: How can I find a reputable agent? What copyright concerns should I have? Can you define "fair use"? Are there permissions issues related to my project? When do I get a royalty check? Eager to get published, and patiently enduring what can be an arduous...
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Fundraiser to Celebrate Launch of CityLit Press
06/07/2010
Join the staff and board of CityLit Project to celebrate the launch of CityLit Press. Special readings by literary artists involved with the press's first two books. Tuesday, June 22, 2010 6pm - 9pm Langermann’s 2400 Boston Street Baltimore, MD 21224 $40/Person...
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NEA Awards CityLit Project First Federal Grant
05/17/2010
CityLit Project recently received a grant for $10,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts , marking the first time that the six-year-old organization has been awarded a federal grant. CityLit was among sixty-four recipients--and just one of two Maryland-based nonprofits--to land a...
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The New Mercury Reading Series Launches in Federal Hill
05/13/2010
Smart writing, independent thinking. In their mission statement for The American Mercury in 1924, co-founders H.L. Mencken and George Nathan got at the heart at what drives independent writers: to offer a "realistic presentation of the whole gaudy, gorgeous American scene."...
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Poets & Writers Highlights CityLit Press
04/28/2010
Check out the May/June issue of Poets & Writers magazine for a nice nod to CityLit Press , the organization's new publishing imprint. Special thanks to editor Kevin Larimer and (Baltimore native) assistant editor Jean Hartig. You can download the page below, but do...
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Second Annual MYWC Winners Announced
04/25/2010
First of all...WOW! We reviewed almost 900 submissions this year, more than double the number submitted for the first contest last year, so we want to thank so many young writers for expressing themselves through creative writing. Thanks, too, to parents, guardians, and teachers...
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CityLit Project's New Imprint Launches
04/15/2010
Thanks to Baltimore magazine for the nice coverage of CityLit Press's launch. Bmag writer Jess Blumberg and freelance photographer Dennis Drenner were wonderful. That's Dennis in the first pic setting up the photo shoot in CityLit Project's corporate cantina. The picture...
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Coast to Coast Poetry Reading Kicks-Off CityLit Festival Weekend
04/01/2010
Join CityLit Project, Minas Gallery, and the literary arts community for a special pre-festival event to kick-off CityLit Festival weekend. Poets Paul Nelson and Ron Egatz pair for an area reading at Minas on Friday, April 16. Light wine and cheese reception begins at 6:30...
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CITYLIT PRESS: Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone
04/01/2010
Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone Laura Shovan ISBN 978-1-936328-02-4 5x8 Chapbook, 51 pp. Retail: $9.95 Available from CityLit Press From the Introduction by Harriss Poetry Prize founding editor, Michael Salcman... In her winning manuscript, “Mountain, Log, Salt, and...
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CITYLIT PRESS: City Sages: Baltimore
03/31/2010
City Sages: Baltimore Jen Michalski, Editor ISBN 978-1-936328-01-7 6x9 Trade Pbk, 300 pp. Retail: $16.95 Purchase from Amazon.com (coming soon) See FaceBook page for news and readings: City Sages . "There is a saying in Baltimore," said the sage himself, H.L. Mencken,...
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Bestselling Novelist Kostova to Appear at CityLit Festival
03/17/2010
Rowell, Lipsyte, and Plumly Among Other Literary Stars, Emerging Writers, and Favorite Programs at Seventh Annual Celebration of Literature Bestselling author Elizabeth Kostova comes to Baltimore on April 17 as part of the seventh annual CityLit Festival. Dubbed "a can't miss...
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"Afternoons with Authors" Kicks Off in NW Baltimore
03/10/2010
The first-ever "Afternoons with Authors" event, a series of programs presented by Enoch Pratt Free Library and CityLit Project, takes place Saturday, March 13, 2010. The event begins at the Pratt Library's Pennsylvania Avenue branch (1531 W. North Avenue, 21217) at 1pm. Our...
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Marylander Wins First Annual Harriss Poetry Prize
03/09/2010
Laura Shovan mines gems from the everyday caverns of life. From these moments Shovan collected Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone , inaugural winner of the Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize. The prize is named in honor of Clarinda Harriss, eminent Baltimore poet, publisher, and professor...
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CityLit Director Speaks at Sold Out Bay to Ocean Conference
03/08/2010
CityLit Project executive director Gregg Wilhelm spoke to nearly eighty writers at the thirteenth annual Bay to Ocean Writers Conference. The annual February gathering, held for the last several years at Chesapeake College near Easton, attracted a record attendance approaching 200...
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Literary Death Match to Pit Local Bards in Verbal Barroom Brawl
01/25/2010
When a guy contacts you to ask if you want to represent at something called a Literary Death Match, it's hard to refuse. However, there's no shortage of ideas that sound cool on paper but fizzle in reality. But after checking out Todd Zuniga's web site it not only clear he knew...
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Call for Exhibitors: CityLit Festival April 17, 2010
01/25/2010
Final details for the seventh annual CityLit Festival at Pratt Library on April 17 will post soon. Meanwhile, exhibitors are encouraged to make their reservations for free display space as soon as possible. The popular Literary Marketplace gets busier every year, but there's a...
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National Magazines Cover Baltimore Literary Scene
01/03/2010
Two magazines highlight the Baltimore literary arts scene and Baltimore writers in their January issues: Utne Reader explores the resurgent lit scene in Mobtown (see link to PDF below) while Poets & Writers ' feature on "Beyond Words: Five Writers Who Practice Other Arts"...
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Happy New Year (Save the Dates)!
01/01/2010
The new year, 2010 (two thousand and ten, that's how we have decided to say it), brings another slate of terrific literary arts programs to the area. In addition to annual favorites like CityLit Festival in April, CityLit Stage in September, and another academic year of CityLit Teens...
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Frostburg and CityLit Team Up for Winter Writers' Retreat
12/03/2009
Hemingway may have only needed a clean, well-lighted place, but most writers require a break from their nine-to-five, the kids, or the same old four walls that surround their writing space. Get away from it all this March for a weekend of writing, reading, and critiquing. CityLit...
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Baltimore Writers’ Conference Returns to Towson
10/19/2009
Mark Bowden , an author, journalist and screenwriter whose works include Black Hawk Down and Killing Pablo , will deliver the keynote speech at the 2009 Baltimore Writers’ Conference, scheduled for November 14 at Towson University University Union, from 8:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m....
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Call for Entries: Maryland Young Writers' Contest
10/12/2009
Baltimore's Child and CityLit Project are now accepting entries for the second annual Maryland Young Writers' Contest. Last year, nearly 400 entries were submitted from around the state in both prose and poetry categories across high school, middle school, and elementary school age...
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Governor Names Plumly New State Poet Laureate
10/02/2009
At right, Governor Martin O'Malley and Maryland State Arts Council chair Scott Johnson (past chair, CityLit Project) at the reception for new state poet laureate Stanley Plumly. Photo: Rick Lippenholtz. STATE PRESS RELEASE--Governor Martin O’Malley today announced the appointment...
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WYPR's "Maryland Morning" Previews Baltimore Book Festival
09/23/2009
First click "Read More" below then click here for a brief preview of Baltimore Book Festival's CityLit Stage as "Maryland Morning's" Tom Hall speaks with author Jim Magruder and CityLit's Gregg Wilhelm. For a complete festival schedule, go to...
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Free Friday Feedback a Festival First!
09/22/2009
Here's your chance, writers! As part of this year's expanded hours at Baltimore Book Festival, CityLit Project will offer free feedback on your literary art. Poets, novelists, essayists...no matter what type of writer you are there will be professionals on hand to evaluate your...
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CityLit Stage Schedule Set for Baltimore Book Festival
09/15/2009
Swing by the CityLit Stage at Baltimore Book Festival on September 25, 26, and 27! Here's the schedule and click on the PDF link below for a flyer. Thanks to partners Baltimore Office of Promotion and The Arts, Urbanite , and Cyclops Books. Thanks again to WYPR's Aaron...
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CHAPBOOK CONTEST: The Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize
09/01/2009
Launched in 2009, the Harriss Prize is named in honor of Clarinda Harriss, eminent Baltimore poet, publisher, and professor of English at Towson University. Harriss, educated at Johns Hopkins University and Goucher College, is a widely published, award-winning poet (her most recent...
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CHAPBOOK CONTEST: The Black Infinity Poetry Prize
08/31/2009
Launched in 2010, the Black Infinity Poetry Prize is named in honor of Adele V. Holden, born on Maryland’s segregated Eastern Shore, educated at Johns Hopkins under Elliott Coleman, devoted English teacher. She taught for many years at Dunbar High School and the Community College...
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The Story Behind "Black Infinity"
08/31/2009
Through her art, career, and life, Adele V. Holden (1919-2005) promoted equal rights while shaping the minds of young people. Born on the racially segregated Eastern Shore in 1919, Adele grew up in Pocomoke City, Maryland, during the Great Depression, a time when the state’s final...
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Baltimore Hosts Fitzgerald Society's 10th International Conference
08/29/2009
The F. Scott Fitzgerald Society customarily meets in locations biographically and artistically significant to F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and this year's is no exception. The 10th International Conference will take place from September 30 through October 3, 2009, in Baltimore, Maryland....
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Julia Alvarez to Appear at Fitzgerald Literary Conference in Rockville
08/28/2009
An international theme dominates this year’s F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Conference. The 14th annual conference is scheduled for October 17, 2009, in Rockville, Maryland. Popular novelist Julia Alvarez is the 2009 honoree for the prestigious F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary...
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Fall 2009 "Write Here, Write Now" Workshops Announced
08/21/2009
CityLit Project announces the new Fall 2009 season of "Write Here, Write Now" workshops for writers. Covering poetry, prose, marketing, blogging, and DIY publishing, the slate of five workshops is the most offered in a season yet. Instructors include Jessica Anya Blau,...
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Poetic Bandits Write at St. Francis Neighborhood Center
08/19/2009
CityLit Project discovered a new generation of aspiring “Richard Wrights” when Baltimore’s westside youth, poetry, and creativity came together at St. Francis Neighborhood Center in Reservoir Hill. CityLit conducted two sessions in early July, 2009, at St. Francis, a neighborhood center and...
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New Brochure Rolls Out for Fall 2009
08/13/2009
Click on the link below to download CityLit's new brochure!
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CityLit Press to Connect Writers and Readers
08/01/2009
My career has several milestones: the first paperback reprint Henry Tom at Johns Hopkins let me handle ( Flight in America by Roger Bilstein); the first book published start to finish ( The I of the Beholder by Stephen Vicchio); the first title of a list I completely shaped ( The...
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Bmag Names CityLit Festival "Best of Baltimore"
07/23/2009
The record-breaking sixth edition of CityLit Festival presented with Pratt Library received a "Best of Baltimore" honor from Baltimore Magazine . Arts organizations operate with such lean human and financial resources that recognition by media and appreciation by the...
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Happy New Year!
06/28/2009
July marks a turn of the fiscal calendar for most nonprofits. And just like January 1, this time of year beckons memories of FY2009 and looks forward to diaper-swaddled baby FY10. Last year marked significant programmatic and organizational growth for CityLit. During the summer we...
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Summit Held For Growing Literary Arts Scene
06/15/2009
Over the past five years, Baltimore’s literary arts community has significantly grown due to the formation of organizations, networking among writers, influx of new writers, creation of several reading series, increased media attention through publicity and blogs, and a new energy in...
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CityLit Teens Culminates with Book Publication
05/03/2009
CityLit Teens culminated at CityLit Festival in April, 2009, with the unveiling of Open Mic / Open Minds , a book collecting the work that teen writers produced over the course of the program. For several weeks at both the Southeast Anchor Library and Pennsylvania Avenue branch of Pratt...
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Maryland Young Writers' Contest Winners Announced
05/01/2009
Baltimore's Child and CityLit Project are proud to announce the winners of the first annual Maryland Young Writers' Contest. Nearly 400 entries were submitted from around the state in both prose and poetry categories across high school, middle school, and elementary school age...
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3000 Attendees Set CityLit Festival Record
04/21/2009
More than 3000 people attended the sixth annual CityLit Festival, presented by CityLit Project and Enoch Pratt Free Library. A record 60 exhibitors packed the Literary Marketplace as programs took place in five areas throughout the library. The free festival is Baltimore's premier...
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Publishing Genius Adam Robinson Featured in P&W
04/18/2009
Congratulations to Baltimore’s own Publishing Genius Adam Robinson for a terrific piece in the current (May/June) issue of Poets & Writers . The magazine featured Adam’s “Baltimore Is Reads” effort to place poetry in public places. “The...
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Is CityLit "Working"?
04/10/2009
When we started the organization in 2004, it was in part a response to the notion that Baltimore, even with its rich literary heritage, is not a "literate" city like Minneapolis, Seattle, or Portland, OR (despite what the bus benches claimed). When I talk about CityLit to people who...
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CityLit Project Concludes "Cruellest Month Reading Series"
04/09/2009
Cruellest Month Reading Series Curated by Towson ARTS Collective / Furniture Press Thursday, April 30, 2009 French Press Cafe, 7:30pm 27 E. Chesapeake Avenue Towson, MD www.thefrenchpresscafe.com Free! CityLit Project Presents Poets from Loyola College and Goucher...
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Anatomy of a Book Contract at Howard County Arts Council
04/09/2009
You, the writer, just spent 10 years, 10 months, 10 weeks writing that manuscript. As Red Smith said, "Writing is easy; I just open a vein and bleed." Goodness knows how many additional years, months, or weeks it took you to find an agent, and for that agent to find you a...
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2008 Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award Winners Set to Headline CityLit Festival
04/01/2009
CityLit Festival VI takes place at Enoch Pratt Free Library on Saturday, April 18, 2009. Presented by CityLit Project and Pratt Library , the festival continues its tradition of presenting nationally acclaimed writers, Baltimore's own literati, and emerging voices in a day-long...
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Happy Fifth Anniversary CityLit Project!
03/06/2009
2009 marks CityLit's fifth anniversary and a new chapter in the organization's story. We are rolling out a new logo, launching a new web site, adding new board members, offering new programs, establishing new partnerships, growing more efficient and effective with guidance from a new strategic...
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New Plan, New Look, New Site Open New Chapter for CityLit
01/21/2009
Since its first days in 2004, CityLit Project’s work set the tone for collaborating with various institutions, writers, media, and others to create, promote, present, and evaluate its programs. Doing so on a modest budget meant a lot of grassroots initiatives, including the design...
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Thank You for a Successful First Annual Appeal
11/30/2008
Last Fall, just as the country was beginning to admit that the economy was in the middle of a recession, CityLit’s board of directors coordinated the organization’s first annual appeal campaign. We seriously discussed whether this was the right time, especially for a...
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Five Baltimore Professionals Join CityLit Project’s Board
10/10/2008
Directors to Usher in Changes to Mark Nonprofit’s Fifth Anniversary October 10, 2008—CityLit Project announced today the addition of five area professionals to its Board of Directors, bringing the total number of directors to fourteen. New to the board are: Rachel Eisler, 45, is...
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CityLit Goes Back to School (Examiner September 2008)
09/24/2008
The CityLit Project is expanding its presence at the Baltimore Book Festival this weekend with the brand-new School of Lit stage, a showcase of work from 11 area colleges and universities. “All the great writing created on these campuses can sometimes be overlooked,” said Gregg...
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Reader Friendly (Jewish Times June 2008)
06/01/2008
Gregg Wilhelm has a reputation. And it’s an enviable one. Mr. Wilhelm is known as the go-to literary guy in Baltimore. Executive director of CityLit Project, a local non-profit literary arts organization, and director and editor-in-chief at Apprentice House, an independent book publishing...
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Loving The Printed Word (The Sun May 2008)
05/28/2008
Loyola's unique student-staffed book publishing operation and the CityLit Project are both ways to get Baltimoreans, especially the young, 'excited about the literary arts.'
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Wilhelm Named One of Baltimore's "40 Under 40" (Baltimore Business Journal September 2006)
09/01/2006
Article from BBJ's "40 Under 40" feature.
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Daily Record Article on Free Fall Baltimore (August 24, 2006)
08/24/2006
Article from the August 24, 2006 issue of The Daily Record.
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Urbanite Names CityLit "One to Watch" (March 2006)
03/01/2006
Article from the March 3, 2006 issue of Urbanite .
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CityLit Festival Named Best of Baltimore 2005
08/15/2005
CityLit Project was honored to be featured in Baltimore magazine's 30th annual Best of Baltimore issue: Lightning In a Bottle (twice) Last year, the inaugural CityLit Festival at the Enoch Pratt Free Library booked novelist Edward P. Jones for an appearance. A few days before the...
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CityLit Festival Makes Baltimore Debut (Publishers Weekly April 2004)
04/22/2004
Publishers Weekly, the industry's leading trade publication, recognized CityLit Project's first public program: CityLit Festival presented with Enoch Pratt Free Library in April 2004. Newly named Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction Edward P. Jones headlined.
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Nonprofit Formed to Create Community Among Readers and Writers
01/21/2004
CityLit Project was incorporated in Maryland on January 21, 2004. Articles of incorporation, bylaws, and first budget were all approved. The founder was Gregg Wilhelm and the founding chair was Charles F. "Chic" Dambach. It gained its 501(c)(3) status from the IRS in February...
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