Lit Youngstown Gets Ohio Arts Council Grant

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Literary arts nonprofit Lit Youngstown has received a $3,225 Arts Access Grant from the Ohio Arts Council.

The funding will support the group’s programs, such as workshops, book discussions, a pen pal project and its Fall Literary Festival. Because of the coronavirus, all of Lit Youngstown’s programming is currently being held online.

“We have started a few programs recently, trying to figure out what new needs might exist and how we might work toward meeting them,” said Lit Youngstown director Karen Schubert in a statement. “For example, when a new book comes out, there is typically a lot of hoopla, which is hard to pull off in your house, alone.” 

Lit Youngstown’s new reading series, New Book News, will feature three authors reading from their books and asking each other questions about writing and publishing. The series begins 3 p.m. Aug. 30 on Lit Youngstown’s YouTube page. Featured guests are Kelly Fordon of Detroit, Mary Swan-Bell of Warren and Rachel Swearing of Chicago.

Other initiatives include a teen writers workshop and a pen pal program for children 4 to 12. Upcoming workshops for adults and teens cover a variety of topics: building an author website, creating fictional worlds, acquiring an agent to sell book-length fiction, playwriting, establishing a writing practice and writing haiku. 

The Food for Thought monthly book discussion will focus on a series of books by Black authors, starting in September with “The Autograph Man” by Zadie Smith.

More information is available at LitYoungstown.org.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.