The Ohio Center for the Book is hosting a number of book discussions and events in northeast Ohio over the summer. Mark your calendars, and we hope to see you there!
For full details, see below or contact us at ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org or call 216-623-2881.
- Saturday, July 30 – 10:30 am – Severance by Ling Ma (The Last Saturday Book Club @ Rivergate Park’s Merwin’s Wharf)
- Thursday, August 4 – 6:00 pm – Berlin: City of Smoke by Jason Lutes (Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club @ Bookhouse Brewing)
- Saturday, August 20 – 2:00 to 3:30 pm – Open Mic Poetry! (Poetry & Prose @ Cleveland Public Library Langston Hughes Branch)
- Saturday, August 27 – 10:30 am – Zone One by Colson Whitehead (The Last Saturday Book Club @ Euclid Beach Park picnic shelter)
Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club
The Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club meets on the first Thursday of each month at Bookhouse Brewing located at 1526 W 25th St, Cleveland, OH 44113. The Ohio Center for the Book is dedicated to raising the awareness of comics as a literary medium of expression in both fiction and non-fiction. This summer’s discussions include both.
Thursday, August 4 – 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Berlin: City of Smoke by Jason Lutes
The people of Weimar Berlin search for answers after the lethal May Day demonstration, political upheavals continue, and World War II draws near.
Poetry & Prose
Saturday, August 20 – 2:00 – 3:30 pm – Open Mic Poetry!
The mic will be open for those who want to share original poems or their favorite works of poetry. This event will take place, appropriately, at Cleveland Public Library’s Langston Hughes Branch.
The Last Saturday Book Club
The Last Saturday Book Club will expand your idea of what a literary “post-apocalyptic” novel can be. The discussions will take place at outside venues for attendees to enjoy the sunshine while digging into some dark themes and scary places.
Saturday, July 30 – 10:30 am
This month, put on your sunscreen and bring your beach blanket to Rivergate Park for a discussion on the zombie novel Severance by Ling Ma. Meet in the Merwin’s Wharf parking lot.
Saturday, August 27 – 10:30 am
This month, put on your sunscreen and bring your beach blanket to Euclid Beach Park for a discussion on the zombie novel Zone One by Colson Whitehead. Meet at the picnic shelter.
Coffee & Comics
Join us as we host a comics-creating workshop with local comics artists. Learn from comics pros how to create your own comics or refine your sequential art skill. You might learn some valuable insider information on the comics industry. Held at Rising Star Roastery located at 3617 Walton Ave., Cleveland, OH 44113.
Creator J.J. Lendl | Saturday, July 9 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
J.J. Lendl is an artist and illustrator specializing in key art for books, film, television, comics, and fine art prints.
J.J. is known for his vintage-inspired aesthetics and extensive work with entertainment properties including Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel Studios, The X-Files and more.
His studio is based in Lakewood, Ohio, where he lives with his wife and daughter.
Learn more about J.J. and his work at his website, www.jjlendl.com, or his Linktree page. Follow him @JJLendl on Twitter or Instagram.
Dan Gorman | Saturday, July 23 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
Dan Gorman is a trained Medical Illustrator with his BFA in Medical Illustration from the Cleveland Institute of Art (1999). Dan began working as a Sketch Card Artist in 2010 and has since worked on over 150 Licensed Trading Card sets featuring properties that include, but are not limited to, Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Alien, The Lord of the Rings, Vampirella, Bettie Page, KISS, Rick & Morty, Steven Universe, MLB and AMC’s The Walking Dead. In 2012, Dan began his career as a Comic Book Penciler and has been published by Dark Horse (Grindhouse), AC Comics (FemForce), Empire Comics Lab (Cemetery Plots), Source Point Press. (The Rejected, Kringle, Turkey Day), Caliber Comics (Mississippi Zombie, Harvest of Horrors) and Second Sight Publishing (The Horn Island Trilogy). Dan is a member in good standing of the National Cartoonists Society and creates a weekly webcomic for The Akron RubberDucks (Cleveland Indians Affiliate) Baseball team called “RubberDucks Tales.” Dan writes and draws a webcomic called the Akron Knight which you can read at akronknightcomic.com. Dan also helps run and promote several local Comicons and Pop Culture Cons, most notably The Akron Comicon, as well as helping run Rubber City Comics in downtown Akron. You can see more of Dan’s work at dangormanart.com and be sure to follow him @GDanArtist on Twitter and Instagram.
Previous Programs: Summer 2022
- Thursday, June 2 – 6:00 pm – Putin’s Russia: The Rise of a Dictator by Darryl Cunningham (Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club @ Bookhouse Brewing)
- Saturday, June 18 – 3:00 pm – Recitatif: A Story by Toni Morrison (Poetry & Prose: Reading is Aloud @ Cleveland Public Library Rice Branch)
- Saturday, June 25 – 10:30 am – Something New Under the Sun by Alexandra Kleeman (The Last Saturday Book Club @ Edgewater Beach House)
- Thursday, July 7 – 6:00 pm – Berlin: The City of Stones by Jason Lutes (Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club @ Bookhouse Brewing)
- Saturday, July 9 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – Hands-on comics workshop with featured comics creator J.J. Lendl (Coffee & Comics @ Rising Star Roastery)
- Saturday, July 23 – 10:00 am to 12:00 pm – Hands-on comics workshop with featured creator Dan Gorman (Coffee & Comics @ Rising Star Roastery)
- Saturday, July 23 – 3:00 pm – When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain (Poetry & Prose: Read Ohio Book Club @ Cleveland Public Library Carnegie West Branch)