Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library

November is National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and for many people it means writing, writing, and more writing, until they have written 50,000 words of a novel by the end of November. Now in its 20th year, NaNoWriMo challenges participants to write a new/original work in 30 days—between 12:00 a.m. November 1 and 11:59 p.m. November 30. It’s …

Poetry Out Loud is a national recitation contest that is sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. The program is administered in partnership with the State Arts Agencies of all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.  Poetry Out Loud encourages students to learn about poetry through …

In preparation for National Novel Writing Month in November, the Literature Department/Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library hosted a workshop for writers.  Local author Nancy Christie provided insights drawn from her personal experience and information offered in her award-winning book Rut-Busting Book for Writers.  The day was sunny and the turnout was  warm as those …

The 25 finalists for this year’s National Book Awards have officially been announced!   Finalists for Fiction: Jamel Brinkley, A Lucky Man Graywolf Press Lauren Groff, Florida Riverhead Books / Penguin Random House Brandon Hobson, Where the Dead Sit Talking Soho Press Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers Viking Books / Penguin Random House Sigrid Nunez, The Friend Riverhead Books / …

This month OCFB interviews Lee Chilcote.  Lee is founder and executive director of Literary Cleveland, whose mission is to “help create and nurture a vibrant literary arts community in Northeast Ohio.” Lee is  a teacher, an essayist and journalist whose articles have appeared in national and international publications.  And, Lee Chilcote is a poet. Lee’s first poetry collection, The …

National Book Festival 2018 has ended and, according to officials at the Library of Congress, a sponsor of the festival since 2001, tens of thousands of readers of all ages attended this year’s festival. Held September 1, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., it is estimated to have been the largest …

Prep for National Novel Writing Month and Beyond with Author Nancy Christie Rut-Busting for Writers Workshop DATE: Saturday, October 6, 2018 TIME: 4:00 -5:30 p.m. Location: Literature Department, Main Library, 2nd FL Are you in a rut with your writing? Do you need tips on how to jump-start your creativity for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) …

On Saturday, September 15, from noon to 1:00 p.m., Ohio Center for the Book and Cleveland Public Library invite you to celebrate the changing of the season amidst the readings of written and spoken-word poetry with our special guest reader poet and musician MaxWell Shell. The mic will open for others to read an original or …