Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library

Langston Hughes was born today, February 1, in 1902. Hughes moved to Cleveland in 1916 and attended Central High School where his writing was encouraged by his teachers and others and where his first works appeared. One of Hughes’ signature poems, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers“, was first published in 1921 and appeared in the …

Applications have closed for 2020. After multiple nomination applications and feedback from members of the statewide library and education communities, we have chosen Ohio’s nominee to be considered by the Library of Congress for their State Literacy Awards. In deference to the organization chosen as our state’s nominee, we will be releasing the name of …

In 1585, Shakespeare’s family—consisting of his wife, Anne, and their two-year-old daughter, Susanna—grew to include newborn twins Hamnet and Judith. Speculatively, finances were very much on Shakespeare’s mind, and Stratford-upon-Avon held only finite opportunities for an enterprising young dramatist. Compounding his dilemma was that soothing, feeding, changing, and washing crying babies left precious little time …

With National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) officially starting Nov. 1, we thought it would be helpful to place all of Ohio’s NaNoWriMo Write-In locations and other activities in one handy spot. The following are from the official NaNoWriMo site and other sources. We’ve included links where we could verify an event announcement so you can …

With this being the Ides of October, National Novel Writing Month is just around the corner. The Ohio Center for the Book has a full slate of programs lined up to help you achieve your writing goals. Download our flyer with all the NaNoWriMo program dates and times here! To get you off on the …

The September 2019 Literary Frolic Friday discussion centered around Run Silent, Run Deep. The book Run Silent, Run Deep (1955) was written by Captain Edward “Ned” Latimer Beach, Jr., and the 1958 film of the same name starred Burt Lancaster and the Ohio-born Clark Gable. Beach also had Ohio roots with his father being born …

November is National Novel Writing Month. People worldwide will take part in the unique event known as NaNoWriMo. Participants are challenged to start a new/original work and write for 30 days—between 12:00 a.m. November 1 and 11:59 p.m. November 30. The goal is to complete 50,000 words. Whether you choose to plan as you go …

Join us in the Literature Department on Saturday, September 21, at noon for Cleveland Public Poetry: “Writing About Place,” a special open mic poetry reading featuring Lee Chilcote and Damien Ware. They will read their works and share their experiences living and writing about Cleveland. Open mic will follow Q&A. Lee Chilcote is poet, journalist, …

Here is the Ohio Center for the Book table just before the doors opened on Saturday, August 31, 2019. As you can see, we’re proudly displaying our “library headquarters” at Cleveland Public Library. Can you feel the anticipation? For those who couldn’t make it to the Festival, here are links to three of the handouts …

With the number of comics artists and writers who call our state home, the Ohio Center for the Book is committed to expanding readers views on the power of comics and graphic novels to tell a story – either through fiction or non-fiction. This fall, our Get Graphic! Graphic Novel Book Club focuses on the …