Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library

It’s November, which means people the world over are putting pen to paper and fixing fingers to keyboards, as they take up the challenge to write 50,000 words in 30 days for National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Every writer needs a place to write, a space that brings forth inspiration. What better place than a wonderfully …

“Your Speculative Fiction: From Concept to Elevator Pitch” Free Workshop with Linda Robertson Saturday, November 10, 2018 Bellflower Hall 102, 11421 Bellflower Ave. | 1:00 to 3:30 Only 20 Participants/ Must Pre-register Send your 1 page fantasy/speculative fiction novel concept with your registration to writershouse@case.edu. Come and join the conversation with author Linda Robertson. She’ll be …

The American Library Association has announced six books shortlisted for the esteemed Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, awarded for the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction books written for adult readers and published in the United States. The awards were established in 2012 to recognize the best fiction and nonfiction books for …

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 …