LITTSBURGH SPRING
LITERARY EVENTS AROUND TOWN
Spring is in the air. It’s time for the flowers to sprout, the trees to bud, and your book stacks to grow. Littsburgh has a delightful few months ahead with visits from bestselling and award-winning authors (and be sure to check out Littsburgh.com for even more event listings).
Thursday, March 14, 6:00 p.m.: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures presents Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black for their “Made Local” Series to discuss “Combee,” “the story of the Combahee River Raid, one of Harriet Tubman’s littleknown most extraordinary accomplishments” based on original previously unexamined documents.” Dr. FieldsBlack, a descendant of one of the participants in the raid, teaches history at Carnegie Mellon University. Free registration (organization website). Carnegie Library Lecture Hall, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Friday, March 15 to Saturday, March 16: The Writers Conference of Northern Appalachia, featuring presentations and workshops and keynote speaker bestselling author Maxwell King, will be held at Saint Francis University in Loretto, PA. Ticketed (organization website). Saint Francis University, Loretto, PA.
Thursday, March 21, 7:30 p.m.: Riverstone Books and Mystery Lovers Bookshop host #1 New York Times bestselling author Chris Bohjalian to discuss “The Princess of Las Vegas,” his new thriller about “a PrincessDiana impersonator and her estranged sister who find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder.” Ticketed (store website). Third Presbyterian Church, 5701 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh,PA.
Thursday, March 21, 7:30 p.m.: The Pittsburgh Contemporary Writer Series presents award-winning writer Jo Ann Beard who will read from and discuss her work with fellow writer Peter Trachtenberg. Beard is the author of two collections including “Festival Days,” “The Boys of My Youth,” and the novel “In Zanesville.” Heinz Chapel, S. Bellefield Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Tuesday, March 26, 7:00 p.m.: City of Asylum welcomes award-winning bestselling author Amitav Ghosh to discuss his new book “Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories” — part travelog, part history, part memoir. “Ghosh reveals the role that one small plant played in making our world, now teetering on the edge of catastrophe.” Free In-Person Tickets available (store website). Alphabet City, 40 W. North Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Sunday, April 7, 2 p.m.: Riverstone Books, The Pitt News, and the University of Pittsburgh Department of English welcome Lee Gutkind, “The Godfather of Creative Nonfiction,” to discusshis latest book “The Fine Art of Literary Fist-Fighting,” “an account of the emergence of creative nonfiction.” Gutkind will be in conversation with author Dinty W. Moore. Reservations encouraged (store website). Riverstone Books, 5841 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Thursday, April 11, 7:00 p.m.: The Battle of Homestead Foundation presents “An Evening of Working Class Poetry (and Music)” to celebrate National Poetry Month, featuring writers and poets Robert Walicki, Robert Gibb, Jason Irwin, Paolo Corso, and artists and musicians Kelsey Jumper and Danny Rectenwald. Free admission. The Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive, Munhall, PA.
Monday, May 6, 7 p.m.: Erik Larson, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of “The Splendid and the Vile” and “The Devil in the White City,” joins Riverstone Books for an evening to discuss his new book “The Demonof Unrest: which “brings to life the pivotal five months between the election of Abraham Lincoln and the start of the Civil War.” Ticketed (store website). Third Presbyterian Church, 5701 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Saturday, May 11: The Third Annual Greater Pittsburgh Festival of Books returns to welcome us “to explore the city’s literary treasures through national and locally renowned authors and poets; children’s activities; local bookstores and publishers; live entertainment and more.” Presenting writers include Clare Beams, Ross Gay, Valerie Burns, Dave Newman, Rachel Lippincott, and many more! Check the organization website for more information. Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, East Liberty, Pittsburgh, PA.
Monday, May 13, 7:30 p.m.: Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures “Ten Evenings” presents Jesmyn Ward, winner of two National Book Awards for Fiction, to discuss her latest novel “Let Us Descend,” a “reimagining of American slavery, as beautifully rendered as it is heartwrenching.” Ticketed (organization website). Carnegie Music Hall, 4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA.
Thursday, May 16, 7:00 p.m.: Pittsburgh native author Anna Monardo explores her family and their bad luck with love in “After Italy: A Family Memoir of Arranged Marriage,” telling “a story of two marriages undone by a dowry and the fallout from that rift on three generations of a Southern Italian family.” Reservations encouraged (store website). Penguin Bookshop, 417 Beaver Street, Sewickley,PA.
May 14 & 28, 7:00 p.m.: Hemingway’s Summer Poetry Series celebrates its 50th anniversary season with two sessions of wonderful poetry including the poets Jan Beatty, Lynn Emanuel, Jason Irwin, Judith Vollmer, and more. Check the organization website for more information. Hop Farm Brewing Company, 5601 Butler Street, Pittsburgh,PA.