Upcoming Literary Events

October 30, 2024October 29, 2024Leave a comment

I’m taking a break from the film reviewing this week to spread the word about two literary events.

Currents in the Electric City Reading, Nov. 2 at 7 pm, The Gathering Place

This event will be another reading/book signing to celebrate Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology. Featured readers include Mandy Pennington, David Elliott, Ted LoRusso, Jess Meoni, Amye Archer, Bonnie Markowski, Daryl Fanelli, Barbara J. Taylor, fellow co-editor Joe Kraus, and I. This event is free and will take place at the Gathering Place in Clarks Summit, PA.

Open Mic at the Albright Memorial Library, Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 pm

Lackawanna College’s Professional Writing Program, in conjunction with the Albright Memorial Library, is hosting an open mic. This will feature student and faculty readings, but it’s also open to the public! Bring a piece to share. Admission is free, and there will be food, too.

Currents in the Electric City in Beacon, NY/Stanza Books

July 29, 2024Leave a comment

On Saturday, we had a wonderful and inspiring launch for Currents in the Electric City. About a dozen contributors read their work from the anthology at the Albright Memorial Library before a packed house. The momentum will continue into the late summer and fall months. Next up, some of us will be reading at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY on Saturday, August 17.

Stanza Books is co-owned by one of the anthology’s contributors, Andrea Talarico. She’ll be reading, along with Mandy Pennington, Daryl Fanelli, Joe Kraus, Dawn Leas, and I. It should be a lot of fun, and we’ll have copies of the book for sale.

For more info about the reading, click here. We’re in the process of planning some events for the fall months, too, so stay tuned!

Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology

July 16, 2024July 16, 20242 Comments

Yes, I know, I know that this is self-promotional, but I want to say Happy Publication Day to Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology (Belt Publishing)! I was fortunate enough to edit this book with Joe Kraus, and working with over two dozen contributes was a real pleasure.

Yes, yes, there’s “The Office” and the city’s political history, including President Biden’s endless references to it, but I think this anthology showcases Scranton’s layered history, struggles, and revitalization. This anthology houses a unique chorus of voices writing about their relationship to the hardscrabble city. I’m really proud of the work in this book.

Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology officially came out today and we’ll be having a launch/reading on Saturday, July 27 at the Albright Memorial Library in downtown Scranton! If you’re in the area, come hear some of the contributors share their work.

Then, on Saturday, Aug. 17 at Stanza Books in Beacon, NY, there will be another reading celebrating the anthology. The event starts at 6:30 pm and you can find more info on the bookstore’s website.

Currents in the Electric City: A Scranton Anthology & Upcoming Events

June 17, 2024June 16, 2024Leave a comment

A little less than two years ago, Joe Kraus, an English Professor at the University of Scranton, asked me to co-edit an anthology with him for Belt Publishing’s City Anthology Series on Scranton, my hometown. Yes, I was born and raised in North Scranton, and though I left it for college and stuck around in the Philly area for a while after, it’s my home turf. I’m really thrilled with this anthology, which officially releases on July 16! You can preorder a copy through the publisher’s website by clicking here.

The anthology, which features nearly 30 contributors, contains an honest and multi-faceted look at the city of Scranton, from its place in pop culture on shows like “The Office,” to its labor/coal mining history, to poems and essays about very specific neighborhoods. More than anything, this anthology documents Scranton’s place and history as a hardscrabble, blue-collar city to a place that’s clawed its way out of its coal mining past and continues to undergo major revitalization.

To celebrate the anthology, we’re having a kickoff event on Saturday, July 27 at 3 pm at the Albright Memorial Library in downtown Scranton. Contributors will read their pieces, and we’ll have copies of the book for sale. More events will be coming, but the launch on the July 27 is the first.

Speaking of literary events, on Saturday, June 22 at 7 pm at The Gathering Place in Clarks Summit, PA, I’m giving a poetry reading. I’ll be joined by novelist Barb Taylor, and following our featured readings, there will be an open mic. I’ll have copies of some of my books for sale, and Barb will have copies of her new novel, Rain Breaks No Bones. If you’re in the area, come on out, and bring a piece to read for the open mic!