From Baltimore to Rochester: Where I Enjoy Writing in my Neighborhood

By Caroline Kunz, written July 2024

Just like having a brilliant idea and a fully charged laptop, finding the ideal spot to work in is an essential part of the writing process. As a writer and student who always finds herself on the go–from class, to work, to late-night study sessions, to home for break in Upstate New York and back to Baltimore once again–stopping to find locations that facilitate focus, creativity, and inspiration is ever-important.

I believe that any place can be turned into a prime writing location if one possesses the right mindset (and a good classical music playlist or mug of hot tea). However, there are a few locations beyond my desk at home that have proven especially trustworthy. From one writer to another, I hope that my list will resonate with those who enjoy similar spots of their own and inspire those looking for a change of scenery.

Baltimore, Maryland

As a student at Loyola University Maryland, I am lucky to call the beautiful Evergreen campus my second home. Throughout the busyness of my semesters as an English and writing student in the vibrant city of Baltimore, I’ve learned the importance of finding small nooks and crannies to retreat to for writing. In the first few weeks of my freshman year, I picked a little bay window seat in the corner of the English department to call my own. The seat overlooks a courtyard filled with trees, flowers, and students bustling past. I write in this spot year-round, whether the trees outside are yellow and orange in autumn or covered with pink cherry blossoms in the spring. I enjoy the cozy feeling of being tucked away inside Loyola’s expansive Humanities building, stretching my legs out across the length of the cushioned bench and propping a laptop or notebook on my lap. The peace and quiet of a secluded space allow me to be incredibly productive, no matter the type of piece that I’m working on. I’ve written countless essays, literary analyses, creative nonfiction pieces, and poems (often inspired by the views outside) here over the past three years, and I look forward to returning in August for my last. 

Just about a 10-minute walk from campus lies Sherwood Gardens. The park features open green spaces, shady trees, and lush flowers. The vibrant array of tulips that blooms in early May is particularly striking. When looking for a change of scene, my friends and I will grab our backpacks and a picnic blanket and take a walk to Sherwood. Oftentimes, my professors will hold their classes here when the tulips are in peak bloom. Sitting there beneath the shade of a towering tree is like a breath of fresh air, the garden bringing with it a sense of inspiration and focus that contrasts that of the standard classroom. I find that this is my favorite place to complete assignments relating to the outdoors, whether it be a spring-inspired poem or an analysis of the nature imagery in William Shakespeare’s As You like It. When my scenery matches the tone of my work, I feel a deeper sense of connection to my writing.

Rochester, New York

When returning home to Rochester for semester breaks, I look forward to the city’s impeccable coffee shop scene. Coffee shops are some of my favorite places to write—the din of chatter, the smell of fresh espresso, the eclectic music and decor. When writing essays and analyses, I tend to need a quieter space to work. However, for poetry, journaling, and creative pieces, I crave the bustling, communal atmosphere of a coffee shop. I gravitate toward those on Park Avenue, a Rochester street known for its historic homes, eclectic art scene, and unique restaurants and shops. Café Sasso is my go-to shop on the winding street, featuring walls covered ceiling to floor with paintings by local artists and plenty of tables and window seats for writing. I usually pick a small table in the corner, order an iced “Gatsby” (a latte with lavender and white chocolate), and get to work. I become inspired by the art, the view of Park Avenue outside, and of course, the people watching. In fact, during a previous semester, I was assigned by a poetry professor over spring break to take a line that I’d overheard from someone else’s conversation and use it in my next poem. I couldn’t think of a more ideal environment than a coffee shop to complete this assignment. The results from this experiment were exciting and refreshing compared to the poems I’d written previously. Since then, I’ve continuously found ideas for poems and short stories among the coffee shop patrons that sit beside me.

Another favorite street in my hometown is Rochester’s Neighborhood of the Arts. Located within the neighborhood is Writers and Books, a literary arts nonprofit and hidden gem of a place. Writers and Books fosters the perfect environment for inspired writing, from the giant wooden pencil outside the front of the building, to the inviting, bookshelf-lined rooms within. The nonprofit aims to promote reading and writing as lifelong passions by offering workshops, community writing groups, open writing spaces, and guest lectures to locals of all ages. I was lucky enough to spend nearly every day of my summer at Writers and Books last year while I served as a SummerWrite intern, helping to coordinate the nonprofit’s summer writing classes for young students in the area. These students found such joy in getting to write alongside those with a mutual passion for the literary arts. Watching their excitement grow throughout the summer reminded me of the benefits of writing in concentrated spaces like this. For those looking to strengthen their writing skills with a workshop or write in a community-oriented setting, I can’t recommend literary arts nonprofits and writing centers enough.

Final Thoughts: Where do You Write?

As I stated previously, the most important thing is that no matter where we write—from coffee shops to airport gates to local parks—we possess the right mindset. With grit, determination, and great zeal for what we do, we writers have the potential to turn even the most unlikely of places into a successful writing location. Whenever I begin writing in a new place, or I find that I’m struggling to focus, I remember author Isabel Allende’s quote, “Show up, show up, show up, and after a while the muse shows up, too.” In other words, no matter where you choose to write, keep showing up. Keep at it, even when the poem, chapter, or essay you’re working on seems an impossible task. Keep an open mind, and inspiration may come to you in the places you least expected.

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Caroline Kunz (she/her) is a rising senior at Loyola University Maryland, where she studies English and writing on a pre-MAT track. She enjoys traveling, scouting out new coffee shops, and of course, reading and writing. As an aspiring educator, she hopes to share her love of the written word with future generations of students. Her current favorite authors include Taylor Jenkins Reid and Celeste Ng.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women-identifying writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we AMPLIFY women-identifying creatives this year by purchasing one of our publications or a workshop from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, for yourself or as a gift, joining our newsletter, following us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, or subscribing to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

An Interview with Corridors Editor-in-Chief Samantha Dickson

By Natasha Saar, written April 2023

I’ve been a member of my university’s (Loyola University Maryland) literary magazine, Corridors, for just about two years now. Corridors publishes original student work, including pieces of fiction, poetry, nonfiction, art, and photography. For years, Forum and Garland, two of Loyola’s student-run literary arts magazines, operated as two separate staffs. While the former solicited, reviewed, and published submissions of nonfiction and art, the latter did the same with fiction and photography. They were joined together as Corridors to even better share the talents and passions of Loyola University writers with the university at large. It’s been a great time sifting through submissions, selecting them, editing them, and just about everything you can think of when you hear the title of editor.

While Corridors Editor-in-Chief Samantha Dickson is not in charge of looking through submissions, she’s in charge of just about everything else. Normally, I can hardly see past her veil of managerial woes, but one interview later that has changed. Now, you, too, can see what a leadership position in a publishing house looks like, even if said publishing house is confined to the university level.

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Can you give a quick introduction about you, Corridors, and your role with the literary magazine?

I am a graduating senior at Loyola University, [and] I am majoring in writing and philosophy, and I’m the Editor-in-Chief for Corridors . . . I joined my freshman year.

We actually have two Editors-in-Chief. Grace Perry works with the design, text, and actually puts the final product together—my role is that I take on a more managerial position. I develop a schedule and make sure that the Corridors team is following it, that everything is as punctual as possible, and that all communication channels are open. I also keep a pulse on any potential problems my staff might have to see how I can help out.

Me and Grace [are] also working on choosing staff members for next year, since we’re both going to be graduating.

How long have you been Editor-in-Chief?

I’ve been in my position for two years, but I’ve been with Corridors since I was a freshman. I spent my first two years as a nonfiction editor. At the end of my sophomore year, I applied to be the head of editing fiction/poetry. On our application to be a staff member, we have it set up that you number your preferred positions one to five. On a whim, I put Editor-in-Chief as my number two option. I ended up in that position!

What’s the most difficult part about being Editor-in-Chief?

When I first started, it was the managerial aspect because prior to Corridors I had no experience managing people on any sort of scale. Unfortunately, my predecessor didn’t give me much instruction. It was getting thrown in the deep end.

Since then, I’ve become a lot more confident with—for the lack of a better term—ordering people around. Experience and practice made me a lot more comfortable in my position! At this point, the worst part is the email anxiety.

Which issue of Corridors that you’ve worked on has been your favorite and in what way?

Well, last year [2022] was my first year as EiC, so it was already stressful and a huge learning curve. We had an issue with the printer where we didn’t have the paper type we usually use. We had a big discussion on what the book should look like. Normally we have an off-yellow, sort of white color to have a sort of older look to it. But the printer didn’t have that so we came up with a sort of cityscape for the cover (above), and just leaned into the modern, sleeker feel. It’s my favorite look of a piece I’ve worked on, so I’m happy for the trouble.

How is the current issue of Corridors coming along?

We have our mockup! It just arrived, our next move is to look it over and look out for some more glaring mistakes. Once it looks good, we give the okay to the printer. In two weeks, we’re going to have 300 copies.

Are you a writer yourself? If yes, what are you working on currently?

Like most graduating seniors, my goal is to get a job. Thankfully, Corridors has turned out to be a really great experience and I’m asked a lot of questions from my employers about it. How we set it up is surprisingly similar to indie publishing houses, so it’s been a big help in the process.

In terms of personal work, I am a writer. I’m on-and-off on a bunch of different projects but have been very busy. After graduation I hope that I’ll have some time to put my work out there on a more regular basis.

What do you love most about writing? Where do you find your inspiration?

I love fiction and fantasy especially—I grew up on dragons. So when I talk about fiction, I talk about how it’s a gateway to reality that can safely explore often very tense and difficult situations that we face every day. It lets us face things in a way that doesn't directly feel like we’re facing our problems. So, to me, it’s more than entertainment, even if I approach writing with that in mind.

Who is your favorite writer and why?

This is a hard one! With school, it’s been hard to read or write as much as I would like . . . I’m currently reading Stephen King’s The Stand, as well as Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher series. Though the first series that always comes to my mind is Christopher Paolini’s The Inheritance Cycle. It was an establishing force in my love for the fantasy genre.

What do you like about Baltimore?

I didn’t grow up in a big city, so I was really excited when I was coming to school that I was going to have access to one. There’s always something to do here and that’s probably something everyone says, but if I’m looking for something I can always find it. I’ve found park spots I love, natural spots that I like if I need a break . . . there are lots of great spots outside for inspiration.

What are your plans after graduation?

I really enjoyed publishing. I’m not very particular about the medium so I’ve been keeping my options open. I’ve also been dabbling in the news industry, editing and writing articles for a Los Angeles-based company, so I’d also be happy to work in that industry as well. It’s influenced me as a writer a lot.

Thank you, Samantha, for taking the time to talk to Natasha about running Loyola University’s literary magazine Corridors.

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Samantha Dickson is a senior at Loyola University Maryland, majoring in philosophy and writing. She’s the Editor-in-Chief of her university’s literary magazine, Corridors, and is currently an intern at MXDWN Entertainment.

Natasha Saar is also a senior at Loyola Maryland University, majoring in English literature with minors in writing and classics. She’s Yellow Arrow Publishing’s spring 2023 publications intern, works on her campus as a resident assistant, and is a genre editor at Corridors.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. You can support us as we SPARK and sparkle this year: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 65185, Baltimore, Maryland 21209). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Meeting Baltimore: Finding a Literary Sense of Place

By Sydney Alexander, written August 2022

I came into my internship at Yellow Arrow Publishing this summer with a few goals. Given my interest in English and creative writing, I wanted experience in the publishing world, from marketing to editing. I hoped to connect with published writers and get involved with my local community through events. However, the biggest pull factor for me was the opportunity to learn about Baltimore, the city Yellow Arrow is based in. I grew up in Howard County, where the city was a neighbor, not a home. Returning from my first year of college in Vermont, my goal was to get to know Charm City, and I am pleased to say, I did just that.

I didn’t come to my internship with a sole interest in English. As a geography major, I took classes at UMBC during the summer, learning the basics of ArcGIS which, put most simply, is a tool to make maps and analyze data. What this means is that, when I was not working on various tasks for Yellow Arrow, I was looking at a lot of maps of Baltimore. A lot!

Though geography and publishing may seem to have few overlaps, I feel that these two experiences supplemented each other greatly. It is one thing to look at a map of a place, analyzing streets, population demographics, buildings, vegetation—anything that may be quantified in points, lines, or polygons. Yet that was only one way to get to know the city. Sure, I knew objectively—in shapes, numbers, and statistics—what Baltimore was like, but I hardly knew anything beyond that. Yellow Arrow became the literary lens through which I met Baltimore.

Through my internship, I discovered a whole network connecting various literary nodes of the city, visiting local libraries and bookstores, including the Ivy Bookshop and Greedy Reads. I even learned of Yellow Arrow’s partnerships with many of these places. I attended the Guinness Arts & Drafts Festival, where I wandered past stalls of local artists selling their art, listened to Baltimore-based music groups, and watched as Yellow Arrow poets read their work. There, women writers in the Yellow Arrow community told me of their homes in Federal Hill and on St. Paul Street. From all this, a new image of the city began to sublimate in my mind. It was a place where women lived, worked, and wrote. Women were inspired here.

As the summer 2022 Event and Community Engagement Intern, most of my work for Yellow Arrow revolved around social media, creating posts, and scheduling events. However, I was still given the opportunity to try my hand at copyediting with Yellow Arrow’s writers-in-residence’s 2022 publication, I (want to) love you, Baltimore. Here, the writers-in-residence explored their relationships with the city. I discovered that it was both something like what it was to me, yet still something different.

To me, Baltimore is a seaport with colorful row houses rearranging the visible light spectrum. It is the elegant homes of Roland Park, where old trees arch their backs over bike lanes and traffic. It is Miss Shirley’s on Cold Spring Lane and Atomic Books in Hampden. Stereotypically, Baltimore is the Old Bay and crab paraphernalia at every turn. It is the husk of a building where there once was a Barnes & Noble; it is the curvature of the beltway cinching around the city’s perimeter and I-83 South feeding into the streets.

To the writers-in-residence, Baltimore is still a city framed by ramped highways (I-95, to name another). It is still a place of home-cooked food, music, and bookstores. But to these women, it is also the neighborhoods I have not visited: Fells Point. Druid Hill. Canton Park. Baltimore to them is also the city lights gilding late night activity; it is the parks for dates and heartbreak. My mental map filled itself in.

All this is to say, I realize now how important a sense of place is to writing. Many great authors draw upon their home states in their writing: Karen Russell writes of the Everglades in Florida, where she grew up; Charles Frazier of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina; Beth Wetmore describes the bleak lands of Odessa, a small town in West Texas; Stephen King is all but synonymous with Maine. Their depictions of their home states suggest an intimate understanding of life in these places. In some ways, reading their work—and reading the poems of our Writers-in-Residence—feels like a guided tour from a local. Yellow Arrow, where women write Baltimore, has gifted me with a more intimate relationship with the city.

Now, as I near the end of my internship, I think, Baltimore, charmed to meet you!

To learn more about Baltimore and places to write see a blog written by Vignette Managing Editor Siobhan McKenna: yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/inspiring-locations-to-write-baltimore-mckenna. And join us tonight for the reading of I (want to) love you, Baltimore. Learn more and RSVP here.

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Sydney Alexander is a rising sophomore at Middlebury College in Vermont studying English and geography. She grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland, but enjoys the fact that she has lived all over the country, including North Carolina, California, and Wisconsin. Her work has been published online in Hunger Mountain Review.

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Yellow Arrow recently revamped and restructured its Yellow Arrow Journal subscription plan to include two levels. Do you think you are an Avid Reader or a Literary Lover? Find out more about the discounts and goodies involved at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-subscription. Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.

You can support us as we AWAKEN in a variety of ways: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 102, Glen Arm, MD 21057). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Books, Baltimore, Community: How the Ivy Bookshop Connects with its Community

By Sydney Alexander, August 2022

In early August, I had the pleasure of interviewing Emily Rosen, the Operations Manager at the Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore, Maryland on Falls Road. Our conversation centered around how the Ivy connects with its local community and with Baltimore as a whole. At the Ivy, a lot more goes into the community than just the people buying and selling books. The idea of community is made special by how this bookshop connects readers with other readers in addition to how it connects readers with a variety of worlds through the books it sells.

On a base level, staff are crucial in fostering the sense of community. The Ivy draws upon locals when hiring staff members, with an internship program that often leads to jobs. The Ivy has many partnerships with local schools and youth organizations, drawing kids “from all corners of Baltimore City” who are excited about working with books and about reading. Of course, Ivy staff members bring more than just a pair of willing hands to the table. These workers also have niche interests that they can share with Baltimore’s readers: everything from gardening and nature to speculative fiction and thrillers. These special interests make for personal connections that tie bookstore workers and bookstore patrons together, adding a personal touch that makes the Ivy its own special place.

What is more, the Ivy has made a dedicated effort to bring in younger folks. Whereas this bookshop once primarily catered to families and older folks, newer partnerships have connected this bookshop with younger readers and students, which has led to an evolution of the store itself. It is important, Emily emphasized, to have younger staff who can connect with a younger demographic of readers. Younger staff on board at the Ivy has led to a greater diversity in what the Ivy stocks on its shelves, as these staff members can best draw upon and cater to the interests of young people. The mystery and Sci-Fi sections of the store have swelled. There is also a large interest in poetry; not only does the Ivy strive to connect with local poets, but staff members are poets themselves, which has led to an overflowing poetry section to match.

The Ivy’s shelves not only reflect community interests, but also the Ivy’s location. In 2020, the Ivy moved to a new home within city borders—a multistory building situated on a large property overflowing with foliage, with more space inside and out. The Ivy has made good use of its large backyard and its outdoor patio. At the height of the COVID pandemic, all programming was held outside, from author events to art camps and to yoga classes. Last March, Yellow Arrow even collaborated with the Ivy to hold a reading from poet Patti Ross’ new chapbook St. Paul Street Provocations. A story walk set up in the backyard allows younger readers to follow a winding path of words and stories intertwined with nature. What is more, the gardening and nature section of the store has grown, which reflects the Ivy’s mission to “bring the outside in,” as Emily put it.

When I asked Emily to describe the Ivy’s space, she described it as “light, airy, clean,” a space that felt like welcoming open arms. Lots of natural light illuminates floor-to-ceiling cream-colored shelves and walkways that loop through the shop. Little cards with book recommendations, “shelf talkers,” highlight staff picks and favorites. No longer stymied by the small space of their old location, the Ivy now has an open space for Baltimoreans, from children to adults, to explore, browse, and get lost in.

The Ivy also strives to amplify and share the voices of local authors and writers. Many of its events are community-based, and the Ivy prioritizes bringing together local authors with the people in their community. Most often, these are Baltimore writers and Baltimore readers, a combination that contributes to the Ivy’s identity as a uniquely Baltimore bookshop.

In all, the Ivy is a place where “everyone is on the same page” and where “lots of people meld [and] are united by a general love for books and community.” It only makes sense that this bookshop has become such a beloved and important place in Baltimore’s literary scene. It was delightful getting to know Emily and learning more about how the Ivy operates. When exploring new cities, I always love to check out the bookstore scene, and this interview offered me the opportunity to not only learn more about bookstores, but it also offered me a deeper look into the Charm City community.

On September 30, join Yellow Arrow and Bird in Hand Cafe, the Ivy’s sister store, for the book launch of when the daffodils die, the debut chapbook of Darah Schillinger. Let us know that you plan to attend here. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.

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Sydney Alexander is a rising sophomore at Middlebury College in Vermont studying English and Geography. She grew up in Ellicott City, Maryland, but enjoys the fact that she has lived all over the country, including North Carolina, California, and Wisconsin. Her work has been published online in Hunger Mountain Review.

*****

Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. We recently revamped and restructured its Yellow Arrow Journal subscription plan to include two levels. Do you think you are an Avid Reader or a Literary Lover? Find out more about the discounts and goodies involved at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-subscription.

You can support us as we AWAKEN in a variety of ways: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 102, Glen Arm, MD 21057). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

The Fact of Living in a Place: I (want to) love you, Baltimore publication release

Yellow Arrow Publishing announces the release of our latest publication, I (want to) love you, Baltimore, by the Yellow Arrow 2022 Writers-in-Residence: Arao Ameny, Amy L. Bernstein, Catrice Greer, and Matilda Young. Since its establishment in 2016, Yellow Arrow has devoted its efforts to advocate for all women writers through inclusion in the biannual Yellow Arrow Journal as well as single- and multi-author publications, and by providing strong author support, writing workshops, and volunteering opportunities. We at Yellow Arrow are excited to continue our mission by supporting the residents in all their writing and publishing endeavors.

I (want to) love you, Baltimore is now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore as a paperback and a PDF. A heartfelt thanks to Arao, Amy, Catrice, and Matilda for going on this journey with us. Visit yellowarrowpublishing.com/writerinresidence-program to learn more about the 2022 writers-in-residence.

Below, Yellow Arrow Executive Director Annie Marhefka, who accompanied the residents on their journey, dives deeper into what it means to be a Yellow Arrow resident and what it means to create and compile a publication as a group.

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By Annie Marhefka

As writers, we like to seek out opportunities to explore our craft in a way that grounds us in place. Writing retreats are places you escape to in order to write, writing fellowships award you funds to write wherever you want, and writing residencies offer you a place to go to dedicate time to the pursuit of writing. A residency by definition is “the fact of living in a place.” Residency programs are meant to foster community among its participants. This year at Yellow Arrow Publishing, we decided to have a virtual writing residency for Baltimore residents, a thing that is at odds with itself, a thing that should not even exist.

Founder Gwen Van Velsor initially designed yellow Arrow’s residency program to accommodate emerging writers who could not spend weeks or months in a location far removed from where their obligations resided. The original residency was flexible—a place, the Yellow Arrow House, you could go to at hours of your own choosing, a space to call your own, for the sole purpose of writing. But in 2020 as we all know, our shared physical spaces became places where disease could spread rather than places where we could find community. In fact, my introduction to Yellow Arrow was through its residency program during this time; mine began in March of 2020. As a new mother who had quickly found it impossible to write, even with childcare, in my own noisy home, I was ecstatic to have been awarded a residency with Yellow Arrow. I hired a nanny to watch my child a few afternoons each week and headed off to my new writing space in Highlandtown.

The writing space was intimate—a small wooden desk in a corner by two windows that looked out over the intersection of South Conkling and Bank streets. Despite its plainness, it was apparent that someone [Gwen] had taken care to make the space feel cozy, safe, inspiring. One window was adorned with a large paper cutout of a woman writing. The silhouette cast a feminine shadow across the room when the sun peeked over the brick building across the street. An empty notebook whose cover was decorated with a picture of the Baltimore skyline laid upon the desk, along with a basket of pens, a vase of yellow flowers, and a yellow coffee mug.

While I had sought out the writing residency to escape others, to find solace in a place where I was isolated, it struck me once I arrived that the thing about the space that made it conducive to writing was the presence of other writers in the room. The only other piece of furniture in the room was a classic green chalkboard easel. On it, Gwen had drawn a swirly yellow arrow and written this quote by Emily Kamminga, a contributor to Yellow Arrow Journal, COURAGE (Vol. III):

On that first day, I wrote 3,000 words—almost an entire chapter for my work-in-progress, a memoir about my relationship with my late mother. I was elated. Then, several days later, I penned an article about the world shutting down for I Heart Highlandtown’s website. It is stunning to read that back to myself now—how I thought of it as temporary, how I thought of the pandemic story having an ending. Fast forward to 2021, when I took on the role of executive director of Yellow Arrow and had to re-envision how we would (how we could) host programs, like the writing residency, without a physical space. When our mission was centered around building community space for emerging writers and creatives, how could I create a community virtual space that was as sacred and nurturing to the soul as the space Gwen had created for me?

I knew immediately that the residency program could not be done in isolation in this way. We were all already isolating, physically; I could not then expect writers to pursue their creative endeavors alone in their rooms. They needed a safe zone. They needed a sanctuary. They needed a place—even if it was not a real, tangible location. We decided to create a virtual cohort of writers and the writers had to be in Baltimore. Even though they may never meet in person, they needed to have place in common. Places can amplify our differences and our commonalities; they can separate us, unite us, bond us. And Baltimore is where Yellow Arrow’s roots are, and where my roots are, so Charm City would be a requirement.

The four writers we selected, Arao, Amy, Catrice, and Matilda, submitted stunning portfolios of work, and would represent different facets of Baltimore—different neighborhoods, different experiences, different perspectives. My intention was to meet monthly with the four writers and check on their progress, as I did not want to overburden them in an already over-burdensome online landscape with more Zoom calls, but I also intended to let the writers guide me in how I facilitated the program. In our first meeting, they all agreed they preferred to meet weekly, and so that became the new plan. For several months, we met on Zoom and most days, we started our conversations with how everyone was doing personally. Sometimes, we let those check-ins drive our entire meeting space. Sometimes they needed to. We talked about our losses, our writing inspirations, and sometimes our inability to feel inspired at that moment.

But mostly, the writers shared their words. Arao, Amy, Catrice, and Matilda put their full selves forward throughout their residency program. The irony of having a virtual residency grounded in Baltimore was that it was not grounded in any place at all. For each Zoom call, we clicked on a web link, adjusted our lighting, and muted ourselves when we weren’t talking. Some of us even had faux backgrounds that blurred when we shifted too quickly to the left, and here we were talking about the city that surrounded us, and our relationship to it without really being in it together.

The only rule I had given them was that the writing had to incorporate Baltimore in some way—as setting, as background, as character. They drafted poems and read them aloud with a vulnerability that only a writer with a half-finished first draft fully understands. We sent clapping emojis and typed out lines that stood out to us in the chat with exclamation marks to convey how much the words impacted us, and we went off mute to cheer and cry and say, “Thank you for sharing that with us.”

Most importantly, we created a beautiful publication out of the residency program, now available from the Yellow Arrow bookstore as a paperback and a PDF. You can also search for I (want to) love you, Baltimore wherever you purchase your books including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. To learn more about the residents, check out our residents’ blog posts here.

I know that you, as a reader, will feel rooted in the place that inspired these beautiful poems: our Baltimore. And I know that you, as a reader, will be as thankful as I am that these writers shared their stories with us. They created for each other what I had only hoped to replicate from that tiny little writing studio in Highlandtown: the fact of living in a place, together.

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Annie Marhefka is a writer and publishing professional in Baltimore. Her creative nonfiction and poetry have been published by Hobart, Literary Mama, Pithead Chapel, Anti-Heroin Chic, Sledgehammer, and others. Annie is the Executive Director at Yellow Arrow Publishing and is working on a memoir about mother/daughter relationships. Annie spent the majority of her career as an executive in human resources in the ed-tech industry before switching paths to focus on motherhood and creative writing. When she’s not writing or wrangling her children, she likes to spend her time on the Chesapeake Bay and other bodies of water. You can find Annie’s writing on Instagram @anniemarhefka, Twitter @charmcityannie, and at anniemarhefka.com.

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Yellow Arrow recently revamped and restructured its Yellow Arrow Journal subscription plan to include two levels. Do you think you are an Avid Reader or a Literary Lover? Find out more about the discounts and goodies involved at yellowarrowpublishing.com/store/yellow-arrow-journal-subscription. Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.

You can support us as we AWAKEN in a variety of ways: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 102, Glen Arm, MD 21057). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.

Inspiring Locations to Write in Baltimore, Maryland

By Siobhan McKenna, written June 2021

As a freelance writer, there are few things that motivate me to sit down and write more than the promise that I’ll be able to sip on a latte as I string sentences together. For me, writing is an experience, and being able to cultivate that experience by writing at a coffee shop or in a park prevents me from being distracted by the dirty laundry calling out or the bathroom that suddenly needs a deep clean. Finding a space to write whether it’s professionally, therapeutically, or for pleasure is not only a great way to focus but can also inspire creativity. Writing outside your home office is also a great way to support local businesses and see flyers for writing and reading events as they slowly emerge once more.

Below is a list of some Baltimore old and new favorites to bring your laptop, notebook, and a pen to in order to get your caffeine fix and channel your creative process. Remember to check a café’s Instagram or website for its most up-to-date policies regarding COVID-19. 

Pitango Bakery + Café, 903 S Ann Street

Neighborhood: Fell’s Point

IG @pitango_bakery_cafe; pitangogelato.com/location/pitango-bakery-cafe/

The Fell’s Point Pitango’s corner location, tucked away from busier Thames Street and situated along a quiet harbor inlet, makes it a classic spot for writing. Many times, I have found myself heading down early in the day to take in the morning light scattering off the water as I shake away brain fog. Between sentences, you can admire joggers and stroller-pushing parents cruising along the waterfront path as tiny bakery birds flit around searching for croissant crumbs. Currently, the café has ample outside seating underneath umbrellas as the Baltimore summer saunters in.

Charles M Halcott Square, 104 S Duncan Street

Neighborhood: Butcher’s Hill

baltimoregreenspace.org/charles-m-halcott-square/

In spring and summer, this “secret” park (as I like to call it) is alive with butterflies swooping from petal to petal. Halcott Square is not truly a secret, but because of its location down an alley and its lack of visitors whenever I come to write, I often feel like I’m the only one who knows about its location despite the well-maintained flowers and free, up-to-date copies of the local neighborhood newsletter. In this quaint pocket park, there are picnic tables and benches that enable you to post up underneath the shade of a tree after grabbing an iced oat milk latte and muffin from Charmed Kitchen just a short walk down the street as you concentrate on writing your novel’s next chapter.

Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse, 1225 Cathedral Street

Neighborhood: Midtown

IG @redemmas; redemmas.org/

Named after Emma Goldman, a Lithuania immigrant to the United States and activist who fought for many causes including women’s rights (1), Red Emma’s is a bookstore, coffee shop, and community event space that is completely worker-run and strives to create a strong social justice network in Baltimore. Located in the midtown section of the city, Red Emma’s is a spot I often find myself when I want to gain insight into the minds of other writers and more information on specific social movements. I appreciate perusing Red Emma’s extensive collection of books that expound the reasons for the inequality and injustice that has plagued Baltimore and ultimately the entire country and being able to reflect in my journal over a vegan breakfast sandwich and latte.

Druid Hill Park, 900 Druid Park Lake Dr.

Neighborhood: Druid Hill Park

bcrp.baltimorecity.gov/parks/druid-hill

Built in 1860, Druid Hill Park is a wilder version of Patterson Park. While the park is landscaped beautifully, there are more opportunities to lose yourself deep among the 745 acres (vs Patterson’s 137) of forest and winding paths past The Maryland Zoo and Victorian-era Rawlings Conservatory. I love this park because there are spots where I can completely immerse myself in nature and trade in the hum of trucks for the rustle of wind through the leaves and the trickling offshoots of the Jones Falls stream. On my way to a shady patch of trees, I’ll pick up coffee and breakfast at Dovecote in Reservoir Hill which reopens with a community celebration the weekend of Juneteenth for the first time since it closed during the pandemic.

Good Neighbor, 3827 Falls Road

Neighborhood: Hampden

IG @goodneighborshop; goodneighborshop.com/

Despite opening amid the pandemic (2), Good Neighbor has been able to woo Baltimore café fanatics (aka me) with its unique collection of local and global goods (think ceramics, Scandinavian design, and glassware), flower-filled wood patio, and of course, it’s coffee. Good Neighbor’s outdoor space is situated on a hill overlooking Falls Road with The Greenhouse at Good Neighbor—a plant and flower studio with fresh and dried blooms—nestled on top of the incline. When I write here, I can feel the creative energy that flows through the space. Co-owners, husband and wife, Anne Morgan and Shawn Chopra, set up both the inside and outside of their shop to be an aesthetically delightful and comforting atmosphere where I can admire tangerine and periwinkle buds under the cover of umbrellas while finishing up my most recent blog post for Yellow Arrow Publishing.

The Parks of Mount Vernon Place

Neighborhood: Mount Vernon

mvpconservancy.org/

Bathed in the shadow of the Washington Monument, Mount Vernon Place is four squares that surround the first monument to our earliest president. All four parks are great spaces to write, but West Mount Vernon Place has always been my favorite. Many times, I have found myself in the west green space writing poetry on one of the green benches as a cellist from the nearby Peabody Conservatory tests a new composition. I take a moment between lines to admire the Gothic-style churches, fountains, and Victorian buildings along the perimeter of the square. And yet, as with most historical spots in Baltimore, prejudice is planted among the beauty. In the north square, the empty pedestal of Roger B. Taney stands as a reminder of what has fed the soil. In August 2017, the Taney statue, along with three other Confederate sympathizing monuments in the city, was removed in the dark of night (3). Taney, a Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, wrote the Dred Scott court decision, “which stated that African Americans—enslaved and free—were property and could never be citizens of the United States” (4). As a white writer in Baltimore, it is important for me to acknowledge and sit with the legacy of white supremacy that grew and continues to fuel Baltimore and the rest of our country. The dichotomy of writing about intense topics among the flowers, fountains, and empty pedestals helps me to reflect and write about where our city and country have been and the path that I am taking to reconcile our past and current history of discrimination.

Other Inspiring Coffee Spots & Parks

Coffee: OneDo, Bird in Hand, Café Dear Leon, Vent Coffee Roasters

Parks: Canton Waterfront Park, Wyman Park Dell, Sherwood Gardens

(1) “Who is Emma?” Red Emma’s. https://redemmas.org/about.

(2) Dash, Julekha. “A stylish and eclectic ‘Good Neighbor’ moves onto Falls Road.” Baltimore FishBowl. August 2020. https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/hampden-adds-a-good-neighbor-to-falls-road/.

(3) Pitts, Jonathan M. “Four Confederate statues once stood as Baltimore landmarks.” The Washington Post. March 2021. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/baltimore-confederate-statue-pedestals/2021/03/30/56543c2a-9170-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html.

(4) “Roger Brooke Taney Monument, 1887.” Baltimore Planning. https://baltimoreplanning.wixsite.com/monumentcommission/taneymonument.

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Siobhan McKenna was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia. She stumbled upon Yellow Arrow while living in Baltimore and has loved every minute of working as an editorial associate. Siobhan recently began working as a travel nurse on the West Coast. As she moves to a different city every three months to work as an ICU nurse, Siobhan looks forward to writing about all that this crazy, broken, and beautiful country holds. She holds a BA in writing and biology from Loyola University Maryland and an MSN from Johns Hopkins University. You can follow her on Instagram @sio_han.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.

A Highlight on Jeannie Vanasco

By Brenna Ebner, written December 2020

from the creative nonfiction summer 2021 series

With two books, The Glass Eye (2017) and Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was A Girl (2019), Jeannie Vanasco has started and continued important conversations regarding not only herself but women in general. She stands as a strong advocate for those who share in her struggles and speaks for many who have not yet been able to speak out for themselves. Vanasco has done this as a professor, advisor, and mentor to myself and many students at Towson University, and now for others through her writing. Everything from her balance of subjective and objective thinking to her writing style as she examines her experiences is refreshingly honest with a fluid tone as if she were there telling you her story in person. The peeks into her thought process that she shares with us give the reader a taste for the frustration, confusion, and weight Vanasco herself has carried thus far and a sense of the weight many others carry around as well.

Within her first book, The Glass Eye, Vanasco immediately delves into tough topics such as grief and mental health. She battles with the death of her father and the mania that comes with being named after her passed half-sister, but seeing her grapple with these hurdles makes it easy to sympathize even if we haven’t found ourselves in quite the same situation. Her problems, though maybe not immediately like our own, still delve into relatable realms, and Vanasco’s writing on her experience gives those struggling with grief room to feel validated. With this, she normalizes the discussion around the difficulty of letting someone go and struggling with something unseen. We not only see Vanasco lift herself up as she grows through this but also lift others up by creating a space for those who might relate in struggling to grasp their reality. As a topic, that is difficult to put into words; being able to see Vanasco go through it herself helps others to feel seen and heard as they deal with their own mental and emotional afflictions.

Vanasco continues to do this further in her second book, Things We Didn’t Talk About When I Was A Girl, when she opens up about her experience of not only being raped but then confronting her rapist years later. It’s a huge feat that she doesn’t take lightly for herself and what it could mean for others who share her experience, and we see this as she relays moments of reevaluation on her actions to reach out to him. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Vanasco elaborates further on the impacts and grieving process surrounding this all too common trauma. Her book encourages us to continue the discussion around accountability and accept that healing is not a linear process for most of us. It’s a difficult discussion to be had especially when it is shared with someone so negatively associated with your life, but Vanasco’s fortitude is commendable.

While Vanasco’s books share her own journey through processing grief and trauma, they also lend themselves to others’ journeys through similar hurdles not only in the way she addresses these topics but also in her open writing style. While most authors are very honest in their memoir writings, Vanasco’s transparency goes above as we read moments of her worrying about how we will interpret her “characters” and how she wants to discuss certain topics but struggles to go about it. In this way, Vanasco takes her vulnerability and makes it a strength by breaking down any walls and adding a new layer of trust between her and the reader. In all these ways in which Vanasco brings up, discusses, and processes these topics and issues she becomes an important writer for women and others who may also share in her experiences. Her books test boundaries and limits and help to make what is uncomfortable in society, especially for women, much more comfortable to discuss through her candor. It’s with this that we can find a great appreciation in Vanasco’s writing.

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Brenna Ebner is the CNF Managing Editor at Yellow Arrow Publishing and has enjoyed growing as a publisher and editor since graduating from Towson University in May of 2020. In between this time, she has interned with Mason Jar Press and Yellow Arrow and continues to pursue her editing career with freelance work.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. Thank you for supporting independent publishing.

Grub Street: Inspiring All Kinds of Writers

Interviews from fall 2020

Yellow Arrow Publishing has had several interns from Towson University’s Grub Street, so we wanted to share more about Grub Street and Grub Street Literary Magazine. Grub Street and Yellow Arrow Publishing have a shared connection through a love of the arts, specifically literature. Our fall 2020 marketing intern, Elaine Batty, interviewed Gel Derossi and Grace Jordan, current Editors-in-Chief, to get a better insight into the creation of Grub Street. You can find the latest issue, Volume 70, on the Grub Street website. A huge thank you to Grub Street staff for working around their busy schedules to tell Elaine all about Grub Street.

EB: What is Grub Street and how does it work?

Grub Street is Towson’s student-produced, award-winning literary magazine that publishes editions annually. This year is the 70th edition of Grub Street. Edition 68 won a Gold Circle Award for the 17th year in a row that Grub Street has been recognized. Six students accepted in edition 68 were also recognized and awarded. Grub Street publishes a print edition each year, but we also run a website in which we feature more works from writers and artists. Students enroll in a year-long class under a faculty advisor—this year and in most previous years, our faculty advisor is Jeannie Vanasco—and through this class, students receive roles within top managing positions, genre teams, and marketing and publicity. 

Grub Street accepts works submitted online in poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and visual art, as well as genre-defiant works. Anyone can submit to Grub Street, not just Towson University students. Our high school contest also features work from one to two high school students; all of our submissions are reviewed by an accomplished author—last year’s was Jung Yung, critically acclaimed author of Shelter—and winners receive a $100 dollar prize. 

Our genre teams work together in reading submissions and deciding what works to feature in print and/or online. We also maintain a “blind review process” in which the top managing positions move over submissions from our Submittable account and remove any identifying information so that all works are chosen based on the works themselves; this levels the playing field and makes everything fair. 

Putting together a literary magazine requires honesty from its staff. It requires clear communication and conversations about topics of personal and societal importance. With the way Vanasco facilitates our conversations about submissions and taste and aesthetics and oppression, [we] personally, and [we] sense others do as well, feel encouraged to speak up, even if [we] don’t speak perfectly and even if [we] might be wrong. Grub Street feels like a community. We talk to each other with what feels like an elevated form of respect. We honor the opinions of our classmates and [we] hope that everyone feels like every opinion of our staff is equally valuable. We all stand behind our mission of inclusivity and diversity and representation for marginalized identities. 

EB: In what way do you feel Grub Street benefits Towson students as well as the community?

The ways in which Grub Street benefits students is vast: Grub Street gives undergraduate students the opportunity to get their hands into all types of work within the publishing and literary field. You don’t need prior experience to be involved in Grub Street, but you will leave with concrete experience within copyediting, reading submissions, marketing, [and] designing, and leave with a physical, new print edition of Grub Street that you and your team created together.

Grub Street also strives to engage within the Baltimore community. We distribute our print edition at book festivals, conferences, and other Baltimore-based universities, and are also working on distributing our issues to prisons.

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Yellow Arrow’s Editor-in-Chief, Kapua Iao, also asked Brenna Ebner (fall 2020 publication intern and current CNF Managing Editor for Yellow Arrow, and Editor-in-Chief of Grub Street, volume 69) further questions about her experiences.

KCI: Where does the name ‘Grub Street’ come from?

It was originally an address in London back in the 18th century where low-end publishers and “hack writers” were found competing to make a living from their works. People there dealt with hard critiques, became targets of satire, and scuffled over plagiarism. Their literary world was cutthroat with aspiring writers constantly putting out new work to get noticed and no copyright laws to protect anyone’s writing. Our name commemorates that and the ways in which writing, publishing, and editing has evolved from that structure but still remains just as competitive and passionate. Dr. George Hahn, an English Professor and past chair of the Department of English, has a great explanation of Grub Street’s name included in each issue as well.

KCI: Can you explain more about how students get involved with Grub Street?

It’s a class at Towson actually! You can take it either first or second semester, but it typically is best to do both in order for sake of consistency in the magazine. If being on staff isn’t of interest to those who want to get involved, they can easily submit multiple pieces (there is of course a cap to the amount depending on the genre) and become a contributor. That option is available to everyone, too—not just students. Copies are free as well so if participating in those ways still aren’t of any interest, anyone could become a reader and supporter of Grub Street that way. We welcome everyone at the launch parties to celebrate with us (when they aren’t shut down for [COVID-19 regulations]) and to enjoy PDF copies online.

KCI: How does someone become Editor-in-Chief of Grub Street?

Recently it’s been . . . based on previous experience (have they taken Grub Street before?), performance as a student (good grades, attendance, etc.), and graduation date, which Vanasco, current faculty advisor, considers and then chooses based on that. The position requires you to be able to commit for the full school year, so we want someone that is reliable, committed, hardworking, and available. They’ll be in charge of the whole process: picking staff positions, making sure we stay on schedule, having final say on pieces we include and editing them, how the website is run, communicating between genre teams and the creative services department and faculty advisor, organizing the launch party, everything! The faculty advisor helps immensely though so it isn’t quite as overwhelming and the managing editors take on a large bulk of the process as well, such as the high school contest, weighing in on design and layout decisions, communication between staff, and much more. The whole staff is a strong support system but ultimately the Editor-in-Chief has to oversee it with the faculty advisor supervising and guiding.

KCI: What has your experience taught you?

Grub Street was what ultimately helped me figure out what I wanted to do in life after college. It gave me the direction and experience I needed to understand that editing and publishing was the career I wanted to pursue and could, and I can’t thank Vanasco enough for giving me that opportunity. I also don’t think anything could have prepared me for what to expect stepping into that kind of leadership role, too, but it helped me grow immensely on a professional level and taught me a great deal about myself. I never realized how much work went into publishing and editing until I got to be part of the process. When I pick up any piece of literature now, I think about all the people who put in the work to get it into my hands and in that polished state. For literary magazines and journals, specifically, I think about how between the covers is a space that has been created by multiple people for multiple people to express themselves and help them feel like they belong somewhere and to something. There’s a whole new appreciation for something I certainly took for granted previously and I want to continue to be a part of it.

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Elaine Batty is a student at Towson University graduating with a BS in English on the literature track. Her poetry has been featured in the College of Southern Maryland’s Connections literary magazine. In her free time, she enjoys reading all genres of fiction, writing poetry, and playing with her two cats, Catlynn and Cleocatra. Elaine’s two real passions are literature and travel, and she plans to look for a job following graduation that will allow her to pursue both full time.

Gel Derossi (they/them) is a white, trans, neurodiverse person who reads, writes, and draws with a mission to create more representation for marginalized folks. They currently study creative writing at Towson University.

Brenna Ebner is a recent Towson University graduate and Editor-in-Chief of Grub Street Literary Magazine, volume 69. She has interned at both Mason Jar Press and Yellow Arrow Publishing and is looking forward to continuing to grow as an editor and establish herself in the publishing world.

Grace Jordan is one of the 2020–2021 Editors-in-Chief of Grub Street, along with [Gel]. She is a sophomore at Towson University, studying both Dance Performance and Choreography and English with a minor in creative writing. She is also a part of the Honors College. Find her on Instagram @graciejordan.

You can find Grub Street on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.

Discovering the Publication World Through Towson University

By Brenna Ebner

The internship program at Towson University has helped me, many other graduates, and current students find not only experience in the field we plan to enter but help in building our resumes in interesting and fulfilling ways. This speaks to the many options and great freedom given to students who participate in the program. For example, many internships can take you abroad if you choose to go that route, and the final report for English majors, specifically, can be a mix of creativity and data on a topic of your choice rather than just a tedious research paper. All this goes to show that Towson wants their students to enjoy their experience while keeping an emphasis on learning and growing academically and professionally. Towson welcomes these opportunities for a student to not only help their college career but beyond as well, as they enter the full-time working world.

Some majors require you to participate in an internship while others may let you substitute an internship for a capstone course—an option I found offered to me as an English major. I took advantage of the opportunity and used my internship time to finish up my last year and semester as Editor-in-Chief of Towson’s literary magazine, Grub Street, in 2020. Constant guidance was offered to me by the Grub Street faculty advisor, Jeannie Vanasco, as well by my internship coordinator, Dr. Zosha Stuckey. This is often how Towson students find their ways to presses and publishers like Yellow Arrow Publishing! Stuckey and many other faculty members always go above and beyond to get students in touch with possible employers they know that could help during or after our college careers.

For English majors interested in working in the Baltimore area specifically, advisors have found students internships with Yellow Arrow, Mason Jar Press, BrickHouse Books, Baltimore Review, Baltimore Magazine, and Bancroft Press. While I spent my official internship with Grub Street, the unofficial internships I participated in after graduation with Yellow Arrow Publishing and Mason Jar Press also helped me pursue my career and brought me closer to my goals. Everyone has been so welcoming and helpful to get me started down my career path and gain knowledge about the editing field. My internship with Grub Street was also a significant jumping-off point; the experience I gathered there easily translated over to my future work. With all of them combined, I’ve learned so much about not only the editing process but the importance of independent publishers and presses and how they provide support and community to up-and-coming authors. It’s given me direction, opportunity, and motivation to become part of the editing and publishing process after such engaging experiences with them. I greatly appreciate being welcomed so warmly, supported so generously, and guided so carefully by Towson and the internships as I get started toward my new goal.

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Brenna Ebner is a recent Towson University graduate and Editor-in-Chief of Grub Street Literary Magazine, volume 69. She has interned at both Mason Jar Press and Yellow Arrow Publishing and is looking forward to continuing to grow as an editor and establish herself in the publishing world.

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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts. To learn more about publishing, volunteering, or donating, visit yellowarrowpublishing.com.

Literary Night 2020

On August 7, 2020 we had planned to host the 2nd annual Literary Night, a celebration of Baltimore area authors, writers, small presses, and literary organizations as part of the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk in partnership with Highlandtown Main Street, Highlandtown Arts District, and Southeast CDC. Check out highlights from 2019 here and here and here.

This year, since we are unable to gather in person, we’ve opted to share information on each of the literary organizations and authors who had planned to join us below. Please take a moment to learn about the vibrant literary scene right here in Baltimore and support them by reading their publications or spreading the word about what they do.

We’ve also organized a virtual reading with a wonderful group of local writers, which you can watch here: A Celebration of Local Authors.

Thank you for supporting our mission and the voices all around Baltimore!

Literary Organizations

Zora’s Den

Zora's Den Writers' Group is a sisterhood of Black women writers. 

https://www.facebook.com/ZorasDen/?ref=page_internal

Roots & Raíces

Roots and Raíces is a platform for artists, musicians, and activists to highlight, support, and celebrate immigrants in Baltimore through the arts and civic engagement. We also curate a rotating selection of artwork from local artists on our website in our online market and at our bi-annual EL MERCADO in Baltimore, MD.

Attracting over 2,000 visitors in our events, Roots & Raíces is becoming a recognizable platform in Baltimore. Although our events are diverse in programming, at the core of our work we embed civic action opportunities for the community to support immigrant communities both in Baltimore and nationwide. In addition to our events, we also have worked on a regular basis with over 58 students from 5 different high schools in developing their skills in art, design, event production, and advocacy.

Through our media platforms we collectively have over 3,000 impressions with our posts, stories, and promotions on a weekly basis.The success of work is best seen and heard from our community members who participate and attend our events and programming. We have received an abundance of positive feedback from the community. This work would not be possible without the generous support of our past funders.

https://www.rootsraices.org/about-us/

Revolutionary Summer

A Revolutionary Summer is an intensive critical reading and writing program dedicated to shifting harmful narratives about Black women and girls through both the meaningful study and creation of art and the deliberate application of self-inquiry. We exist to keep Black girls whole, to balance the scales, to offer up a Nobel Laureate, radical painter, love song, and afro picked to perfection for every stupid, shallow representation of her. A Revolutionary Summer validates Black girl language and Black girl thought, Black girl hair and Black girl thighs. It traces, analyzes, justifies, and celebrates Black girl herstory. It contributes forcefully, unapologetically to a sound and solid Black girl future. 

https://www.arevolutionarysummer.com/home

Mason Jar Press

Mason Jar Press has been publishing handmade, limited-run chapbooks and full-length books since 2014. The Press is dedicated to finding new and exciting work by writers that push the bounds of literary norms. While the work Mason Jar seeks to publish is meant to challenge status quos, both literary and culturally, it must also have significant merit in both those realms.

masonjarpress.xyz

Lines + Stars

Lines + Stars is a Baltimore-based literary journal and small press. We publish seasonal online issues, annual poetry chapbooks, broadsides, and other projects.

www.linesandstars.com

Ligeia Magazine

Ligeia is a literary magazine based out of Baltimore. Ligeia publishes poetry, short fiction, nonfiction, artwork, and interviews in quarterly issues. We support and contribute to a global writing community—but we also plan to build a local network of lit lovers.

https://www.ligeiamagazine.com/

The Inner Loop

The Inner Loop is a literary reading series and network for writers in Washington, D.C. that aims to create a space for both emerging and established writers to connect with their community and to transform the written word into a shared experience through the act of reading aloud.

www.theinnerlooplit.org

Enoch Pratt

Public Library

prattlibrary.org

Dewmore Baltimore

Dew More seeks to foster civic engagement with historically marginalized peoples through innovative art-focused programming and community organizing via purposeful partnerships with community organizations, schools, and governmental agencies that foster empowerment, capacity for change, and community development.

Our Vision: Dew More aims to leave individuals and communities in a more actualized, engaged, and connected condition.

Dewmorebaltimore.org 

Baltimore Stories

Baltimore Stories is the creative collaboration of local literary and visual artists. Writer Kerry Graham will read vignettes about her experiences teaching high school English. Each short but impactful story is accompanied by either the artwork of painter Joann Dewwealth-O'Brien or photographer Rachel Shifreen. The visual art, inspired by the vignettes, reveals glimpses of each artist's individual impression of Baltimore. Follow them at: www.facebook.com/artistswithadayjob/

An Evening of

Vintage Smut

Baltimore's Randiest Reading Series

www.facebook.com/EveningofVintageSmut

Authors

Linda Gail Francis is a Baltimore-based poet who has always enjoyed words, whether they are flying through the air or sitting still on the page. Following earlier experiences as a waitress, teacher, and radio host, she has worked for many years as an editor. Her poems illuminate the startling richness to be found in ordinary experience and imagination. Linda is the author of the chapbook Coming Across: Poems and Lunch, available on Amazon.

Edward Swing is a writer of stories, software developer, avid gamer, and otaku. He has been a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, learned taekwondo, traveled both within the United States and internationally, and studied diverse topics including astronomy, mythology, and mathematics. He lives with his wife, three children, and several pampered cats.

wordsbyedward.com

Courtney LeBlanc is the author of Beautiful & Full of Monsters (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), chapbooks All in the Family (Bottlecap Press) and The Violence Within (Flutter Press). She has her MBA from University of Baltimore and her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She loves nail polish, wine, and tattoos. Read her publications on her blog: www.wordperv.com. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv, and IG: @wordperv79. 

www.courtneyleblanc.com 

Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks, MBA/MA is an author who completed her first book, Chicken Bone Beach: A Pictorial History of Atlantic City’s Missouri Avenue Beach (Sunbury Press) in 2017, which was nominated for a 2017 Literary Award with the Schomburg Center in New York City, used in classrooms at Purdue University and referenced in The Oxford Handbook of American Folklore and Folklife Studies. Cheryl’s second book, Golden Beauty Boss is a biography about an African-American entrepreneur who became a self-made millionaire in the 1940s. 

cherylwb.com

Amanda McCormick is an experiential performer & writer whose work has appeared in a variety of forms & mediums over the past two decades. She is the founder of Ink Press Productions in Baltimore where she explores publishing as its own artistic medium and means to connect. She received her MFA from University of Baltimore where she now teaches. Amanda is the author of several books including & THE GREEN, a feminist retelling of growth and loss, taken from the source text Sir Gawain & the Green Knight, and AMANDA, a project of poetry that deals with the physical, experienced, and internalized selfhood of the artist-human who navigates society and the natural world in a slant framework of love and existence.

inkpressproductions.com

Welcome to our home

We are thrilled to announce the opening of the Yellow Arrow House in January. Located in the heart of the Highlandtown Arts District, we look forward to bringing writing workshops, classes and events to the community.

Please join us on January 4th from 10am-12pm for a house warming and blessing of the space. We are welcoming donations at that time of new and used items to stock our location, see a complete list of needed items below.

If you aren’t able to make it, please consider contributing to our GoFundMe campaign.

Our number one goal is to provide support and encouragement for emerging women writers, and having a space will allow us to do this in more ways than we could ever imagine.

We are so excited about the growth and development of Yellow Arrow Publishing, and we are thrilled to have your support. See you there!

Donation list of items needed (new or use)

Anything yellow!

Desks

Lamps

Water cooler (with hot water function)

Coffee maker

Garbage cans

Cleaning supplies

Broom, Mop

Tablet for payment processing

Chairs

Tables for workshops

Mini fridge

Faux fireplace

Book shelves

Outdoor furniture

Notes on Notes: The Intersection of Music and Writing

The Yellow Arrow Publishing Buffalo in the Book Reading Series presents:

Notes on Notes: The Intersection of Music and Writing

Readings and Song Writing Workshop

Sunday, November 3, 2019

6:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Atomic Books

3620 Falls Road
Baltimore MD 21211

Talia Segal

Zakiah Baker

Kristina Gaddy

Join us as we celebrate the interplay between music and literature. The event begins with short readings by featured authors and song writers who all have literary ties to music. A brief panel discussion will be moderated by Kristina Gaddy, an award-winning writer who believes in the power of narrative nonfiction to bring stories from the past to life in order to inform the world we live in today. In 2018, Kristina received a Robert W. Deutsch Foundation Ruby's Artist Award for Well of Souls, a literary exploration of the little known history of the banjo in the Americas, its role as a a spiritual device in the hands of enslaved Africans, and the instrument's legacy in today’s culture and society.

The panel will also feature Zakiah Baker. Baker is a writer residing in Southern Maryland and the author of To Be Her. She earned her MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. She has an interest in historic and generational perspectives of black girlhood and womanhood. As a singer and lover of music, Zakiah's work also has threads of sound and music. Although her work is inspired by true events, Zakiah decided to become a fiction writer because she finds great pleasure in allowing her imagination to take full control of her stories.

The audience will then engage in a workshop style songwriting exploration led by Talia Segal, in which participants will have the opportunity to write their own songs, all abilities welcome. Segal has been singing for as long as she can remember. When she was a little kid, she picked up a pencil, started writing, and hasn't stopped, since. She grew up a little, grabbed a guitar, and realized that she could combine her love of music, singing, and writing in exciting and gratifying ways. This led to several years of almost non-stop songwriting and touring around the country; playing coffee shops, college cafeterias, and farmers markets. In that time, she released 3 albums of original material. Segal has earned a degree in songwriting from Berklee College of Music, in Boston. Her original songs have won first place in the Hazel Dickens Songwriting Contest, and have been finalists in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, the Telluride Troubadour Songwriting Contest, the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest Songwriters' Showcase, and the Mid Atlantic Songwriting Contest. She's currently recording her fifth studio album, which is due for release next year.

The event will conclude with music by panelists.

Absolutely no experience necessary in order to participate, young adults and families welcome.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1156492387871665/

November 3, 2019, 6-7pm

Atomic Books
3620 Falls Road
Baltimore Md
21211

This event is brought to you by:

Free Fall Baltimore is presented by BGE, and is a program of the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization. 

Literary Night: Hands-On Writing Activities for All

Join nonprofits Yellow Arrow Publishing and the Highlandtown Arts & Entertainment District and Highlandtown Main Street in celebrating local writers at Literary Night, our August 2nd takeover of the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk. From 5 to 9 PM, participate in hands-on writing activities and a scavenger hunt, and meet dozens of local authors, writers, and small presses spread throughout Highlandtown’s participating galleries, shops, and eateries! From 6 to 8 PM, join us for food and drinks as we listen to local writers read their work from our main stage at RoofTop Hot. Drinks and refreshments will be available throughout the art walk.

There is plenty of free and paid parking in Highlandtown, so come on down to 339 S Conkling Street in Baltimore from 5 to 9 PM and join us for a memorable night of literature.

Continue reading to learn more about the hands-on activities we have planned all evening.

FILIPPO’S RESTAURANT & LOUNGE FEATURING 2019 UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE MFA GRADUATES

418 S. Conkling St
Live entertainment and art. Drink specials available inside Filippo’s Lounge.

The University of Baltimore MFA grads will play mad libs made from sections of their books. They will also have a sketch book based on elements from their stories for people to doodle on when they stop by. 

HIGHLANDTOWN GALLERY FEATURING ANN QUINN

248 S. Conkling St, Gallery A
Cool off this summer with a show celebrating “The Blues” and featuring work by Jason Tompkins, Sandi WIlson, Rae Hamilton, Ann Crostic and Deborah Ponder.

Join poet Ann Quinn (annquinn.net) at Highlandtown Gallery to help create an Ode to Highlandtown. We will use images from the gallery and from your own memories and impressions of the ‘hood to create a poem of praise to our own creative, diverse, historical, living, vibrant neighborhood. The finished poem will be posted on YellowArrowPublishing.com and shared with the world!

NIGHT OWL GALLERY FEATURING INK PRESS PRODUCTIONS

248 S. Conkling St, Gallery C

Ink Press Productions is a collaborative effort devoted to blurring the lines of writing, visual, and performance art in the Baltimore community and beyond. Established in 2012, IPP aims to connect through the production of handmade publications, DIY workshops, and other experimental events.

THE LAUGHING PINT FEATURING MOONLIT

3531 Gough St
$5 greyhound drink special & kitchen is open until 10:30pm.

Join MoonLit Founder Kris in creating unique 'plot bunnies' for when you need a burst of inspiration! Plus, create a community poem and learn more about upcoming fall workshops.

RUST-N-SHINE FEATURING JOCELYN BROADWICK AND H.L. BROOKS

410 S. Conkling St

In the spirit of creative collaboration, join Highlandtown's Mistress of Smut for a special Mad Libs edition of the "An Evening of Vintage Smut" reading series presented by Rust-N-Shine! In addition, make bookmarks with fantasy, romance, and erotica author H.L. Brooks.

ROLL ICE CREAM & COFFEE FEATURING TIMOTHY YOUNG

3222 Eastern Ave
See the new mural inside Roll Ice Cream & Coffee by José Vigo. Come experience the culinary art of rolled ice cream. All our ice cream is made to order right in front of you. We take it from liquid to solid in less than 3 minutes.

Aside from being the author/illustrator of 11 books including I Hate Picture Books!, If You Give the Puffin a Muffin, Do Not Open The Box! and I’m Going To Outer Space!, (a winner of the Family Choice Award), Timothy Young has also designed toys, worked in animation and built puppets for the Muppets. He has also illustrated books for other authors and has written and illustrated two creative drawing books. His newest picture book is the unusually titled untitled.

SNAKE HILL TAVERN FEATURING AKINOGA PRESS

418 S. Clinton St
Happy Hour until 7pm
Kitchen Open until 11pm

akinoga press is a baltimore-based micro-press that specializes in small editions of hand-bound chapbooks and is committed to publishing work that is quiet, small, odd, easily-missed, and 100% needs to be read.

Y:ART GALLERY & FINE GIFTS FEATURING JESSICA GREGG, VICTORIA KENNEDY AND LINES + STARS

Jessica Gregg, editor of Baltimore Style, invites art walk participants to pitch or bring her essays, as well as poetry, which will run online at BaltimoreStyle.com or possibly in the magazine itself. 

The Lines + Stars/L+S Press table will present an "exquisite corpse" poem to which visitors will add throughout the day. Participants will receive the full poem via email after the First Friday festivities conclude.

IDEALS OF HIGHLANDTOWN FEATURING SHERRY BURTON WAYS
3319 Eastern Ave
Stop in for a refreshment and the unique wood furniture pieces at this home goods shop.

Sherry Burton Ways will conduct an interactive discussion including a worksheet for participants on Who Are You?  A Self Examination & Your Relationship with Your Interior Space.  

OFF THE ROX FEATURING RISSA MILLER

3232-A Eastern Ave

Make Word Clouds with author Rissa Miller. Pick up a free book from the giveaway table. Books for kids and adults alike while supplies last. 

CREATIVE ALLIANCE FEATURING SE ANCHOR BRANCH OF ENOCH PRATT FREE LIBRARY

3134 Eastern Ave

Come visit librarians from the Southeast Anchor branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library to find out about their amazing line up of programs, offerings, and community services! You can also sign up for a library card or our summer reading program, which wraps on 8/14. Don't miss your chance to enter our prize raffle!

DOUBLE AND UP FEATURING THE BALTIMORE SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY

3514 Bank St

BSFS (normally located at at 3310 E Baltimore St, on the north side of the Highandtown Arts District) is setting up exhibitor tables at the Double and Up building.

Literary Night: Authors, Small Presses, and Literary Organizations

Join nonprofits Yellow Arrow Publishing and the Highlandtown Arts & Entertainment District and Highlandtown Main Street in celebrating local writers at Literary Night, our August 2nd takeover of the Highlandtown First Friday Art Walk. From 5 to 9 PM, participate in hands-on writing activities and a scavenger hunt, and meet dozens of local authors, writers, and small presses spread throughout Highlandtown’s participating galleries, shops, and eateries! From 6 to 8 PM, join us for food and drinks as we listen to local writers read their work from our main stage at RoofTop Hot. Drinks and refreshments will be available throughout the art walk.

Be sure to find Yellow Arrow’s Writer-in-Residence for August, Jessica Gregg, at her table, and join us as she performs her work on our main stage.

There is plenty of free and paid parking in Highlandtown, so come on down to 339 S Conkling Street in Baltimore from 5 to 9 PM and join us for a memorable night of literature.

Continue reading to learn more about the venues, authors, and organizations participating in our very first Highlandtown Literary Night!

Filippo’s Restaurant & Lounge featuring 2019 University of Baltimore MFA graduates

418 S. Conkling St
Live entertainment and art. Drink specials available inside Filippo’s Lounge.

Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Nikita C. Anderson holds an M.A. degree in English from Morgan State University, with a concentration in Screenwriting and Cinematic Storytelling and an MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. She currently resides in Baltimore, MD.

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Shunda Colvin is a southern fiction writer currently based in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her MFA from the University of Baltimore. When she’s not working as a web content editor, she’s planning her next road trip.

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Bailey Drumm is an MFA graduate from the University of Baltimore’s Creative Writing and Publishing Arts program. She writes short stories, book reviews, and creative non-fiction. Her written work has been published in Grub Street, and artwork featured as the cover art of Welter. Bailey-Drumm.square.site

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Eva Quintos Tennant is a DC/MD-based writer, photographer and creative director. The youngest daughter of Filipino-American parents, she is a graduate of the School of Journalism at the University of Maryland and earned her MFA in Creative Writing and Publishing Arts from the University of Baltimore. She and her husband share their home with two rambunctious rescue collies and a lifetime collection of books. Her work has appeared in Welter, River River, and other publications. Pain of the Littlest Finger, her thesis short story collection, is available at eqtennant.com. Follow her on Twitter @picasandprose   

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b.a.w. lives, writes, and designs in Baltimore City where she tries her best and minds her business. Her writing is inspired by black women, bizarre news headlines, and early 2000s TV dramedies. When not writing about dead bodies, she’s partial to reading modern romance novels and listening to podcasts. No matter where she is, when it is, or what she’s doing, there’s a 99.9% chance that she is tired.  You can follow her online at bawthewriter.com.

Highlandtown Gallery featuring Ann Quinn

248 S. Conkling St, Gallery A
Cool off this summer with a show celebrating “The Blues” and featuring work by Jason Tompkins, Sandi WIlson, Rae Hamilton, Ann Crostic and Deborah Ponder.
Live music and sangria.

Ann Quinn, M. Mus. and M.F.A. in creative writing. Ann leads writing groups for all ages. She has found that writing is an amazing way to access inner wisdom and memory, and has developed ways to help others in that process, while creating a warm sharing environment. Her work is published in Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, Broadkill Review, and other journals and is included in the anthology Red Sky: Poetry on the Global Epidemic of Violence Against Women.  Ann lives in Catonsville, Maryland with her family where she teaches reflective and creative writing and music and plays clarinet with the Columbia Orchestra.  Her chapbook, Final Deployment, is published by Finishing Line Press. Please visit online at www.annquinn.net.

Night Owl Gallery featuring Ink Press Productions

248 S. Conkling St, Gallery C

Ink Press Productions is a collaborative effort devoted to blurring the lines of writing, visual, and performance art in the Baltimore community and beyond. Established in 2012, IPP aims to connect through the production of handmade publications, DIY workshops, and other experimental events.

The Laughing Pint featuring MoonLit

3531 Gough St
$5 greyhound drink special & kitchen is open until 10:30pm.

MoonLit is a small, artist run organization that aims to creatively connect community through low-cost and accessible literary programming in DC, Baltimore, and Virginia. Learn more at moonlitdc.com.

Rust-N-Shine featuring Jocelyn Broadwick and H.L. Brooks

410 S. Conkling St

Jocelyn Broadwick is a writer, editor, and college professor living and working in downtown Baltimore. Her essays and flash nonfiction have appeared in The Aerie, Paradigm Literary Magazine, Seltzer, Writers & Words, and the Yellow Arrow Journal. She's also been a featured blogger for Neither Liberal Nor Arts and The Baltimore Sun's #MDreads Community Network and a guest podcast host on Return 2 Sender. Currently, she is working on a memoir of unexpected freefall after her marriage and a collection of essays in which she desperately tries to grow up before turning 30. Jocelyn earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Goucher College. Find her reading vintage smut during Highlandtown’s First Friday Art Walks and online at www.jocelynbroadwick.com.  

H.L. Brooks writes contemporary  fairy tale re-tellings with dashes of  eroticism and  romance. She places an emphasis on strong female characters of various ages and body types. She also likes to tackle social and political issues since the fantasy format lends itself as a perfect platform. H.L. also has published an adult coloring book and is currently working on her third book in the Red August series. An additional non-fiction work is in development in the form of a photography and body-image focused book, The Goddess Next Door.

Roll Ice Cream & Coffee featuring Timothy Young

3222 Eastern Ave
See the new mural inside Roll Ice Cream & Coffee by José Vigo. Come experience the culinary art of rolled ice cream. All our ice cream is made to order right in front of you. We take it from liquid to solid in less than 3 minutes.

Aside from being the author/illustrator of 11 books including I Hate Picture Books!, If You Give the Puffin a Muffin, Do Not Open The Box! and I’m Going To Outer Space!, (a winner of the Family Choice Award), Timothy Young has also designed toys, worked in animation and built puppets for the Muppets. He has also illustrated books for other authors and has written and illustrated two creative drawing books. His newest picture book is the unusually titled untitled.

His career highlights include being the Head Model-Maker for the Penny cartoons on Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, designing and building Muppets for Jim Henson Productions and sculpting the very first Simpsons character toys. He has been the design director for two toy companies and worked under contract with dozens of others. He had a brand new toy out recently, the inflatable pool toy The Chicken Fight Game.

Snake Hill Tavern featuring akinoga press

418 S. Clinton St
Happy Hour until 7pm
Kitchen Open until 11pm

akinoga press is a baltimore-based micro-press that specializes in small editions of hand-bound chapbooks and is committed to publishing work that is quiet, small, odd, easily-missed, and 100% needs to be read.

Y:ART Gallery & Fine Gifts featuring Jessica Gregg, Victoria Kennedy, Charita Cole Brown and Lines + Stars

3402 Gough St 

Jessica Gregg is the editor of Baltimore Style magazine and also oversees Baltimore's Child and Washington Family magazines. She is a Baltimore booster, proud rowhouse dweller, the mother of two teenagers, and an avid poetry reader. Her poetry collection "News from this Lonesome City" will be published this year by Finishing Line Press. Jessica is also the summer Yellow Arrow writer-in-residence for the Highlandtown Art Walk.

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Victoria Kennedy writes about the complexity, resilience, and beauty of Black love. In Where Love Goes (2016) she explores the dynamics of love across the Diaspora. Included in this is The Uninvited Guest a short story which has been adapted into an eponymous stage play. Her debut novel, Sometimes Love, was published in 2017 by Brown Girls Books. She is the founder of Zora’s Den, a sisterhood of Black women writers who gather virtually and in real life to provide support, encouragement, and fellowship within the local and global communities.  In Our Own Words is their monthly reading series. Victoria holds an MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Arts and her second novel Don’t Walk Away, was released in March 2019.

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Since 2006, the literary journal Lines + Stars -- which operates jointly out of Baltimore and Washington, DC -- has published seasonal issues featuring poetry, short prose, and book reviews. Through L+S Press, our book-publishing arm, we host the annual Mid-Atlantic Chapbook Series, which publishes an emerging poet’s first chapbook-length collection. L+S Press also publishes best-of anthologies, broadsides, and other projects. Find out more: www.linesandstars.com.

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Charita Cole Brown was diagnosed with a severe form of bipolar disorder while finishing her final semester as an English major at Wesleyan University. Doctors predicted she would never lead a “normal” life. Despite that prognosis and because she sought treatment, Charita went on to marry, raise a family, earn a master’s degree in teaching and enjoy a fulfilling career in education. Her powerful story is chronicled in her debut book, Defying the Verdict: My Bipolar Life (Curbside Splendor Publishing, June 2018).

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Ideals of Highlandtown featuring Sherry Burton Ways

3319 Eastern Ave
Stop in for a refreshment and the unique wood furniture pieces at this home goods shop.

Sherry Burton Ways, an award winning Author, Speaker, Designer, Certified Design Psychology Coach, Certified Feng Shui Consultant, Certified Interior Color Consultant, Certified Interior Environment Coach, and Certified Color Therapist. Her mission is to use her creative gifts to inspire and educate people and organizations to create peaceful and productive interior environments. 

Sherry is the author of the award winning, Amazon Best Selling book, Feel Good Spaces: A Guide to Decorating Your Home for the Body, Mind and Spirit (2012). The book also was a winner of the "How-To" Category at the 2013 National Green Book Festival. Ways has also contributed to two other books: The Art & Science of Loving Yourself: 'Cause Your Business Should Complete You, Not Deplete You, edited by Margo DeGange and Simply Color for Everyday Living, edited by Diantha Harris. www.sherryburtonways.com 

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Off the Rox featuring Rissa Miller

3232-A Eastern Ave

Make Word Clouds with author Rissa Miller. Pick up a free book from the giveaway table. Books for kids and adults alike while supplies last.

Rissa Miller is a working artist living in Maryland. She loves early morning light filtering through stained glass, hot green tea in antique teacups, huge salads picked fresh from the garden and walks in the woods. She studied writing at New York University/Tisch School of the Arts and photojournalism at Western Kentucky University. Several years as an editor at the Baltimore Sun instilled her with a love of the city. She’s sure she can feel the pulse of Baltimore’s gritty telltale heart each time she walks the streets of Remington, Fells, Highlandtown and every other inch of Charm City. When she’s not writing, Rissa finds her way to local theater, loves baking vegan cupcakes, and as often as possible, gets lost in libraries. She works as Senior Editor for the Vegetarian Journal. Goodnight, Poet is her second chapbook.

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Creative Alliance featuring the Southeast Anchor Branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library

3134 Eastern Ave

Come visit librarians from the Southeast Anchor branch of the Enoch Pratt Free Library to find out about their amazing line up of programs, offerings, and community services! You can also sign up for a library card or our summer reading program, which wraps on 8/14. Don't miss your chance to enter our prize raffle!

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DOUBLE AND UP FEATURING THE BALTIMORE SCIENCE FICTION SOCIETY

3514 Bank St

BSFS (normally located at at 3310 E Baltimore St, on the north side of the Highandtown Arts District) is setting up exhibitor tables at the Double and Up building.

The Beauty of Letter Writing

Yellow Arrow Publishing presents:

Buffalo in the Book

An Interactive Reading Series

Our quarterly reading series seeks to push the limits of current literary norms. Through the exploration of various themes, our featured writers will engage in panel discussions after presenting their work. Attendees are invited to participate in the exploration of the theme through various interactive art forms.

The Beauty of Letter Writing

May 2, 2019, 5:30-7:30pm

Enoch Pratt Free Library, SE Anchor Branch

Featuring Ann Quinn, Gina Strauss, and Maria Goodson

FREE

Join us as we explore letter writing as its own literary art form. When writing a letter, the author never expects to see the piece of writing again. Yet, so many letters throughout history have gained literary significance. In this series, we look to explore this impermanent written form. Attendees will have the opportunity to create their own stationary and letters.

Join us! https://www.facebook.com/events/394812991333885/

For over 25 years, Gina Andreone Strauss has worked as a teacher and advisor in a variety of educational settings. Her advanced degrees in counseling and healing arts add a unique dimension to her teaching style and interaction with students and their families. Gina is an advocate for conscious parenting and is mindful of how our children serve as mirrors to us. She believes that much can be learned from life's experiences and recognizes the wealth of positive thought that can be gleaned from small day-to-day moments. Her oldest daughter's 13th birthday inspired her to craft her first book, Letters to My Teenage Daughter: We've Got You.  You can follow Gina's current writing at www.ginastrauss.blog.

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Ann Quinn’s poetry was selected by Stanley Plumly as first place winner in the 2015 Bethesda Literary Arts Festival poetry contest, and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her work is published in Potomac Review, Little Patuxent Review, Broadkill Review, and other journals and is included in the anthology Red Sky: Poetry on the Global Epidemic of Violence Against Women. Ann lives in Catonsville with her family where she teaches reflective and creative writing and music and plays clarinet with the Columbia Orchestra. Her degrees are in music performance; she fell in love with poetry in mid-life. Her chapbook, Final Deployment, is published by Finishing Line Press. Please visit online at www.annquinn.net.

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Maria C. Goodson is a writer who spends her time telling people where they should volunteer in Baltimore City, running a reading series called Writers & Words, and creating art out of pipe cleaners anytime she is given the opportunity. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Oxford Brookes University, not the Oxford University, but another school literally up the street. She enjoys writing anxiety haikus, holiday card stories, and villanelles about love and connection. Learn more at mariacgoodson.com.

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Whitney Pipkin as been writing about food, farms and the environment as a freelance journalist since moving to Northern Virginia in 2012 after starting her career at newspapers in the Pacific Northwest. She is a staff writer at the Chesapeake Bay Journal, covering the nation's largest estuary and getting to know its historic places in the process. Her freelance work appears nationally in The Washington Post, NPR, National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine and Civil Eats and in regional publications such as Virginia Living and Northern Virginia Magazine, and she serves as a periodic guest editor for Edible DC magazine. A 2018 writer-in-residence at the historic Woodlawn & Pope-Leighey House in Alexandria, Pipkin has started dabbling in personal writing projects as well and had her first Christian essay published in Deeply Rooted magazine this year. She lives with her husband, 4-year-old daughter, 2-year-old son and mischievous dog in Springfield, Va.

The Woods 2018

In 2017, two literary groups in Baltimore—Ink Press Productions (specializing in handmade books, letterpress printing, and experimental events) and Writers & Words (a Baltimore monthly reading series) - joined their talents together to organize The Woods, an annual writing retreat. The event now draws writers from all over the east coast and beyond to Cacapon State Park, WV each December.

This collection features work from the 2018 participants of The Woods II. Each piece was either inspired by or written at the retreat.

Ink Press Productions and Writers & Words are thankful to MoonLit and Yellow Arrow Publishing for taking on this project and creating a time capsule of work inspired by the fantastic, creative weekend at The Woods.

Contributors: Rachel Cloud Adams, Nicki Avena, Tracy Dimond, Chelsea Fonden, Ana Hart, Mandy May, Tim Paggi, Sarah Smith, Gwen Van Velsor, Matilda Young

Cover by Mandy May

Ordering information can be found at https://yellowarrowpublishing.com/?product=the-woods-2018 or snag the printed version tomorrow night (3/12/19) at the Writers & Words reading at Charmingtons. See you there!

First Friday Reading Series, November 2 is Life Hack Night

Join us every First Friday for the

Art Walk in Highlandtown

for live author readings by local writers and poets. Each month will feature a different genre, including Local Flavor, Science Fiction and more. Light beverages and snacks will be provided. Come out and explore the literature growing in your own back yard, and support your local authors, writers, and publishers.

When: November 2nd, 6 – 9PM (last reading of the season until April 2019!)Where: Dennis Moore’s Pottery Studio, corner of S. Conkling and Bank, 21224. Across from Rooftop Hot in Highlandtown.Enjoy local self-help authors share amazing Life Hacks. Stay for the Q&A at the end of the night. See more info on each writer below.

6:00pm

 Meet and greet

6:45pm 

Gina Andreone Strauss

7:00pm Lynda Satre

7:15pm

Tiffany Jean

7:30pm Shaunna Jackson

8:00pm Author Q&A

For over 25 years,

Gina Andreone Strauss

has worked as a teacher and advisor in a variety of educational settings. Her advanced degrees in counseling and healing arts add a unique dimension to her teaching style and interactions with students and their families. She is an advocate for conscious parenting and is mindful of how our children serve as mirrors to us. Gina believes that much can be learned from life's experiences and recognizes the wealth of positive thought that can be gleaned from small day-to-day moments. She lives in Baltimore with her husband, two daughters and two obstinate cats.

Lynda Satre

is the author of the book,

Parenting Sensibly: Turning messes into successes

. She is a mother to 10 children, former pediatric RN, and parenting coach who has had children in her 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s. Her mission is to help others by sharing wisdom acquired while navigating this imperfect, but wonderful parenting journey.

T. J. Butler

was crowned Miss Virginia Beach in a shopping mall pageant when she was three, and she began writing shortly thereafter. She has worked in a variety of jobs from dishwasher to magician’s assistant to corporate office drone. She was a cat person until she was a dog person, and she lives on a sailboat with her husband and dog. She is a lifestyle blogger and a regular contributor to Tiny House Magazine.

Shaunna Jackson 

earned a B.A. degree in Psychology and Social Welfare Services, and is completing her second term of service in AmeriCorps. She served 5 years as Parish Pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, receiving the John Maxwell Million Leaders Mandate Certificate of Achievement in 2016, for exemplifying outstanding leadership by empowering, equipping and encouraging leaders. Shaunna is the author of two published books, and is the owner of the blog,

Occupy Purpose

. She is a graphic designer and personal development coach. Many hats, one purpose; encouraging people to pursue passions and live a life of faith and purpose.

First Friday Reading Series, October 5th is Horror Night

Join us every First Friday for the

Art Walk in Highlandtown

for live author readings by local writers and poets. Each month will feature a different genre, including Local Flavor, Science Fiction and more. Light beverages and snacks will be provided. Come out and explore the literature growing in your own back yard, and support your local authors, writers, and publishers.

When: October 5th, 6 – 9PM and every first Friday of the month until NovemberWhere: Dennis Moore’s Pottery Studio, corner of S. Conkling and Bank, 21224. Across from Rooftop Hot in Highlandtown.Enjoy local horror and thriller authors share spooky stories. Stay for the Q&A at the end of the night. See more info on each writer below.

6:00pm

 Meet and greet

6:30pm

RA Boyd

6:45pm 

Carolyn Eichhorn

7:00pm break

7:15pm

 Ariele Sieling7:30pm Rachael MacNeill Rawlings7:45pm 

break

8:00pm 

Annaliese Grey

8:15pm Author Q&A

R.A. Boyd

is a writer, and reader, of paranormal romance, horror and urban fantasy. She lives in Maryland with her husband, daughter and her massive collection of books. Seriously. Her books have their own room. She loves all things paranormal but dabbles in romantic comedies and hockey fights. When she’s not writing at three in the morning she’s binge-watching Netflix or plotting random scenes from her novels in the voice of her characters. It makes her daughter giggle but worries her husband.To find her on the web, please visit: raboyd.com, www.facebook.com/RABoydwriter, https://twitter.com/ra_boyd

Carolyn Eichhorn

fell in love with mystery and thriller fiction from her first Nancy Drew library book. Through careers spanning theme parks operations to higher education, Carolyn has no shortage of inspiration for twisty tales. She recently published a collection of short stories called Ten Dysfunctions of My Teams: Distressing Tales of the Cubicle-Bound and is currently at work on a mystery series featuring ghostwriter Gina Morrison. Carolyn teaches and writes in Baltimore, Maryland.

A lifetime writer and lover of books,

Ariele Sieling

delves into the exciting possibilities of science fiction from her home in Baltimore, MD, where she lives with three cats, a dog, and a husband. She is the author of the scifi series

The Sagittan Chronicles

and the children's book series,

Rutherford the Unicorn Sheep

, and the post-apocalyptic YA series

Land of Szornyek

.

Rachel Rawlings was born and raised in the Baltimore Metropolitan area. Her family, originally from Rhode Island, spent summers in New England sparking her fascination with Salem, MA. She has been writing fictional stories and poems since middle school, but it wasn't until 2009 that she found the inspiration to create her heroine Maurin Kincaide and complete her first full length novel, The Morrigna. When she isn't writing paranormal romance, psychic romance suspense or about her psychic detective, Rachel can often be found with her nose buried in a good book. An avid reader of Paranormal/Urban Fantasy, Horror and Steampunk herself, Rachel founded Hallowread- an interactive convention for both authors and fans of those genres. More information on Hallowread, its schedule of events and participating authors can be found at www.hallowread.com and www.facebook.com/Hallowread. Sign up for her newsletter https://mailchi.mp/rachelrawlings/newsletter-sign-up-form and be sure to check out Rachel's Facebook page www.facebook.com/rachelrawlingsauthor

Annalise Grey

is a Pennsylvania native, dreamer, explorer. "I write because I like talking to the voices in my head."

First Friday Reading Series, YA Night is Sep. 7th

Join us every First Friday for the

Art Walk in Highlandtown

for live author readings by local writers and poets. Each month will feature a different genre, including Local Flavor, Science Fiction and more. Light beverages and snacks will be provided. Come out and explore the literature growing in your own back yard, and support your local authors, writers, and publishers.

When: September 7th, 6 – 9PM and every first Friday of the month until NovemberWhere: Dennis Moore’s Pottery Studio, corner of S. Conkling and Bank, 21224. Across from Rooftop Hot in Highlandtown.Enjoy local YA authors and support our young emerging writers. Stay for the Q&A at the end of the night. See more info on each poet below.

6:00pm

 Meet and greet

6:30pm

Girlfriends Book Club Baltimore

is a stree free social group for girls which encourages reading, vocabulary expansion, comprehension skills, and confidence in a fun environment. Yellow Arrow has been working with the club since 2017 to create an anthology of short fiction written by the girls, mostly 6th graders. They will be reading selections from their forthcoming book. 

7:15pm

Veronica Bartles 

author of TWELVE STEPS (YA), and THE PRINCESS AND THE FROGS (PB), loves to ask “What If?” She believes there are many sides to every story, and she’s determined to discover every single one! When not writing or reading, she likes to invent new cookie recipes and knit things from recycled plastic bags. She’s an incurable optimist who loves gray, drizzly days because that’s when rainbows come out to play. Veronica is the Published and Listed Coordinator for the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), MD/DE/WV region, and the director of the MD/DE/VA/DC Read Local Challenge:

https://mddewv.scbwi.org/read-local/

. (Find out more about her at

http://vbartles.com

)

7:30pm

Elissa Brent Weissman

is an award-winning author of novels for young readers. Best known for the popular Nerd Camp series, she and her books have been featured in Entertainment Weekly, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Huffington Post, NPR's “Here and Now,” and more. Named one of CBS Baltimore’s Best Authors in Maryland, Elissa lives in Baltimore City, where she teaches creative writing to children, college students, and adults. Learn more at

ebweissman.com

7:45pm

A. L. Kaplan’s

love of books started as a child and sparked a creative imagination. Born on a cold winter morning in scenic northern New Jersey, her stories and poems have been included in several anthologies and magazines. Her novel, Star-touched, released October 1, 2017. She is the Maryland Writers’ Association’s Vice President and served on the Howard County Chapter board for several years. A. L. is a member of Broad Universe and holds an MFA in sculpture from the Maryland Institute College of Art. When not writing or indulging in her fascination with wolves, A. L. is the props manager for a local theatre. This proud mother of two lives in Maryland with her husband and dog.

8:00pm

Author Q&A

First Friday Reading Series - Poetry Night, August 3rd

Join us every First Friday for the

Art Walk in Highlandtown

for live author readings by local writers and poets. Each month will feature a different genre, including Local Flavor, Science Fiction and more. Light beverages and snacks will be provided. Come out and explore the literature growing in your own back yard, and support your local authors, writers, and publishers.

When: August 3rd, 6 – 9PM and every first Friday of the monthWhere: Dennis Moore’s Pottery Studio, corner of S. Conkling and Bank, 21224. Across from Rooftop Hot in Highlandtown.Come celebrate some of the best poetry in the area. Stay for the Q&A at the end of the night. See more info on each poet below.6:00pmMeet and greet6:45pmBorn and raised in Krakow, Poland behind the Iron Curtain of Communism until the age of 13, Ania Milo always felt a great divide between the luxurious, colorful and rich beauty of her native culture and the imposed “sameness” and dullness of the oppressive Communist Regime. She often escaped the dreariness of her every-day life to Krakow’s Old Town Art District where she wandered the halls of spectacular churches and galleries and looked upon works of famous Polish and international artists. Ms. Milo is an extremely prolific painter having created hundreds abstracts, pet portraits, and other paintings in various genres. Being a self-taught artist, she continually explores different painting styles, techniques and mediums. Ania holds a Bachelor Degree in Linguistics with a concentration in Russian. She has earned a Master of Art degree in Leadership in Teaching and Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. She is a PhD candidate in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. 7:15pmMegan de Matteo is a writer with more than nine lives. Her first children's book was published in 2016 and integrated into a local fourth-grade class's music curriculum the following year. In 2017, pieces from her graduate thesis won the third place poetry prize in San Francisco's Litquake Writing Contest. She is from the Baltimore area. 7:30pmJulia Friedrich is a German-American poet, and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland. She holds an MFA in Poetry from the Johns Hopkins University.   8:00pmAmy Saul-Zerby is the author of Paper Flowers Imaginary Birds (Be About It Press 2017) and Deep Camouflage (Civil Coping Mechanisms 2018). Her poetry has appeared in Painted Bride Quarterly, The Chicago Review of Books, The Rumpus, Maudlin House, and Peach Magazine. She is editor-in-chief of Voicemail Poems and author of the Notable Philadelphia column at The Rumpus. 8:15pmJessica Hudgins is a writer living in Athens, GA. Her work has appeared in Indiana Review, Pleiades, The Journal, and elsewhere. She was runner-up for New South's 2016 Poetry Prize, and she has attended residencies at the Albee Foundation and Virginia Center for the Arts.  8:30pm Author Q&A