Need to shake up your TBR list? (“To be read,” for those detached from the bibliophile world.)
The 22nd annual CityLit Festival will convene more than 60 writers at the Lord Baltimore Hotel on Saturday, April 5, for a full day of free readings, writing workshops, and panel discussions. Later this month, on Friday, April 21, a day of poetry-focused programs will culminate in a celebratory finale at Red Emma’s in Waverly. Both events are intended to send you home with a brand new book crush.
In an era of increasingly algorithm-driven reading recs, festival director Carla Du Pree says one of her goals is to get attendees excited for the writers they haven’t yet heard of.
“Come for the discovery!” she says. “You’re supposed to walk away with a new writer to put on your list.”
A few to keep your eye on: Marion Winik, host of WYPR’s Weekly Reader, will be chatting with Casualties of Truth author Lauren Francis-Sharma, who writes about the legacies of apartheid, along with three other Baltimore-Washington area writers receiving raves for new work in fiction and poetry. Bernice McFadden will discuss her memoir Firstborn Girls, which traces her literary coming-of-age as a young Black girl. And Johns Hopkins Writing Seminars Director Eric Puchner, author of this month’s Oprah’s Book Club pick, Dream State, will discuss climate-change fiction with New Orleans-based novelist Mary Annaïse Heglar, author of Troubled Waters, as well as Baltimore’s Sustain Our Future Foundation program director Naadiya Hutchinson.
This year’s festival theme pays homage to the late poet and activist Nikki Giovanni, who passed away last December, and her revered work that addresses race and social issues. Referencing Giovanni’s poem “In Praise of a Teacher,” Du Pree says the festival focuses on “stories that give a light to the future,” a theme that has become this year’s festival tagline.
“What stories, topics, issues keep me up at night with pure wonder about how to solve them, understand them, and engage with them until there is a larger understanding? What voices continue to be erased or silenced and whose voice is sounding loudly without a room to hold it?” These are the questions Du Pree explains helped to guide the programs.
If you’re having trouble narrowing down which readings and panels to catch, here are a few we recommend you make time for:
4/5: The State of Baltimore Arts as a Cultural Force
Lord Baltimore Hotel. 20 W. Baltimore St. 1 p.m. Free
In a year of budget cuts and an open war on DEI, this year’s State of Baltimore panel invites cultural warriors to discuss the innovative role artists, arts organizations, and creatives play in enhancing the city’s dynamic cultural arts programs. Community-focused real estate developer Patricia Ofori, Baltimore Banner DEI reporter John-John Williams, and Charm City Cultivation executive director Gail Cooper will be in conversation with moderator Alanah Nichole Davis, the Mayor’s Office’s Chief Storyteller and frequent Baltimore magazine contributor.
4/5: When They See Us: Reckoning with History
Lord Baltimore Hotel. 20 W. Baltimore St. 1 p.m. Free
Three esteemed authors seek to unravel myths, reveal injustices, and examine what it means to be truly seen in light of complicated history. Martha S. Jones (The Trouble of Color), Kaye Wise Whitehead (My Mother’s Tomorrow), and Irvin Weathersby, Jr. (In Open Contempt), will be in conversation with moderator Dr. Lawrence Jackson, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of English and History at Johns Hopkins University.
4/5: We Are More Than One Story
Lord Baltimore Hotel. 20 W. Baltimore St. 1 p.m. Free
A Palestinian-Jewish Romeo and Juliet story (Zeeva Bukai, The Anatomy of Exile). Brothers who attempt to be the first Black American men to summit Mount Everest (Karen Outen, Dixon Descending). A gripping true story exploring murder, mental health, and trauma (Kevin Shird, A Life For A Life: Poor Choices and Unresolved Trauma is Killing America). Local writer-editor and disability advocate Hannah Greico moderates this panel exploring stories that insist on the complexity of the human experience.
4/21: We Who Do Words: Poetry Finale
Red Emma’s. 3128 Greenmount Ave. 7 p.m. Free.
Tracy Diamond emcees this celebration featuring poets Dominique Christina, Erica Dawson, Michael B. Tager, Sylvia Jones, and Ailish Hopper. Expect a special performance by musical guest Wifty Bangura.
The April 5 event will also feature the event’s signature literary marketplace with a festival bookshop and booths spotlighting small presses, literary journals, and local arts organizations. You can browse the full program lineup for both days, here.