Showcasing 2026 Baker Literary Finalists with Aaron Henkin,
Bry Reed, Don Lee, Michael Downs, Edgar Kunz, Ashley Elizabeth, and Justin Sirois
Carey Center
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201

______________

Working with the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund established the Baker Artist Awards in 2008 to support artists and promote Greater Baltimore as a strong creative community. The Baker Artists Awards confer $90,000 in prizes annually on six area artists across each artistic discipline. Awardees receive showcase and exhibition opportunities at major Baltimore institutions. This year’s literary finalists convene for the first time with moderator Aaron Henkin as host, who currently works at the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. Previously, Aaron spent 22 years creating and producing original radio programs and podcasts for Baltimore’s NPR affiliate, WYPR. Bry Reed (she/they) is a Baltimore-born and based writer committed to the legacy of “The City That Reads.” She’s a regular contributor to the Baltimore Beat. Michael Downs works in literary fiction and nonfiction and is the author of three books. He also serves on the boards of the Baltimore Review and The Good Contrivance Farm Writer’s Retreat. Edgar Kunz is the author of Fixer (Ecco, 2023), a New York Times Editors’ Choice book, and Tap Out. He has been a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow, a MacDowell Fellow, and a Wallace Stegner Fellow at Stanford University. Additional Baker Artist Literary finalists include Justin Sirois, Don Lee, and Ashley Elizabeth.

Visit the News Section for detailed information.

______________

CityLit Project in partnership with Maryland Center for History and Culture present Bearing Witness: Literature as a Revolutionary Act. This celebration of the arts showcases a bevy of leading poets and writers on April 11, 2026. We’re talking fiction, nonfiction, poetry galore, and ways to up the ante on your craft.

Download the CityLit Festival: Bearing Witness flyer with the schedule.

Keep up with all things happening at CityLit by subscribing to our newsletter.

STAY INFORMED