One-on-One 30-minute Editorial Critiques with Bret McCabe, Rebekah Kirkman, Chelsea Fetzer, and Christine Grillo
Counting Room
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201

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Bret McCabe – creative nonfiction
Rebekah Kirkman – creative nonfiction
Chelsea Lemon Fetzer – poetry, fiction
Christine Grillo – fiction, memoir, sci-fi, romance/fantasy

Four editors. 16 30-minute opportunities. One chance for One-on-One, 30-minute editorial critique sessions with esteemed editors who donate their time and expertise in service to you. For those who want to up the ante on their work and need that extra, critical eye on their manuscript, we encourage you to take advantage of this moment. For $10, (payable by clicking the donate page on-site), these editors provide their expertise on your five pages. Editors will read it once you arrive. First come, first served, arrive early, and preferably have your $10 in cash or submit $10 through the CityLit website to donate on site. Sessions begin at 10:00 am and run through 12:00 pm. Each editor will have and honor a sign-up sheet. Writers, if you need encouragement to get published, just do the dang thing. Dust off those pages. Get fed in a different way. Bret McCabe is a Baltimore-based arts writer and editor. Rebekah Kirkman is a writer and editor in Baltimore whose work focuses on art, work, and community. Chelsea Lemon Fetzer is a multi-genre writer who teaches literature and creative writing at Goucher, serves on the board of CityLit Project, and is a contributing editor at BmoreArt Magazine. Christine Grillo is a Baltimore-based novelist whose debut novel, Hestia Strikes a Match, was included in NPR’s Books We Love 2023.“Good editors are really the third eye.” ~Toni Morrison

Guidelines:

Five pages of poetry OR Five pages of prose

• Double-spaced
• 12 pt. font
• 1 inch margin

Numbered pages

Name must be included

Note: If you are feeling ambitious, stop. Only the first five pages will be critiqued!

Visit the News Section for detailed information.

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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.

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