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Save the Date for the 22nd Annual CityLit Festival
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Mark your calendars for our 22nd Annual two-day CityLit Festival as we partner with the historic Lord Baltimore Hotel on Saturday, April 5, 2025, for the daylong event, and with Red Emma’s on Friday, April 25, 2025, for the poetry finale!
The CityLit Festival is our free annual showcase for writers of varying disciplines, publishing credentials, and career stages with a Literary Marketplace and a poetry finale. Stay tuned as we share the featured authors and sessions in the new year. |
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A Home for the Heart to Live In
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One attendee shared that they:
“Came with no expectations. Blown away. Leaving with an uplifted spirit.”
The energy in the room was electric– the kind of energy that stays with you long after an event is over.
A HUGE thank you to Reginald Harris for bringing this group of poets together and for all of the poets who read with us: Steven Leyva, Lauren Russell, Reginald Dwayne Betts, Alan King, Reginald Harris, Brian Gilmore, Stewart Shaw, Kateema Lee, Teri Ellen Cross Davis, Alexa Patrick, Danez Smith, Hayes Davis, Abdul Ali, Derrick Weston Brown, and Jadi Z. Omowale. Note: Names are listed in order of how they appear, left to right, top to bottom, in the photo below. Abdul Ali, Derrick Weston Brown, and Jadi Z. Omowale are not pictured. |
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Meet CityLit’s Gladiators
CityLit Gladiators are part of a mentorship program, where emerging writers and professionals contribute their skills to CityLit events, outreach, and operations while gaining hands-on experience in producing unique events for Baltimore’s literary artists and running a small nonprofit.
Learn more about this program here. |
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Victoria Sung currently works as an International Student & Scholar Advisor at UMBC. At the CityLit Project, she designs graphics and promotional materials while helping to organize the many programs and events CityLit offers. Victoria is passionate about creating simple and accessible design solutions and aspires to be a UX/UI Designer in the future.
What is your favorite book?
A book that is close to my heart is The Alchemist.
View Victoria’s portfolio at her website: https://www.sungvictoria.com/ |
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Joseph Massa joined CityLit Project when he returned home to Baltimore after graduating from George Mason University in the spring of 2021. He holds a BFA in creative writing and is working to build his fiction writing portfolio. Joe supports CityLit in a multitude of ways including graphic design, website updates, copywriting, and hands-on volunteer work. Joe currently works full time as a Communications Specialist with Johns Hopkins Development & Alumni Relations.
What is your favorite book?
My favorite book is Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky, a narrative in poems that I frequently return to. Kaminsky’s book speaks to me mostly through how perfectly chosen each and every word is, reminding me that a powerful story can come in any package you can dream of as long as you are willing to put in the work.
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Haley Dick is a communications strategist and storyteller with proven abilities in writing, social media and event planning. She is passionate about self improvement, reading, and experiencing life through words and food. Everything she does is driven by her creative values of community and growth, which led her to join CityLit as a Gladiator in 2022. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and a minor in Professional Writing from the University of Maryland, College Park, and is currently back at UMD pursuing her Masters in Library and Information Science.
What draws you to literature?
I believe every person and place has a story to tell, we just have to be curious enough to find them. To me, that is what literature is all about—uncovering the hidden narratives, connecting with diverse perspectives, and finding meaning in the shared human experience.
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Camille Cruse-Marshall is a writer and creative explorer. By day, she is a Creative Pro for Apple, specializing in teaching, training, and inspiring others to explore technology. By night, she’s a writer and illustrator who uses her imagination while immersing herself in the backdrop of her stories to feed her creative process. It is here where storylines spring up. Her professional experience spans in-depth news, music video production, writing, and producing for radio and television. This dedication to her craft, fueled by her creative and free spirit, has set her on a path of writing stories of unbelievable occurrences within an authentic setting. Camille loves technology and the outdoors and is passionate about telling stories that weave history and culture with the natural world. She writes to inspire readers to stay curious and explore the interconnectivity we share with creatures and each other.
What draws you to literature?
When we can teach, enlighten, and inspire through storytelling it’s magical. Through storytelling we share experiences and this builds and strengthens community.
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Jadi Z. Omowale is a poet and fiction writer. She is the author of The Goddess in the Girl, a poetry collection. Her poem “Diagnosis-the Suga” was recently published in The Common Language Project: Ascent, 2024. Her debut novel, Soul Look Back in Wonder will be released in spring 2025.
What is your favorite book?
My favorite book for 2024 is The Reformatory by Tananarive Due. This award-winning novel follows 12 year old Robert who is railroaded into a six month sentence at Gracetown, an infamous reformatory in 1950s south Florida. It is both horrific and inciteful as it explores the trauma inflicted on the boys jailed there, while elevating the importance of family and community in this story of survival against the odds.
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Meet the Staff at CityLit Project
Lillian Jacobson, Executive Assistant to CityLit Project
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Lillian Jacobson (she/her) is an accomplished artist, administrator, and arts advocate with a BFA in painting from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has extensive experience in strategic initiatives, project management, and event planning in arts education and non-profit organizations, most recently the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund. Active in the arts community, she volunteers at events with Maryland Citizens for the Arts and serves on the Kennedy Center’s Community Advisory Board, supporting their Social Impact programs. A highlight of her career was leading the 2020 MD Department of Education’s initiative to create three student-designed “I Voted" stickers. She successfully advocated for budget funds to pay Maryland-based artists to serve as jurors and to purchase gift cards for art supplies for the winning student artists. Lillian’s passion lies in championing other creatives and she works to leverage her experience to advocate for the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.
You can follow her artistic journey on lillianjacobson.com or connect on Instagram @lillian_jacobson |
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Shannon J. Effinger, Grant Writer for CityLit Project
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Shannon J. Effinger (Shannon Ali) was hired as the Grant Writer for CityLit Project in December 2023. An experienced fundraiser, Shannon has successfully raised over $6 million for artists and nonprofits in NYC and abroad.
She has also been a freelance arts journalist and cultural critic for over a decade. Her work regularly appears in publications such as The Guardian UK, The Washington Post, The New York Times, W Magazine, Pitchfork, Jazziz, and NPR Music.
In 2020, Shannon made her film debut as a featured critic in the documentary UNIVERSE, the rediscovered orchestral suite by Wayne Shorter, written more than 50 years ago for Miles Davis and left unrecorded and largely untouched until it was revisited by Davis’ protégé, the late trumpeter Wallace Roney. That same year, UNIVERSE had its North American premiere at DOC NYC, the nation’s largest documentary festival.
She has penned album notes for over a dozen albums, including Meshell Ndegeocello’s No More Water (Blue Note Records), Yusef Lateef’s Atlantis Lullaby: The Avignon Concert, Angel Bat Dawid’s LIVE album, and Dorothy Ashby: With Strings Attached, 1957-1965. Released in June 2023 on New Land Records, this six-album vinyl box set has garnered praise from The New Yorker and The Wall Street Journal.
Visit Shannon’s website at: https://shannon-ali.media/ |
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Giving Tuesday Update: You Helped Us Exceed Our Goal!
We are thrilled to share the results of this year’s Giving Tuesday campaign! Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we raised $7,833.83 to support CityLit Project in 2025! |
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Here is a breakdown of the incredible impact:
- We received 31 individual donations
- We received donations from 8 unique states
- 58% of donations came from first-time donors
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| Your contributions to our 25 for 2025 campaign will fuel next year’s programming. Thank you for being a part of this success! |
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Recent Grant Support for CityLit Project
We are thrilled to announce that CityLit Project has been awarded grant funding from three incredible organizations!
A heartfelt thank you to:
- The Poetry Foundation – The Poetry Foundation is pleased to announce the 39 nonprofit organizations that received $1,000,000 in funding in our fall 2024 grant cycle. Selected from 233 grant applications, these organizations are committed to increasing access to poetry and supporting poets through publishing and providing public events and workshops for youth and adults. Click here to read more and view the list of grant recipients.
- Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program by Maryland Humanities – Championing the humanities across a state as diverse as Maryland requires many contributors and much collaboration. That’s where our Marilyn Hatza Memorial SHINE Grant Program comes in: Strengthening the Humanities Investment in Nonprofits for Equity. Click here to learn more and view the list of FY2025 grant recipients.
- William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund Grant – On December 5, 2024 the Baker Fund Board of Governors awarded a 10,000 conditional grant to CityLit Project, Inc. to design, build and launch a new website. We thank William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, creator of the Baker Artist Portfolios www.BakerArtist.org, for awarding us this grant!
We are so grateful to be recognized for our programming in this way. |
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From our Executive Director:
CityLit has had quite a year securing national funding, growing our board from six to 12 people, and growing our staff from one full-timer to two additional part-time professional creatives. In my years of managing literary nonprofits, the single factor that keeps me invested is the people. The remarkable creatives I serve, the generous art-minded folks who fund us, and the ones who work behind the scenes side by side with me making Lit happen. If I learned anything this year it has been to make it a habit to invest in whomever you deem your community. It’s well worth the choice.
“I really don’t think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don’t mind the failure but I can’t imagine that I’d forgive myself if I didn’t try.”
~ Nikki Giovanni – Rest in Power |
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Whatever you do, don’t keep this news to yourself, share it widely.
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Stay tuned for announcements about our upcoming events and initiatives. As always, your donations are welcomed and appreciated.
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Special Thanks to our generous supporters:
National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, Academy of American Poets, National Book Foundation, Council of Literary Magazines & Presses, Amazon Literary Partnership, Maryland Humanities, Maryland State Arts Council, Motor House, Baltimore National Heritage Area, Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, T. Rowe Price Foundation, Robert W. Deutsch Foundation, Creative Baltimore Fund, Baltimore Office for Promotion & the Arts, insight180, Scribente Maternum, William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, Maryland Humanities, and Individual donors
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CityLit Project is a nonprofit 501c (3) organization.
CityLit Project
120 W. North Ave. Suite 201 | Baltimore, MD 21201
410-271-8793 | in**@************ct.org |
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