WYPR & The Weekly Reader Live!
Marion Winik, with Jung Yun, Hannah V. Sawyerr, Eman Quotah
Carey Center
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21201
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The return of a live version of WYPR’s Weekly Reader for this year’s festival with national book critic and author Marion Winik, who celebrates the 30th anniversary edition and audio version of First Comes Love, interviews three novelists with celebrated releases in this hour-long segment. Jung Yun is the author of the novels All the World Can Hold, O Beautiful, and Shelter. Library Journal gave her latest novel a starred review: “Writing with grit and compassion, Yun unveils the heart of her characters and brings forth an engaging piece that looks into the realm of friendships, family, identity, and belonging.” Jung is an Associate Professor of English at George Washington University. Hannah V. Sawyerr is a poet and award-winning author. Her debut novel, All the Fighting Parts, was a 2024 Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, and her sophomore novel, Truth Is, is a 2025 National Book Award Finalist and a 2026 LA TIMES Book Prize Finalist. Eman Quotah is the author of the novels Bride of the Sea and her latest, The Night Is Not for You of which Jen Julian, author of Red Rabbit Ghost, shares, “Eman Quotah perfectly captures the dark heart of girlhood.” Marion Winik is an essayist, book reviewer, and professor of writing at the University of Baltimore. She hosts the NPR podcast The Weekly Reader. She was a commentator on All Things Considered for fifteen years.
Jung Yun is the author of All the World Can Hold, O Beautiful, and Shelter. Her novels have been long-listed for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize, selected as a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Award, and recognized as a New York Times Editors’ Choice. Her short fiction, essays, and book reviews have appeared in Tin House, The Massachusetts Review, The Indiana Review, The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Washington Post. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of English at George Washington University, serves on the board of directors at the PEN/Faulkner Foundation, and is a fiction juror for the Dayton Literary Peace Prize.
jungyun.com
Instagram:@jungyun71
Hannah V. Sawyerr was recognized as the Youth Poet Laureate of Baltimore in 2016. Her debut novel in verse, All the Fighting Parts, was a finalist for the William C. Morris Debut Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honoree, and a Kirkus Best Book of the Year. . Her sophomore novel in verse, Truth Is is a 2025 National Book Award Finalist for Young People’s Literature and a 2026 Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist. “Sawyerr combines fast-paced, unwavering verse poems with text messages, social media transcripts, and more in this stunning portrait of a teen in transition that earns all the snaps,” writes Publishers Weekly. Her spoken word has been featured on the BBC’s World Have Your Say program as well as the National Education Association’s “Do You Hear Us?” campaign. Her written word has been included in Essence, xoNecole, and gal-dem. Sawyerr holds a BA in English from Morgan State University and an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.
hannahsawyerr.com
Instagram:@hannsawyerr
Eman Quotah is the author of The Night Is Not for You and Bride of the Sea, winner of the Arab American Book Award for Fiction, of which Chicago Review of Books declares, “Intertwines the dissolution and reconstruction of a single family with the evolving histories of the United States and Saudi Arabia. Eman Quotah deftly spans decades, miles, and cultures—and ultimately tells more stories within her 312-page debut than some authors tell across their entire careers.” Eman’s writing has appeared in Kweli, The Markaz Review, Mizna, Literary Hub, and other publications. She’s been awarded writing fellowships from MacDowell and Hedgebrook and grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County. When she’s not writing fiction or essays, Eman is a communications consultant. She’s also the secretary of the board for RAWI, a community of Arab and SWANA (Southwest Asian and North African) writers. She lives with her family near Washington, D.C.
emanquotah.com
Instagram:@emanquotah
Marion Winik is the author of nine books, including The Big Book of the Dead and First Comes Love, celebrating its 30th anniversary edition and audiobook recorded by Marion herself. Newday calls this celebrated work, “Gritty, funny, moving, horrific, outrageous—and, above all, fearlessly honest…. ultimately a joyous story.” Her essays have been published in The New York Times Magazine, The Sun, and elsewhere; her column at BaltimoreFishbowl.com has been running since 2011. A professor at the University of Baltimore, she reviews books for The Washington Post, Oprah Daily, and People, among others, and hosts the NPR podcast The Weekly Reader. She was a commentator on All Things Considered for fifteen years. She is the recipient of the 2023 National Book Critics Circle Service Award.
marionwinik.com
X: @marionwinik
Instagram: @marionwinik
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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 withe schedule.
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