Newburgh Literary Fest Was a Profoundly Fun Weekend

The first-ever Newburgh Literary Festival brought some great writers, artists and poets together: Folks of national fame like Mitchell Jackson, Gretchen Primack, Poet Gold, Danielle Trussoni, Edwin Torres, Crystal Kim, Ruth Danon and more, plus a bunch of us local writers to mingle with, and learn from, both these superstars and one another.

The artwork at Ann Street Gallery, curated perfectly, provided an illuminating accompaniment to all the joyful, thought-provoking and uplifting words. The food, catered by Newburgh’s unique Shelter House Cafe, was yummy, nourishing and plentiful. Even the goodie-bags, provided by Thornwillow Press, were outstanding. How delightful to receive a gorgeous blank journal and several keepsake-quality letterpress-printed poems as only Thornwillow can create! I was blown away by all of it.

WHAT a good time! Let’s do it again … and again … and again.

Here’s to everyone involved in the 2019 Newburgh Literary Fest at Safe Harbors of the Hudson!

DO NOT MISS the NEWBURGH LITERARY FESTIVAL!

 The Newburgh Literary Festival begins Friday, Oct. 18 with the Spring Street Reading Series, featuring author Mitchell Jackson, winner of the Whiting Award and the PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction; and poet Gretchen Primack, whose work has appeared in The Paris Review, Prairie Schooner, Ploughshares, The Antioch Review and many other poetry journals. This event will be at the Atlas Industries Building, 11 Spring St. in Newburgh. There will be a 6:30pm reception, with readings starting at 7. It’s FREE, though donations will be gladly accepted!

Then, Safe Harbors of the Hudson will host the Main Event on Saturday, Oct. 19, with a program of readings, interviews, podcasts, film clips and Q&A with nationally recognized authors and poets. Among them will be Maria Dahvana Headley, creator of the celebrated, topical adaptation of Beowulf, The Mere Wife; Molly Ringwald, actor and author of the critically acclaimed story collection When it Happens to You; Bettina “Poet Gold” Wilkerson, Dutchess County poet laureate; Edwin Torres of Nuyorican Poets Café; and award-winning novelists Panio Gianopoulos, Danielle Trussoni, Crystal Hana Kim, and Elizabeth (Betsy) Crane. This will all be held at the Safe Harbors Lobby at the Ritz, 107 Broadway, Newburgh, from 2pm-6pm. Topping off the festival, there will be a 6pm-8pm Local Authors Fair and Meet-and-Greet Cocktail Reception.

For some reason, they are letting me participate in this, so I’ll be there Saturday evening alongside the luminaries to meet you and to sell SIGNED copies of my new novel, “Louey Levy’s Perfect Pitch.” Tickets to this full day’s events are available online at http://bit.ly/2oDL9ld until noon on Friday and at the door on Saturday. (Students can pay just $10 at the door with valid ID.)

Sunday, Oct. 20 will feature two writing workshops, How to Tell the Story of Your Life, led by novelist and memoirist Danielle Trussoni at the Ann Street Gallery, 104 Ann St., from 10am to noon; and Surprise Yourself; Surprise Your Reader, with poet Ruth Danon at Atlas Studios Gallery, 11 Spring St., 1pm-3pm. Tickets are $25 per person, per workshop, at http://bit.ly/2oDL9ld. Seats are limited, so get your tickets soon!

And finally, as if that weren’t cool enough, on Friday and Saturday, the Ann Street Gallery will be presenting TEXT, a group exhibit of text-based art which has been curated in conjunction with the Literary Festival. Check out the art either day, for FREE!

Yeah, you can get a SIGNED copy of my new novel at the Newburgh Literary Fest this Saturday night, Oct. 19!

Asa Has Good Taste in Literature

One of our great Newburghers, my little friend Asa, clearly has good taste in literature, as can be seen in this photo taken Sept. 29 at my Book Signing and Publication Party on Liberty Street. I have no doubt that he has finished it already and is busy reviewing it for the New York Review of Books. Get your copy here: https://amzn.to/31O2g28 or here: http://bit.ly/2MZbeXe or, better yet: at 6 pm on Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Newburgh Literary Festival at Safe Harbors, Broadway and Liberty Street, for just $15 (cash or check). I’ll sign it for you! Hope to see you there.

Asa is NOT waiting for the movie version.