The gavel comes down on our silent auction at 11:45pm on Friday, 10/3. Don't miss your chance to get a great deal on writing-related services from our top-notch creative writing faculty. New items added this week! givebutter.com/c/charlottel...

The book bans that have accumulated in the past four years are unprecedented and undeniable. Our new report looks back at the 2024-2025 school year — the 4th school year in the contemporary campaign to ban books — to highlight the continued attacks on books, stories, identities, and histories.

Psst ... Charlotte Lit is having a Silent Auction! Our generous and talented faculty members are contributing services, and the proceeds all go toward the completion of our new studio space. You don't have to live in Charlotte to take advantage of some of these deals! givebutter.com/c/charlottel...

WHAT'S BETTER THAN @therumpus.net OPENING FOR ESSAY SUBMISSIONS??? Well, a few things, tbh, but still.... #RumpusEssays therumpus.submittable.com/submit

Get some writing done this fall! Luke Whisnant is teaching a generative, short-form prose class via Zoom 9/30–10/28. Students will look at the history of short-form prose and write flashes from carefully crafted prompts. Info: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/600/prose... #WritingCommunity

We've got a stellar lineup of instructors for our Fall 2025 classes! charlottelit.org/classes

"The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer." —Zadie Smith

Check out the update on construction of our new studio in Uptown Charlotte: mailchi.mp/charlottelit...

Just two weeks until our Fall 2025 class schedule goes live! We can't wait to share it with you. In the meantime, we've opened two of our multi-week classes for early registration—essay writing, with Rebecca McClanahan; and short-form (flash) prose with Luke Whisnant. charlottelit.org/classes/

The world is not so funny right now, but on our blog today author Luke Whisnant's wry humor will make you smile: charlottelit.org/blog/spotlig...

"If you’ve been watching or engaged, nothing is surprising. That doesn’t mean it isn’t infuriating, disgusting, or not in need to pushback." A look at book censorship news of the past couple of months, and the alarming (and unsurprising) patterns it reveals. bookriot.com/12-book-cens...

Did you know Charlotte Lit has a store on Bookshop? You can meet all your summer reading needs with one stop! We're featuring books from Charlotte Lit Press as well as titles by our teaching faculty and by graduates from our Authors Lab program. Check it out: bookshop.org/shop/charlot...

Some of us at Lit are in revision mode this summer. If you are, too — or the next time you find yourself revising — here's a wise thought from author Richard Bausch (as seen in LitHub, 5/20/25).

Our new studio is in the de-construction phase.

Our craft classes are coming to an end for the summer, but our FREE weekly writing community goes on and on! Pen to Paper meets weekly on Zoom, with a brief lesson and prompt, plus time for writing and sharing. Come join us and get some writing done! Register: www.charlottelit.org/pen-to-paper/

Happy publication day to Lola Haskins' fifteenth poetry collection — now available from Charlotte Lit Press: www.charlottelit.org/press/like-z...

Here's one of many bits of writing wisdom offered by poet Tyree Daye when he appeared at our Poetry Nightclub event last Friday!

We had a terrific time at Poetry Nightclub on Friday at Independent Picture House — our featured poet was Tyree Daye and special guest Olivia Dorsey Peacock. What a great venue and such powerful poetry about Black historical memory.

Very helpful information for writers who struggle when they have to read their own work aloud to an audience.

We're happy to announce that GoodLit Poetry Fellow Olivia Dorsey Peacock has joined the program for Poetry Nightclub on 4/25! She's opening for award-winning poet Tyree Daye, then joining him for a conversation and audience Q&A. Tickets: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/501/poetr...

#NationalLibraryWeek #LiteracyMatters

It's officially #TakeActionForLibraries Day! To celebrate and advocate for libraries and library funding, we want every library lover to make their voice heard today. Head to ala.org/showup to take action by calling or emailing Congress, writing a letter to your local newspaper, and more!

If you believe that: 1) Reading is critical to our democracy. 2) Books help us understand complex issues. 3) Parents shouldn’t make decisions for other parents’ children. 4) Youth deserve to see themselves in books. Join the campaign to #UniteAgainstBookBans: uniteagainstbookbans.org/take-action/

I am so glad that @literaryhub.bsky.social exists for the book industry and so grateful for the support they’ve given to me personally. Ten years is a century in digital time. lithub.com/happy-birthd...

It's National Library Week, and today is Right to Read Day! Attacks on libraries take many forms: book bans, threats to programs and funding, laws that target library workers and educators. Contact your representatives by phone or email and ask them to protect federal library funding!

If you're not registered for Charlotte Lit classes, you're missing the most fun you can have while also learning! Jodi Helmer made this observation during her recent class, "Build Your Freelance Writing Business." Why have #fomo? See what else we're offering: www.charlottelit.org/classes/

Learn to write an American sonnet — with no fixed rhyme scheme or specific meter, poets are free to innovate or impose their own constraints. Info and registration: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/463/epiph...

Excited to share the Spring 2025 of our online journal, Litmosphere, with beautiful artwork by @abelmont.bsky.social and fiction, poetry, CNF, and flash by so many talented writers. Check it out! litmosphere.charlottelit.org/issues/2025s...

Wondering how to "break up" with your essay? In this online class, you'll learn techniques for ending your essays without tying them up with a neat red bow. Info: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/457/lets-...

Are you nervous to write love poetry because you think it’s going to sound cheesy and sentimental? In this class we’ll discuss and practice a range of approaches to the love poem—or the poem that talks about love. @chenchenwrites.bsky.social Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/455/the-c...

Only 3 seats left! If you've wondered why particular fairy tales persist in our culture, enchanting young and old alike, join mythologist and Charlotte Lit cofounder Kathie Collins for an online class that journeys into these magical realms. Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/436/four-...

Let memoirist extraordinaire Judy Goldman teach you how to balance scene-setting and summary — both crucial in making your memoir or essays more publishable. Open to both experienced and new writers. Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/443/lets-...

Writing so slow this week that I may as well just shove my novel in a crock pot and go for a walk.

Our office is now in uptown Charlotte, which allows for a leisurely lunchtime stroll on a beautiful day. Some powerful messages in the public art in front of the ImaginOn: The Joe & Joan Martin Center.

Snow and sleet are predicted for Charlotte tomorrow, so we've moved Michael Sadoff's class online. If you've already registered, you'll get a Zoom link. Seats are still available, so check it out! Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/471/crack...

Have you ever wondered why particular fairy tales persist in our culture, enchanting young and old alike? Join mythologist Kathie Collins for a month-long journey into these magical realms. Online class starts 3/5. Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/436/four-...

How North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green uses poetry to memorialize and remember history https://buff.ly/3EqZbwY

Charlotte Lit, GoodYear Arts, West Trade Review, & Charlotte Poet Laureate Jay Ward are proud to announce that Olivia Dorsey Peacock has been awarded the 2025 Charlotte GoodLit Poetry Fellowship. The other finalists were Jordan Bailey and Fola Onifade. Read more: www.charlottelit.org/goodlitfello...

Between the weather and the news, we all deserve to have some fun! Put on your smarty pants and join Charlotte Lit on February 5 for an evening of literary trivia games. There will be prizes! Free, but please register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/515/trivi...

Still a few seats left for this online class!

What a deal! Register for this online class on writing brief fiction, and you'll get a free copy of "What Dwells Between the Lines: Fifty-Three 53-Word Story Contest Winners," edited by Kevin Morgan Watson et al—a $15 value! Just 5 seats left. charlottelit.configio.com/pd/495/what-...

Writers: How often should you post on social? Do you really need a newsletter? If one of your 2025 resolutions is to figure out what you can do in the virtual world to support your writing, let @paulreali.bsky.social help you sort it out! Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/497/livin...

Only 5 seats left! Want to take your fiction to the next level while writing a short story (or novel chapters) in five weeks? Treat yourself to this class with @paulamartinac.bsky.social. Register: charlottelit.configio.com/pd/434/ficti...

We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words. —Ursula K. Le Guin

Dreaming about publishing your book? Kathy Izard helps you sort through the options of traditional vs. hybrid vs. self-publishing. Treat yourself to this class! charlottelit.configio.com/pd/496/book-...

After years of searching, Charlotte Lit has found its permanent home! mailchi.mp/charlottelit...

Now available from Charlotte Lit Press: the debut chapbook from Vivian Bikulege! www.charlottelit.org/press/chapbo...

Paul Celan said that the poem was no different from a handshake... The handshake is our decided ritual of both asserting (I am here) and handing over (here) a self to another. Hence the poem is that—Here. I am here. —Claudia Rankine, from Don't Let Me Be Lonely

Our Winter-Spring 2025 faculty recommend some of their favorite books — for your reading and/or gifting pleasure! Check it out! www.charlottelit.org/blog/what-we... #WritingCommunity #BookSky 💙📚

Are you the asshole if you just don’t feel like reading anymore? @kristenarnett.bsky.social answers this and your other awkward literary questions.