The announcement is TODAY! We are on the edge of our seats. We actually won't know the winner until the announcement later today at Busboys and Poets.

Two opportunities to see Safia Elhillo -- author of the acclaimed Bright Red Fruit -- for #FREE tomorrow on the campus of Howard Community College. 12:30 p.m. Monteabaro Hall & streamed via Vimeo (link below). 6:00 p.m. Monteabaro Hall All you need to know: www.howardcc.edu/discover/art...

Our new poet laureate, Arthur Sze. "Because every U.S. poet laureate designs a special focus for their term, Sze plans to explore the art of translation, with the goal of compiling an anthology of translated poems from various languages & time periods." www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

There's a book festival in Baltimore tomorrow. baltimorebookfest.com/full-stage-s...

New season of Wilde Readings launches Tuesday evening at Columbia's fantastic independent bookstore, Queen Takes Book (6955 Oakland Mills Rd E, Columbia, MD 21045). Featured readers and open mic. Starts at 7. We'd love to see you there.

Put down that book you are reading and jump into a stream.

Calling all local (Howard County, Md) artists. Our Arts Council will have STUDIO SPACES available in their new location. Read through for details. Submission deadline is Sept 15. www.hocoarts.org/rentals-and-...

Coming up this Monday, Columbia Town Center Rotary Club is hosting an event at Cured / 18th & 21st to raise funds for youth literacy related causes, helping support county kids through signature book & reading programs. More information and tickets through the link. patch.com/maryland/col...

Held annually in loving memory of HoCoPoLitSo’s co-founder, the 2025 Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Prize submission window is now open. hocopolitso.org/2025/08/08/t...

Mark the calendar. Reading & discussion w/SAFIA ELHILLO, author of Bright Red Fruit. #BookClubs "An unflinching, honest novel in verse about a teenager's journey into the slam poetry scene & the dangerous new relationship that could threaten all her dreams." Sept 18 - two readings - 12:30 & 6:30.

Coming up this weekend in Bowie, Maryland: www.thewritewomenbookfest.org#/

Tonight at 7 p.m. in the Residence at Vantage Point auditorium. 5400 Vantage Point Road, Columbia, Md.

Are you or is anyone you know the next Youth Poet Laureate of Howard County? Submission window now closes on May 9th. Apply now: www.hocoarts.org/grant/youth-...

Tomorrow evening we are THRILLED to host Denice Frohman at Howard Community College in Columbia, Md, for the Blackbird Poetry Festival. Free and open to the public.

The brilliant @topefolarin.bsky.social visits The Residences at Vantage Point on Tuesday, April 22nd, 7pm. #FREE.

The Columbia Festival of the Arts returns June 20-22. More on this years music lineup at columbiafestival.org

Tuesday, father & son duo share stories dug up exploring #HowardCountyMd as they talk through the experience of The Hidden History of Howard County at #DowntownColumbiaMd's Vantage Point Residences. April 8th - 7 pm. FREE - RSVP here: www.vantagepointresidences.org/arts patch.com/maryland/col...

#HowardCountyMd students: DEADLINE AHEAD. Later this month, we need your submissions for consideration to become this year's Youth Poet Laureate for the county. All you need to know and submission form: www.hocoarts.org/grant/youth-... #SpreadTheWord #HoCoArts

Happy first anniversary to Queen Takes Book. If you are in Columbia, Md. this Saturday, drop in on their celebration. Learn more about his event and one of our great partners (they host the Wilde Readings featured reader and open mic series) here: www.queentakesbook.com

Coming up next week on the campus of Howard Community College, @stevenleyva.bsky.social and @janedelury.bsky.social. 2 brand new books, 2 brill writers. Tuesday, April 8, 2025 - 4 p.m. Monteabaro Recital Hall

Guess who's coming to Wilde Readings for National Poetry Month? It's Jennifer Ciattei and Nishi Chawla! I'm excited to be hosting this event at Queen Takes Book in Columbia, MD. April 8th, 7:00 p.m. . There will be an open mic so bring a short piece to read. See you then!

Coilin Parsons & Sean Hewitt offered a preview of tomorrow's Irish Evening while taping The Wring Life. Hewitt read his poetry, they evoked ghosts of Gerard Manley Hopkins, Edna O'Brien, & Thomas Hardy, & we got a taste of Hewitt's soon-to-be released novel, Open Heaven. HoCoPoLitSo.org for tickets.

Introduce yourself to this year's Irish Evening writer, Seán Hewitt. In this brief video, he talks about being a poet. HoCoPoLitSo's Annual Irish Evening is this Saturday, February 15 at HCC in Columbia, Md. For tickets, visit: ci.ovationtix.com/32275/produc... youtu.be/EuRw0oraW34?...

Today is the day HoCoPoLitSo marks 50 years! What an achievement. A moment to pause and reflect, but how we are looking forward to continuing our work for the community and the world. Read more in the link. Poets Carolyn Kizer and Lucille Clifton on Nov. 19, 1974. patch.com/maryland/col...

"Nine of the Top 10 bestsellers in Korea’s largest bookstore chain are works by Han with her win being honoured by politicians, authors, readers and the entire country" www.theguardian.com/books/2024/o...

(Extended) DEADLINE IMMINENT. This year's Ellen Conroy Poetry Contest submission window closes October 15th. Info and submission link: hocopolitso.org/2024/08/02/t...

IN THE NEWS: "Han is the first South Korean author and 18th woman to win the prize. Her “empathy for vulnerable, often female, lives is palpable, and reinforced by her metaphorically charged prose,” said Anders Olsson, chair of the Nobel committee. www.theguardian.com/books/2024/o...

It's #BaltimoreBookFestival2024 weekend. Here's the scoop (with plenty links to the Festival website for even more details) from the The Baltimore Banner: www.thebaltimorebanner.com/culture/book...

Here's a question: what book would you take off a Banned Books List first and have a friend read? Let us know in the comments. So-so-so many choices. Here a list of the top 10 from 2023: www.ala.org/bbooks/frequ... #bannedbooksweek2024 #Freedomtoread #readfreely

Rainy Wednesday during #BannedBooksWeek2024? HoCoPoLitSo has just the umbrella for it. #ReadFreely #FreedomtoRead

The @baltimoresun on the upcoming inaugural Howard County Youth Poet Laureate announcement: www.baltimoresun.com/2024/09/17/i... Monday, September 23, from 4:30 to 6 (announcement at about 5) at DowntownColumbiaMd's Busboys and Poets. Free to attend with RSVP: www.eventbrite.com/e/youth-poet...

"Out of consideration for the busyness at the start of the academic year among many writers, the application deadline for the 2024 Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Prize has been extended to Oct. 15, 11:59 p.m. We hope that you will join us in sharing your words." hocopolitso.org/2024/09/15/2...

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #2,868,002! OK, that is cool.

If you have the opportunity, do join us. In partnership with the Howard County Government, and our county Arts Council, we will be announcing the new Youth Poet Laureate on Sept. 23, 4:30 pm at Busboys & Poets in Columbia. Free registration required.

Big day tomorrow, and we are not talking about the presidential debate -- you can catch that later -- we are talking about the first Wilde Readings of the season, LIVE, in person, and absolutely not to be missed. - Featured Readers: Austin S. Camacho & Grace Cavalieri

Who needs reminding? The submission window for this year's Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Contest is open until September 15. hocopolitso.org/2024/08/02/t...

It's that time of year again. The window for submissions to this year's Ellen Conroy Kennedy Poetry Prize is open! Details and submission link here: hocopolitso.org/the-ellen-co...

New issue launch reading for Little Patuxent Review is tomorrow, Sunday, June 23, 3 p.m. at The Carriage House.

Two great readings this Thursday (at the same time, ugh), one in Baltimore and one in Columbia. The Ottobar hosts the launch of Fruitcake, A Queer Reading Series in Baltimore, and in Columbia, the Non-Profit Collective hosts this year's Dragonfly reading from Hopeworks. Choices, choices.

Who needs reminding -- it is the last Wilde Readings of the season. Online at 7. Details and link info here: www.facebook.com/events/61356...

Join us online tomorrow (7 pm June 11) for the season finale Wilde Readings. Featured writers are Kathy MacMillan and Sam Schmidt (pictured bottom row of image). All the details, including Zoom link here: www.facebook.com/events/61356...

Join us at tomorrow's Books In Bloom Festival for Poetry +  (4 pm Prose Pavilion), a reading by new HoCo Poetry Laureate, HPSS Writer-in-Residence Hayes Davis, and regional poet E. Ethelbert Miller. Details (directions) & full day schedule: merriweatherdistrict.com/books-in-blo...

Nate Marshall reading for the Blackbird Poetry Festival’s afternoon Sunbird Reading.

The Blackbird Poetry Festival gets underway with a writing workshop, featuring Teri Ellen Cross Davis and persona and memory poems at Howard Community College.

This looks fantastic: E. Ethelbert Miller in conversation with Percival Everett for the Center for Black Lit., Medgar Evers College, CUNY. ONLINE EVENT - May 1 - 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. www.eventbrite.com/e/percival-e...

One week from today, it's the Blackbird Poetry Festival, featuring Nate Marshall. Nightbird reading is #Free, but you need to RSVP - ci.ovationtix.com/32275/produc... Full schedule and details: www.howardcc.edu/programs-cou...

August Wilson’s American Century Cycle to be performed over three years on #BaltimoreMd stages in chronological order. www.thebaltimorebanner.com/culture/thea...

A brand new episode of The Writing Life is up on YouTube, featuring novelist Darragh McKeon ("All That is Solid Melts into Air" and "Remembrance Sunday") who visited HoCoPoLitSo for the 46th annual Evening of Irish Music and Poetry on Feb. 3, 2024. youtu.be/GsMekRspBvs?...