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A Lit Summer Night: Story Slam is Literary Cleveland's fun, moving fundraiser party that brings together the creative community for a memorable night to help increase equitable access to writing and publishing opportunities in Cleveland.
Remarkable local writers will share true, personal stories about beauty, ascension, overcoming adversity, and the transformative power of literature. The program, hosted by Ken Schneck with an opening poem by Damien McClendon and music by Moises Borges, will highlight the transformative power of literature and storytelling and help raise funds to support Literary Cleveland's free Inkubator Conference, yearlong writing residency, community programs, and scholarships for writers.
MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib, 2023 Cleveland Arts Prize winner Stephanie Ginese, and Literary Cleveland instructor and author Annmarie Kelly will share true, personal stories that explore the range and depth of the human experience.
Mingle with fellow supporters of the arts for a fun night at Ariel International Center. Tickets include parking, appetizers, drink tickets, and more.
When you attend this celebration you help provide literary arts programming for our community. Free community workshops, neighborhood writing programs, and events like the upcoming tenth annual Inkubator Conference are only possible with your support.
Join us and your donation will help launch a local writer on their own adventure.
Registration deadline: May 21, 2025
Location: A Lit Summer Night takes place Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Ariel International Center (1163 E 40th St, Cleveland, OH 44114).
Parking: Parking is included for free with your ticket in the lot surrounding the building.
Food and drink: Light appetizers will be served and each attendee will receive two drink tickets.
Auction: Win local and literary items and baskets at our silent auction (available both online and in-person).
Dress: Creative Cocktail Attire—semi-formal dresses and jackets with personal style and creativity encouraged (bonus points for aviation themed attire)!
Individual Tickets: $125 individual tickets are available for general seating.
Table Tickets: Save by purchasing a half-table (4 tickets) for $450 or a full table (8 tickets) for $850. You can share tickets with friends or donate them to a special group. Either way you help support Literary Cleveland and local writers.
This year's story slam will focus on the theme "rise always with wonder" taken from the writing of Akron native Rita Dove.
by Rita Dove
No bright toy
this world we’ve left you.
Even the wrapping
is torn, the ribbons
grease-flecked and askew.
Still, it’s all we have.
Wait a moment before
you pick it up. Study
its scratches, how it
shines in places. Now
love what you touch,
and you will touch wisely.
May the world, in your hands,
brighten with use. May you
sleep in sweet breath and
rise always in wonder
to mountain and forest,
green gaze and silk cheek—
dear Sophie,
littlest phoenix.
Gold sponsor: USPack
Silver sponsor: Mac's Backs Books
Bronze sponsors: Chautauqua Institution, Debbie George State Farm, Each & Every, Larchmere Porchfest, Learned Owl Book Store, Loganberry Books, Margaret W. Wong & Associates, Ready Set Coffee, Rosenberg Advertising, and The Rowfant Club
A Lit Summer Night: Story Slam is Literary Cleveland's fun, moving fundraiser party that brings together the creative community for a memorable night to help increase equitable access to writing and publishing opportunities in Cleveland.
Remarkable local writers will share true, personal stories about beauty, ascension, overcoming adversity, and the transformative power of literature. The program, hosted by Ken Schneck with an opening poem by Damien McClendon and music by Moises Borges, will highlight the transformative power of literature and storytelling and help raise funds to support Literary Cleveland's free Inkubator Conference, yearlong writing residency, community programs, and scholarships for writers.
MacArthur Fellow Hanif Abdurraqib, 2023 Cleveland Arts Prize winner Stephanie Ginese, and Literary Cleveland instructor and author Annmarie Kelly will share true, personal stories that explore the range and depth of the human experience.
Mingle with fellow supporters of the arts for a fun night at Ariel International Center. Tickets include parking, appetizers, drink tickets, and more.
When you attend this celebration you help provide literary arts programming for our community. Free community workshops, neighborhood writing programs, and events like the upcoming tenth annual Inkubator Conference are only possible with your support.
Join us and your donation will help launch a local writer on their own adventure.
Registration deadline: May 21, 2025
Location: A Lit Summer Night takes place Thursday, June 5 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Ariel International Center (1163 E 40th St, Cleveland, OH 44114).
Parking: Parking is included for free with your ticket in the lot surrounding the building.
Food and drink: Light appetizers will be served and each attendee will receive two drink tickets.
Auction: Win local and literary items and baskets at our silent auction (available both online and in-person).
Dress: Creative Cocktail Attire—semi-formal dresses and jackets with personal style and creativity encouraged (bonus points for aviation themed attire)!
Individual Tickets: $125 individual tickets are available for general seating.
Table Tickets: Save by purchasing a half-table (4 tickets) for $450 or a full table (8 tickets) for $850. You can share tickets with friends or donate them to a special group. Either way you help support Literary Cleveland and local writers.
This year's story slam will focus on the theme "rise always with wonder" taken from the writing of Akron native Rita Dove.
by Rita Dove
No bright toy
this world we’ve left you.
Even the wrapping
is torn, the ribbons
grease-flecked and askew.
Still, it’s all we have.
Wait a moment before
you pick it up. Study
its scratches, how it
shines in places. Now
love what you touch,
and you will touch wisely.
May the world, in your hands,
brighten with use. May you
sleep in sweet breath and
rise always in wonder
to mountain and forest,
green gaze and silk cheek—
dear Sophie,
littlest phoenix.
Gold sponsor: USPack
Silver sponsor: Mac's Backs Books
Bronze sponsors: Chautauqua Institution, Debbie George State Farm, Each & Every, Larchmere Porchfest, Learned Owl Book Store, Loganberry Books, Margaret W. Wong & Associates, Ready Set Coffee, Rosenberg Advertising, and The Rowfant Club
Hanif Abdurraqib is a poet, essayist, and cultural critic from Columbus, Ohio and the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “Genius” grant. His books include They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us, Go Ahead In The Rain: Notes To A Tribe Called Quest, A Fortune For Your Disaster, A Little Devil In America, and There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension. Hanif is a graduate of Beechcroft High School.
Stephanie Ginese is an author and stand-up comedian from South Lorain, Ohio. Her debut collection of poetry, Unto Dogs, was released in July of 2022 on Grieveland. She was a 2023 Cleveland Arts Prize recipient and a 2024 Creative Impact Fund awardee. Currently, she lives in Cleveland with her two children. She can be found at www.sginese.com or on Sundays at Dunlap’s Corner Bar where she co-hosts the Con Tú Variety Show.
Annmarie Kelly is the author of Here Be Dragons, a memoir about the wonderful misery of raising kids with someone you love. She is also the host of Wild Precious Life, a literary podcast about making the most of the time we have. Her writing has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, in the New York Observer, Today Parenting, Black Fork, Anodyne, and Gordon Square Review. She lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
Damien McClendon is an award-winning poet from Youngstown, OH. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing and Literary Translation from Columbia University, and his work has been published in Indiana Review and elsewhere. From 2018-2020, he was the Poet Laureate of Cleveland Heights, and he currently lives in the Cleveland area working on a full-length book of poems.
Dr. Ken Schneck is the editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio’s only LGBTQ+ newsroom. For this work, he was honored with Sarah Pettit Award for National LGBTQ+ Journalist of the Year.
