Updated 3/26/22

There are many great literary events around Indiana. Looking for something to do?  Below are just a few ideas.

Many events are virtual. Please confirm with the venue for scheduled events listed here.

To be featured in our “Literary Events Around Indiana” monthly events blog, email the details to mail@indianawriters.org.

Indiana High School Students to Participate in Poetry Out Loud State Finals 

The Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) announced today that students representing fourteen high schools from around the state will compete in the Indiana Poetry Out Loud State Finals. The Poetry Out Loud State Finals will occur on Saturday, March 4th at 1:30PM ET at the Indiana Government Center Conference Center.

Since 2005, the National Endowment for the Arts, Poetry Foundation, and Indiana Arts Commission have worked with Indiana schools, teachers, and organizations to bring students a unique way to learn and love poetry. Through Poetry Out Loud, students read, memorize, and recite classic and contemporary poems.  

The State Champion receives a $200 cash prize and the Champion’s school receives a $500 stipend to purchase poetry books. Each student winner receives a handmade trophy created by textile artist Emily Bennett of Terre Haute, IN. The State Champion will also represent Indiana at the Poetry Out Loud National Finals, where the National Champion will be awarded $20,000. 

Midwest Writers Workshop presents “Getting Published Masterclass” Online Seminar with Jane Friedman

IndyReads Celebrates STEM with Nyla Nova

Join us as we celebrate STEM during Women’s History Month! Nyla Nova and her STEMsational Mother Nakeisha will read her “Who is Nyla Nova?” children’s book and will demonstrate some great STEM activities and experiments!

Books will be for Sale!

The book tells the story of Nyla Nova who learned that she is a “STEM Superhero” with the ability to solve mysteries using her STEMpowers. Her mother, the “STEMsational Queen” has passed her STEMpowers down to her youngest child. Our mission is to encourage girls to believe in themselves and to develop confidence and skills in the areas of STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.

I hope the publication of “Who Is Nyla Nova? The STEMsation” will spark interest in STEM plus show the fashionable side of the ladies of STEM, and that it will light up little girls’ imaginations on all the possibilities that await them. We are trying to increase the number of women of color in STEM by inspiring girls at a young age.

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This event is Pay What You Can

Poetry Matters with Lisa Kwon

Butler Visiting Writers Series: Dionne Irving

MARCH 14, 2023 @ 7:30PM, Schrott Center for the Arts

Dionne Irving is originally from Toronto, Ontario. Her newly published short story collection The Islands (Catapult Books) shares powerful stories that explore the legacy of colonialism, and issues of race, immigration, sexual discrimination, and class in the lives of Jamaican women across London, Panama, France, Jamaica, Florida and more. Set in locations and times ranging from 1950s London to 1960s Panama to modern-day New Jersey, Irving reveals the intricacies of immigration and assimilation in this debut, establishing a new and unforgettable voice in Caribbean-American literature.

Her novel Quint is available from 7.13 Books. Irving’s work has appeared in Story, Boulevard, LitHub, Missouri Review, and New Delta Review, among other journals and magazines.

Irving earned her Ph.D. in creative writing from Georgia State University. She has also received fellowships from the Voices of Our Nation Arts Foundation and Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She teaches in the Creative Writing Program and the Initiative on Race and Resilience at the University of Notre Dame.

THIS PERFORMANCE IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, NO TICKET IS REQUIRED.

Butler Visiting Writers Series: Natalie Lima

Natalie Lima is a Cuban-Puerto Rican writer, raised in Las Vegas, NV and Hialeah, FL. She is a first-generation college graduate of Northwestern University and a graduate of the MFA program in creative nonfiction writing at the University of Arizona. Her essays and fiction have been published or are forthcoming in Longreads, Guernica, Brevity, The Offing, Catapult, Sex and the Single Woman (Harper Perennial, 2022), Body Language (Catapult, 2022), and elsewhere. Lima’s writing has been honored in Best Small Fictions (2020), and noted twice in Best American Essays (2019 and 2020). Her work has received support from PEN America Emerging Voices, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, Tin House, the VONA/Voices Workshop, the Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing, the Mellon Foundation, and the Hedgebrook Writers’ Residency. In fall of 2022, Lima joined the creative writing faculty at Butler University as Assistant Professor in the Department of English. She is currently working on a memoir and an essay collection.

Lima will take the stage on Wednesday, March 22 @ 7:30PM at Butler University’s Shelton Auditorium, South Campus, for a reading of her work and audience Q&A.

The event and on-site parking are free to the public, with no tickets required. Visit our website for more information.

Speed City Sisters in Crime March Guest: Barbara Shoup

Moment-Framing Workshop & Reading with Memoirist Tom Montgomery

Tue, March 28, 2023, 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM

Schwitzer Student Center 1400 Campus Drive Indianapolis, IN 46227

Register herehttps://www.indianawriters.org/product/moment-framing-workshop-reading/

This introductory workshop with author Tom Montgomery Fate, who taught creative writing and literature courses for more than 30 years at College of Dupage, will re-mind writers of the raw power of their language/lives, by exploring the art of moment-framing. We will work to carefully frame a few charged moments/images from our lives and craft them into poems, stories, or essays.

Brightlane Learning Book Club Hosted by the IDEA Committee

Join our book club as we come together, learn, and have candid conversations about poverty and systemic issues in America.

About this Event: Invisible Child: Poverty, Survival & Hope in an American City by Andrea Elliott follows eight dramatic years in the life of Dasani, a girl whose imagination is as soaring as the skyscrapers near her Brooklyn shelter.

Book Club Meeting Dates: Join the IDEA (Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Awareness) Committee on the first Tuesday of every month starting in February as we discuss this Pulitzer Prize Winner nonfiction book and engage in larger conversations surrounding poverty and systemic issues in America. Each meeting will correspond with a section of the book.

• Tues, Feb 7 – Part 1
• Tues, March 7 – Part 2
• Tues, April 4 – Part 3
• Tues, June 6 – Part 4
• Tues, July 11 – Part 5
• Tues, August 1 – Part 6
• Tues, September 12 – Part 7

Meetings will be from 6:30-7:30 pm at the Brightlane Learning office at 2955 N Meridian Street Ste 250, Indianapolis, IN 46208. Light refreshments will be served. This book club is free and open to anyone.

In-person attendance is highly encouraged. However, there will be a virtual Zoom option for those who are unable to make it to our office space.

Please note: your attendance is welcomed even if you have not yet read the corresponding section of the book we will be discussing or were unable to attend a previous meeting.

Poetry Marathon at Morgenstern Books

Gal’s Guide Anthology Reading — IndyReads

Author Fair at the Hamilton East Public Library–Come see us!

VOCAB (Monthly)

Hosted by Cory Ewing & Januarie York with sounds by DJ Cleopatra

Door 8pm, Show 9pm General Admission *$10 at the door / advance tickets here

White Rabbit Cabaret, 1116 Prospect Street, Indianapolis, United States

Spoken Word ELEVATED: Black Excellence

Rhythm & Poetry Open Mic at PHIRI Art Gallery (Weekly)

Come Experience the Ultimate Vibe with LIVE performances by some of your favorite artists! RHYTHM & POETRY THURSDAYS is also an awesome way to network with like-minded creatives and business professionals from around the city, so be ready to connect with other amazing individuals!

DO0RS OPEN AT 7PM***LIVE PERFORMANCES AT 8:00PM

**ALL ATTENDEES WILL RECEIVE:

* Discounts on Photoshoots*

*Discounts on venue rentals

* Discounts on Upcoming Events at Phiri

* Discounts on all services at PHIRI

INFO 404.759.0530 ** 120 East Market Street, Indianapolis

An Evening with the Authors (Monthly)

Every first Thursday of the month

*Fake Authors. Fake Books. Real Funny.

Where literary satire meets sketch comedy.

Comedians take the stage posing as accomplished authors reading from their most recent works.

Featuring: Sam Griswold, Pauline Shypula, Jonathan Pfendler, Stephen Vincent Giles, Gwen Sunkel, Eric Sablan, Mariah Davison and guests

White Rabbit Cabaret 1116 Prospect Street Indianapolis, IN 46203

Tea’s the Artist Youth Open Mic Night (Monthly)

Thurs Dec 16 (every third Friday)

Our 3rd Friday is BACCCKKKKK!!! You won’t want to miss the Open Mic night centered around youth & teens and very family centric!!

Calling all youth, teenagers and adults to the stage to share your talents with us. From singing to dancing. Poetry to Spoken Word. Piano to Saxophone. Whatever your talent is, AS LONG AS IT’S FAMILY appropriate, we want YOU!

Tea’s Me Cafe Indy (140 E. 22nd Street, Ste. B, Indianapolis, IN 46214)

Writers Helping Writers (Monthly)

Hancock County Public Library has a writing group that meets on the third Wednesday of each month. Join us!

Brick Street Poetry (monthly)

Off the Bricks, a Poetry on Brick Street Podcast

Poetry on Brick Street Series

We meet the first Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm at Sullivan Munce Cultural Center, 225 West Hawthorne Street, Zionsville, IN 46077.

The next month’s Guest Poet: Poets from the Haiku for Hikers anthology reading with accompanying PowerPoint.

Margarita Mondays Open Mic

Welcome to Margarita Mondays Open Mic Night where you too can be a star

ILLUSIONS 3661 W 86th st

We welcome all comedians rappers poets and singers. Doors open at 8pm

Admission is free. Hosted by Aisha the Comedian and Mic Shaw.

Irving Theater Weekly Poetry Open Mic

Every Thursday night
7:00p – 9:00 PM EST
LOCAL POETS * ORIGINAL POETRY * COME READ OR LISTEN]

A completely nonjudgmental and safe space to share poetry! Every Thursday on the deck at the Irving Theater in the Summer, inside all Winter. Performances are broadcast live on our Facebook page (link below). Come enjoy original poetry and readings from local and regional artists, or present your own poetry.

This event is free.

FACEBOOK LIVE LINK  
For more information, visit the Irving Theater’s website

Books & Brews Open Mic