Literary Events Around Indiana – May 2021
There are many great literary events around Indiana – May 2021. Looking for something to do? Below are just a few ideas.
Many events are virtual. Please confirm with the venue for scheduled events listed in Literary Events Around Indiana – May 2021.
To be featured in our “Literary Events Around Indiana” monthly events blog, email the details to mail@indianawriters.org.
Virtual Celebration of Etheridge Knight Jr.
Tuesday, May 4th
7 p.m. ET
Free virtual event presented by Indianapolis Public Library
Join the Indianapolis Public Library’s Center for Black Literature and Culture for a virtual celebration featuring speakers, poets, performers, and family members honoring the legacy of Indianapolis poet Etheridge Knight. This event marks the opening of a special exhibition on Knight’s life and role in the Black Arts Movement based on research in the Etheridge Knight Collection housed in Butler University’s Irwin Library. Broadcast live on Facebook and Youtube.
Literary Event: Writers Guild Spoken Word Series
Wednesday, May 5th
7 p.m. ET
Free virtual event presented by The Writers Guild at Bloomington
OBSERVING ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICAN HERITAGE MONTH
featuring
poets David Mura, Anni Liu, Danny Nguyen
music by vocalist Kyoko Kitamura
Watch live on Facebook or request the Zoom link.
Poetry on Brick Street: Norbert Krapf Reading
Thursday, May 6th
7 p.m. ET
Location: Sullivan Munce Cultural Center, 225 W Hawthorne St Zionsville, IN 46077
Presented by Poetry on Brick Street
Our first poetry reading of 2021, with Norbert Krapf as our guest poet!
First Friday Write-In (Virtual)
Friday, May 7th
6:30 p.m.
Free virtual event presented by Speed City Sisters in Crime
Join Sisters in Crime (and brothers) and make some progress on your latest writing project the first Friday of each month at 6:30 p.m.
Speed City Sisters in Crime is hosting monthly write-ins to connect on Zoom and spend time writing together.
This is how it will work:
You join the Zoom meeting at at 6:30 we will do some introductions. These might be a little shorter or longer depending on how many people join us.
Then we will do 3-5 20-minute writing sessions. I’ll set a timer and for the next 20 minutes you work on whatever project you brought to the write-in. At 20 minutes we take a quick break, maybe briefly share the progress we have made and then we do the next 20-minute writing interval and so on.
Why do this? It gives us a chance to do some concentrated writing with the support of our fellow writers. All are welcome to join in.
Join the event by signing up through Eventbrite.
Black Women’s Writing Society May Meet-up
Tuesday, May 11th, 7 p.m. ET
Free virtual meet-up on Zoom
Presented by the Black Women’s Writing Society
Bring your writing utensils, an open mind and be ready to get to work!
“Language Matters” with Dr. Kelli Morgan, Moderated by Shauta Marsh
Wednesday, May 12th
6 p.m. ET
Free virtual event presented by Columbus Arts Council
The third guest lecture in an online speaker series: Women Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs—Working & Living in Full Color. RSVP at language-matters-dr-kelli-morgan.eventbrite.com. Presented by the Columbus Area Arts Council, in collaboration with the African American Fund of Bartholomew County and IUPUC Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.Live online via Zoom and recorded for future viewing.Part Three of the series, Language Matters, will bring together two arts and social justice practitioners in a discussion on communication in the arts – the people, the words and their impact.
About this series:
In collaboration with the African American Fund of Bartholomew County and IUPUC Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, the Columbus Area Arts Council is hosting a three-part virtual lecture series, Women Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs: Working & Living in Full Color, highlighting women of color whose work is centered around creativity and social justice.
Check out their Facebook event page for more information.
A Night of Poetry with John Leo & Kristine Esser Slentz
Wednesday, May 12th
7 p.m.
Location: The Spot, 409 S 4th St, Lafayette, IN 47901
A Night of Poetry with John Leo & Kristine Esser Slentz both reading from their new books of poetry, with Devon Ginn.
Sip & Sign with Kristine Esser Slentz
Thursday, May 13th
7 p.m. ET
Location: Nine Irish Brothers, 575 Massachusetts Ave Indianapolis, IN 46204
Stop by Nine Irish Brother’s on Mass Ave for a casual evening of wine and weird words from Kristine Esser Slentz‘s new poetry collection, woman, depose!
The Indianapolis Anthology Reading & Book Release
Saturday, May 15th
5 p.m. ET
Location: Tube factory artspace, 1125 Cruft St Indianapolis, IN 46203
Free event
“As a child, I thought Naptown was a cool nickname for Indianapolis. Little did I know it was more pejorative than cool. Indianapolis used to—and sometimes still does—have a reputation for being boring and lacking culture. The Indianapolis Anthology proves otherwise. We see the beauty, the ugliness, the racism, the diversity, the past, and the present. It’s all here. Through each story, you see Naptown isn’t a sleepy little city, and I was right all along.” —Oseye Boyd, editor of the Indianapolis Recorder
“A must-read for anyone who thinks they know the city.” —Rachel Sahaidachny, associate editor of The Indianapolis Review
The Indianapolis Anthology (May 4, 2021), edited by Norman Minnick, showcases Naptown’s vibrancy and diversity with pieces from journalists, poets, historians, established community voices, and first-time writers. Indianapolis is more than the home of the Indianapolis 500, John Dillinger, Kurt Vonnegut,and Wonder Bread. In these pages you’ll find lawn chairs in the beds of pick-ups; the magnificent stench of diesel, sweat, and sweetly hissing charcoal; suffragists and entrepreneurs; cement Pietàs; sneakers dangling from power lines; dog bakeries and yoga studios; red brick bungalows and war memorials; steakburgers and Mexican seafood; Pho and sauerbraten. In other words, you’ll find not Naptown, or flyover country, but a vibrant city that is truly a cross section of today’s America.
Belt books are distributed by Publishers Group West.
Masks are required.
A Night of Poetry with John Leo & Kristine Esser Slentz
Sunday, May 16th
7 p.m. ET
Location: Loom, 1901 E 46th St Indianapolis, IN 46205
A Night of Poetry with John Leo & KRISTINE ESSER SLENTZ both reading from their new books of poetry, with Chantel Massey.
Guest Speaker Author William Kent Krueger: What It Means to Be a Writer
Saturday, May 22nd
12 p.m. ET
Free virtual event presented by Speed City Sisters in Crime
A long-time friend of the Speed City Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Kent will join us virtually to talk about being a writer.
Raised in the Cascade Mountains of Oregon, William Kent Krueger briefly attended Stanford University—before being kicked out for radical activities. After that, he logged timber, worked construction, tried his hand at freelance journalism, and eventually ended up researching child development at the University of Minnesota. He currently makes his living as a full-time author. He’s been married for over 40 years to a marvelous woman who is a retired attorney. He makes his home in St. Paul, a city he dearly loves.
Kent writes a mystery series set in the north woods of Minnesota, featuring Cork O’Connor, the former sheriff of Tamarack County and a man of mixed heritage—part Irish and part Ojibwe. His work has received numerous awards, including the Minnesota Book Award, the Loft-McKnight Fiction Award, the Anthony Award, the Barry Award, the Dilys Award, and the Friends of American Writers Prize. His last nine novels were all New York Times bestsellers.
Ordinary Grace, a stand-alone published in 2013, received the Edgar, given by the Mystery Writers of America or the best novel published in that year. Its companion novel, This Tender Land, his most recent release, was published in 2019. Coming this August is Lightning Strike, a prequel to Kent’s Cork O’Connor series. It follows Cork in his adolescence, shortly before he turns 13, the year before his father is killed in the line of duty.
Find tickets for this event through Eventbrite.
Don’t forget to check out which classes and workshops are coming up at the Indiana Writers Center!
We hope to hear from you about your upcoming event! If you enjoy any literary events around Indiana – May 2021, tag us or let us know!