Publishing in the Time of COVID: Local Writers During the Pandemic

The 215 (two-one-five) Festival showcases the vibrant talent of the literary community in Philadelphia. We bring local and regional writers alongside nationally-touring authors in an annual, day-long festival of discussion panels, readings, literary performances, social events and host a marketplace for presses and literary organizations to connect with readers and writers alike.Our events include author readings, literary crawls, book-themed dance parties, literature-informed musical events, book fairs, film screenings, and panel discussions in venues as diverse as Jim’s Steaks on South Street, garden center Urban Jungle on Passyunk Avenue, the Philadelphia Art Alliance on Rittenhouse Square, Fishtown Tavern, and the Shambles at Head House Square.

215 Festival

Join us and local writers from the Philadelphia area, whose books came out during the time of upheaval and change that was the pandemic.

While we were all trying to wrap our heads around this life-upending year, some amazing books of poetry and prose have been released from beloved local authors! This reading celebrates writers from the Philadelphia area, New Jersey, Maryland, and New York whose terrific books were published over the last year.<h2>About The Authors</h2>Jessica Guzman is the author of Adelante (Switchback Books, 2020), selected by Patricia Smith as winner of the 2019 Gatewood Prize. Her poems have appeared in Shenandoah, jubilat, Ecotone, The Academy of American Poets' Poem-a-Day Series, and elsewhere. Her honors include American Literary Review’s Poetry Award and Harpur Palate's Milton Kessler Memorial Prize for Poetry, as well as scholarships from the Tin House Winter Workshop and the Poetry Workshop at the Community of Writers. She teaches at Widener University and lives in Philadelphia. Website: <a href="https://www.jgapoet.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://www.jgapoet.com/</a>Ted Rees is the author of In Brazen Fontanelle Aflame (Timeless, Infinite Light 2018) and Thanksgiving: a Poem (Golias 2020), which is a 2021 Lambda Literary Award finalist. He facilitates poetry workshops through his Overflowing Poetry Workshops programming, and is co-editor at Asterion Projects with Levi Bentley. He lives in West Philadelphia. Website: <a href="https://tedreeswords.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">https://tedreeswords.com/</a>Emma Brown Sanders is the author of A Fallow Channel (Gauss PDF, 2020) and co-edits the tiny with Gina Myers. Their work has appeared in Asterion Projects, bedfellows, Bone Bouquet, boneless skinless, Full Stop, Fungiculture, G U E S T, Prolit, The Rumpus and Tripwire, among others. Their poems have been nominated for Pushcart and Bettering American Poetry prizes. They live in Philadelphia. Patrick Blagrave is a poet, editor, &amp; debtor from Philadelphia. His first book, Profit | Prophet, is available from Recenter Press. Some of Patrick's writing can be found in Peace, Land, and Bread, SORTES, Recenter Press Poetry Journal, Mad House Magazine, Apiary, &amp; Bedfellows. Prolit Magazine, the literary journal he founded in 2019, publishes writing &amp; art explicitly centered around money, work, &amp; class. Website: <a href="http://www.patrickblagrave.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">http://www.patrickblagrave.com/</a>Stephanie Cawley is a poet in Philadelphia. She is the author of My Heart But Not My Heart, winner of the Slope Book Prize chosen by Solmaz Sharif, and the chapbook A Wilderness from Gazing Grain Press. Her poems and other writing appear in DIAGRAM, The Fanzine, TYPO, and West Branch, among other places. Her next book Animal Mineral will be out from YesYes Books in 2022. More at <a href="https://stephaniecawley.com/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">stephaniecawley.com.</a>Ashley Elizabeth is a writing consultant, teacher, and writer. Her works have appeared in SWWIM, Santa Fe Writers Project, and Kissing Dynamite, among others. Her first chapbook collection, you were supposed to be a friend, is available from Nightingale &amp; Sparrow. When Ashley isn't teaching, serving as assistant editor at Sundress Publications, or working as a co-founder of the Estuary Collective providing low to no cost programming and a safe space for BIPOC writers, she habitually posts on <a href="https://twitter.com/ae_thepoet" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://instagram.com/ae_thepoet" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Instagram</a> (@ae_thepoet). She lives in Baltimore, MD with her partner and their cat.Sebastian Castillo is the author of Not I (word west press) and 49 Venezuelan Novels (Bottlecap Press). He lives in New York, where he teaches writing.

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Publishing in the Time of COVID: Local Writers During the Pandemic

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