A Lit Summer Night 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.
This year we are celebrating Literary Cleveland's 10th anniversary as a nonprofit! Together we will look back on a decade of accomplishments and the many people who helped us get to where we are today. We'll also look ahead to the next decade and what we might achieve with your help.
The program, hosted by Ken Schneck with an opening poem by Kisha Nicole Foster, 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, scholarships for writers, and more.
Local legends Dan Chaon and Thrity Umrigar will share true stories about creative community, and 2022-2023 Lit Cleveland Resident Sonia Feldman will discuss the development of her debut novel which will be published June 2 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
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 20, 2026
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Location: A Lit Summer Night takes place Thursday, June 4 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: 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.
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Gold sponsors: Mac's Backs Books & USPack
Silver sponsor: Learned Owl Book Shop & Loganberry Books
Bronze sponsors: The Buckeye Flame, Each + Every, Larchmere Porchfest, Learned Owl Book Store, M Smith Consulting, Margaret W. Wong & Associates, and Rosenberg Advertising
A Lit Summer Night 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.
This year we are celebrating Literary Cleveland's 10th anniversary as a nonprofit! Together we will look back on a decade of accomplishments and the many people who helped us get to where we are today. We'll also look ahead to the next decade and what we might achieve with your help.
The program, hosted by Ken Schneck with an opening poem by Kisha Nicole Foster, 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, scholarships for writers, and more.
Local legends Dan Chaon and Thrity Umrigar will share true stories about creative community, and 2022-2023 Lit Cleveland Resident Sonia Feldman will discuss the development of her debut novel which will be published June 2 by The Dial Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
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 20, 2026
Location: A Lit Summer Night takes place Thursday, June 4 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: 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.
Gold sponsors: Mac's Backs Books & USPack
Silver sponsor: Learned Owl Book Shop & Loganberry Books
Bronze sponsors: The Buckeye Flame, Each + Every, Larchmere Porchfest, Learned Owl Book Store, M Smith Consulting, Margaret W. Wong & Associates, and Rosenberg Advertising
Dan Chaon's most recent novel is ONE OF US (2025). Other works include ILL WILL; the short story collection STAY AWAKE, a finalist for the Story Prize; the national bestseller AWAIT YOUR REPLY; and AMONG THE MISSING, a finalist for the National Book Award. Chaon lives in Cleveland.
Thrity Umrigar is the bestselling author of ten novels, including Honor, which was a Reese's Book Club Pick, as well as four picture books and a memoir. She is a recipient of the Nieman Fellowship to Harvard, and winner of the Cleveland Arts Prize, the Seth Rosenberg prize and a Lambda Literary award. She is currently a Distinguished University Professor of English at Case Western Reserve University. Her most recent book is Missing Sam (2026).
Sonia's debut short story won the PEN America PEN/Dau Short Story Prize for Emerging Writers, and her poetry and fiction have been published in literary journals like The Missouri Review, The Southern Review, and Waxwing. She also runs Sonia's Poem of the Week, a popular email newsletter. Girl's Girl, her first novel, is being published by Dial Press and comes out on June 2, 2026. Sonia lives and writes in Cleveland, OH.
Kisha Nicole Foster is a mother, nationally performing poet, and teaching artist. The author of Poems: 1999-2014 and Blood Work, Foster is also a three-time Ohio for the Center for the Book fellow, Regional Coordinator for Poetry OutLoud/ Ohio Arts Council, and a two-time Pink Door Fellow. She is also a 2019 Cleveland Arts Prize winner for Emerging Artist in Literature.
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.
