2020 Celebration of Writers - Nonfiction
Good news was hard to come by in 2020. In a year of extreme difficulty we needed our writing community more than ever—to support each other during the tough times and to celebrate one another's successes.
That's why in this final week of the year we are championing your good news in The Lit Cleveland Celebration of Northeast Ohio Writers!
We asked you about your writing successes this year and boy howdy did you respond. We heard so much good news that we couldn't fit it all in one newsletter. So over the next three days we will share your accomplishments by genre—yesterday we featured poetry, today we dive into nonfiction, and tomorrow we'll cover fiction.
Below are the publications, awards, and other accomplishments of our local nonfiction writers. We had some stellar nonfiction books published this year, including memoirs, essay collections, and a remarkable graphic novel. We also saw incredible essays in Gordon Square Review, Neighborhood Voices, and Cleveland Stories. Although we tried to be as comprehensive as possible, the list below is just the tip of the literary iceberg. We encourage everyone to read these local writers and celebrate their successes.
We have such a talented and vibrant literary scene here in Northeast Ohio. Don't miss out on the great work being produced right here at home!
Cleveland Stories: Vol II Mt. Pleasant by Literary Cleveland (Essays, Memoir, Poetry)
Medium Brave by Shelley Andrews-Hinders (Memoir)
Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio by Derf Backderf (Graphic Novel)
Redeeming Wasted Years by Patricia Broome (Self-Help)
Worth Defending: How Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Saved My Life by Scott Burr (Memoir)
This Isn't the Movies: 25 Years in the Classroom by Charles Ellenbogen (Memoir)
Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit by Eliese Goldbach (Memoir)
Hidden in Plain Sight: A Memoir of Illuminated Blessings by Darlene Harting (Memoir)
On My Way Out, Volume II by Richard Hawley (Memoir)
Never, Ever Give Up: Anonymous Stories From Northeast Ohio by Allison Hite (Mental Health)
A Family Like Mine: Biblical Stories of Love, Loss, and Longing by Rosalind C Hughes (Religious Memoir)
Rust Belt Femme by Raechel Anne Jolie (Memoir)
I Met a Guy...and Other Things You Can Only Discuss with Your Sistergirlfriends by Valencia Joy (Humor)
The Fundamental Elements: Teen Anthology by Lake Erie Ink (Multigenre)
Letters to the Chief A Minnesota Childhood by Judi Lifton (Memoir)
Cleveland Architecture 1890-1930: Building the City Beautiful by Jeannine Love (Architecture)
Bright Archive by Sarah Minor (Essays)
Ghosts and Gold: My Story of Ghost Ranch by Keith Dean Myers (History)
Voices of the Ancestors by Gail Nyoka (Storytelling)
Out of Nowhere Into Nothing by Caryl Pagel (Essays)
Determination Through the Holocaust, War, and Beyond - a Memoir by Albert Pollack (Biography)
Educating Gifted Students in Middle School: A Practical Guide (3rd Edition) by Susan Rakow (Education)
LGBTQ Cincinnati: Images of Modern America by Ken Schneck (LGBTQ)
Wisdom Warriors by Mary Cole Watson (Self-Help)
Neighborhood Voices Anthology edited by D.L. Ware (Memoir/Essay)
"Shaw's Posters" by Coreen Abbott (Art History Article | Ceramics Monthly)
"Remembering Bobby" by Gail Arnoff (Memoir | Neighborhood Voices Anthology)
Libos Loqui Edited by Herbert Ascherman (Thrice Yearly Journal for NEO Bibliophiles)
"I Thought We Had Failed" by Ron Block (Current Events Article | Next Avenue)
"Nature and Health" by Lucinda Cave (Magazine Article | Ohio Nurses Review)
"An Open Letter To The Woman Who Was Questioned By A Police Officer For Merely Sitting In Her Car In A Target Parking Lot After Midnight Taking A Break From Her Family" by Lisa Chiu (Humor | McSweeney's Internet Tendency)
"Friendly Fire" by Tesh Ekman (Opinion | PressureLife Magazine)
"The Art Studio" by Diane Vogel Ferri (Creative Nonfiction | Yellow Arrow Journal)
"Foods My Daughter Made" by Susan Hatter Friedman (Flash Memoir | Love in the Time of the COVID Chronicle )
"Home Visitation Program Reduces Infant Mortality in Medicaid Recipients" by Miesha Wilson Headen (Journalism | Eye on Ohio)
"Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy" by Kate Bigam Kaput (YA Nonfiction | Algonquin Young Readers)
"Network Not Work? Insights into Building a Better Post-Acute Network" by Laura Kukral (Cover Article | Care Management Journal)
"You, Me and Us." by Sujata Lakhe (Memoir | Neighborhood Voices Anthology)
"Beshert | A Dishwasher’s Cycle of Kindness" by Brandi Larsen (Essay | Moment Magazine)
Other Brown Girl by Jing Lauengco (Social Impact + Storytelling Blog for Women of Culture)
"Commentary on In re Will of Moses, in Feminist Judgments: Rewritten Trusts and Estates Opinions" by Claire C. Robinson May (Academic Book Chapter | Cambridge University Press)
"Skating Creates Family Magic, Teaches Us About Balance in Life" by Vincent O'Keefe (Monthly Parenting Column | City Dads Group)
"Speaking the Names: Tale of Two Brothers" by Kelly Boyer Sagert (Creative Nonfiction | Black Fork Review)
"My firstborn son" by Stuart Terman, M.D. (Article | Jewish Literary Journal)
"The Story of One Day During the Pandemic in Cleveland, by Cleveland" Edited by Matt Weinkam (Crowdsourced Creative Nonfiction | Scene Magazine)
Trail Magic: The Grandma Gatewood Story, written by Kelly Boyer Sagert, was awarded Second Place for a Short Documentary at the International Indie Gathering and the Excellence designation at the WRPN Women's International Film Festival.
Whom Shall I Fear? by Rosalind C Hughes (Religious | Upper Room Books | Coming Fall 2021)
"On Beauty Interrupted" by Marsha McGregor (Lyric Essay | A Harp in the Stars: An Anthology of Lyric Essays, edited by Randon Billings Noble | Coming Fall 2021)
"A Little Girl, A Great War, A Baseball Triumph" by Ruth Hanford Morhard (Essay | NINE: A Journal of Baseball History and Culture, University of Nebraska Press | Coming March 2021)
FabJob Guide to Become a Grant Writer by Kelly Boyer Sagert (How To | FabJob | Coming January 2021)
"City of Light" by S. Elizabeth Sigler (Essay | Hobart | Coming January 2021)
Did we miss your 2020 nonfiction accomplishment? Let us know!
