First Friday Reading Series - May 4th
Join us every First Friday for the
for live author readings by local writers and poets. Each month will feature a different genre, including Local Flavor, Science Fiction, Memoir, and more. Light beverages and snacks will be provided. Come out and explore the literature growing in your own back yard, and support your local authors, writers, and publishers.
When: May 4th, 5 – 9PM and every first Friday of the monthWhere: Dennis Moore’s Pottery Studio, corner of S. Conkling and Bank, 21224. Across from Rooftop Hot in Highlandtown.May the Fourth be with you! This month we dive into sci-fi with the exception of our final author of the night, Rafael Alvarez. See more info on each author below.8:30pmRafael Alvarez is an author based in Baltimore and Los Angeles. Alvarez went to work for the Sunpapers of Baltimore as a teenager - first in the circulation department and then the horse racing desk in sports - before landing on the City Desk as a utility man and neighborhood folklorist. He was with The Sun from 1977 through 2001. After leaving the paper, Alvarez worked on ships as a laborer before joining the staff of the HBO drama The Wire. He also worked on the NBC crime dramas Life and The Black Donnellys.Among his many books are two short story collections - The Fountain of Highlandtown and Orlo & Leini; a history of the Archdiocese of Baltimore; two anthologies of journalism - Hometown Boy and Storyteller; and The Tuerk House, a history of Baltimore's pioneering drug and alcohol treatment center for the poor. In 2010, he was nominated for an Edgar Award for The Wire: Truth Be Told, an encyclopedic companion to the television series. His latest book,Basilio Boullosa Stars in the Fountain of Highlandtown, was released in 2017. 8:00pmGeetha Stachowiak is a science fiction writer from Baltimore, Maryland. Despite a lot of schooling and college, writing remained her real love, and out of it came two books: ‘The Srin Dominion: The Vahrean Iteration’ and ‘My Bitchy Boss’ (Amazon). Iteration is a space opera about a young woman formerly an alien queen, dealing with repercussions from a murderous past life; My Bitchy Boss is about a young woman trying to survive a boss far more evil than the everyday bitch. Geetha is very interested in film and serialized shows, and hopes to have her screenplays (two based on the books above) produced. She’s on Twitter @scifinutjob, and also has a film review column at reelmama.com.7:30pmA lifetime writer and lover of books, Ariele Sieling delves into the exciting possibilities of science fiction from her home in Baltimore, MD, where she lives with three cats, a dog, and a husband. She is the author of the scifi series TheSagittan Chronicles and the children's book series, Rutherford the Unicorn sheep, and will soon be releasing the first in the scifi YA series Land of Szornyek.7:00pmBorn in North Carolina and a Baltimore transplant, Dara Crawley is an avid writer and reader with a deep love for the magic of speculative fiction. Her passion is especially deep for centering those often on the sidelines. Currently she is attending the UMB School of Social Work while focusing on finishing a collection of southern gothic fiction set in North Carolina and two novels. 6:30pmMatt Galeone was raised in Seekonk, Massachusetts and currently resides in Baltimore, Maryland. He is the author of the sci-fi/adventure books The 15th Chair Book 1: The Journey, and The Champion of Clarendon Ditch Trilogy, as well as the children's books Oberst and Valentine Find Their Human, and A Very Oberst & Valentine Christmas . He is currently working on the next two books in The 15th Chair Trilogy.