Pittsburgh is home to an incredible range of authors, publishing professionals, literary event organizers and opinion leaders.
Our city nurtures well-known and emerging literary talent and is the inspiration for many works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. In addition to the authors you may recognize, Littsburgh’s evolving literary roster features some of the passionate people who work behind the scenes to find local and national audiences for this work, and who help make Pittsburgh a haven for writers and readers.
If you would like to suggest yourself or someone you know (who currently lives in Pittsburgh) for inclusion in this directory, please email us with a biographical sketch, and any relevant website and social links.
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Trevor Thomas
Biography
When not riding a mountain bike through Frick Park, Trevor can be found behind the counter at Mystery Lovers Bookshop chatting with customers, welcoming book club members, or reading the latest crime noir. Along with his partner, Natalie Sacco, Trevor is the co-owner of Mystery Lovers Bookshop in Oakmont (just outside of Pittsburgh). Trevor’s passion for community spaces has helped keep Mystery Lovers a go-to venue for author events, book clubs, and a general place for robust discussions on literature and philosophy. Mystery Lovers Bookshop hopes to continue to support writers and readers of all kinds, offering a selection of mystery, children’s, non-fiction, and general interest books, and hosting or contributing to various events throughout the city. Trevor lives in Oakmont with his partner, Natalie, and their two sons, Milo and Ellis.
Connect with Mystery Lovers on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Brittany J. Thurman
Biography
Brittany J. Thurman loves anything sweet while writing picture books, middle grade and young adult novels for kids to know they can achieve their dreams. She is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, where she received a Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing. During her graduate years at Carnegie Mellon, Brittany’s plays were produced in Aspen, Co, and on New York’s Theatre Row. Brittany has introduced Sharon G. Flake for Pittsburgh Arts and Lectures, spoken on panels, presented at The Summit Against Racism, The Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Children’s Literature, plus many more.
When Brittany isn’t writing she’s reading stories to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers across Pittsburgh, hoping they will grow to love reading as much as she does. You can find out more about Brittany on her website, http://www.brittanythurman.com, on Twitter at @janeebrittany, or Instagram at @britjanee. Brittany is represented by Marietta B. Zacker at Gallt and Zacker.
Robert Walicki
Biography
Robert Walicki is the curator of VERSIFY, a monthly reading series in Pittsburgh, PA. His work has appeared in a number of journals including, HEArt, Stone Highway Review, Uppagus, The Kentucky Review, Grasslimb, and on the radio show Prosody. He won 1st runner up in the 2013 Finishing Line Open Chapbook Competition and was awarded finalist in the 2013 Concrete Wolf Chapbook Competition. He currently has two chapbooks published: A Room Full of Trees (Red Bird Chapbooks, 2014) and The Almost Sound of Snow Falling (Night Ballet Press, 2015). He lives in Verona, PA with his wife, Lynne, and two cats.
William Weil
Biography
William Weil is an internationally recognized professional teacher, writer and relationship coach. In his writings and seminars he offers practical wisdom for self-discovery and transformation via interpersonal relationships. Weil is the author of New Earth Relationships: A Guide for Couples in the 21st Century, and From Intuition to Entrepreneurship: A Woman’s Guild to Following Her Dreams. He also created LovePong, an interactive website and mobile app that supports couples in elevating their consciousness and communicating more powerfully.
Don Wentworth
Biography
Don Wentworth is a Pittsburgh-based poet whose work reflects his interest in the revelatory nature of brief, haiku-like moments in everyday life. His poetry has appeared in Modern Haiku, bottle rockets, bear creek haiku, Pittsburgh Poetry Review and Rolling Stone, as well as a number of anthologies. His first full-length collection, Past All Traps, was published in 2011 by Six Gallery Press and was shortlisted for the Haiku Foundation’s 2011 ‘Touchstone Distinguished Books Award.’ His poem “hiding” was selected as one of “100 Notable Haiku” of 2013 by Modern Haiku Press. A second full-length book, Yield to the Willow, is now available from Six Gallery Press. Two new books, from Low Ghost and Six Gallery Press respectively, are forthcoming. For the last 26 years, he has edited the small press magazine, Lilliput Review.
Issa’s Untidy Hut: http://lilliputreview.blogspot.com/
Lilliput Review homepage: https://sites.google.com/site/lilliputreview/home
Christine Aikens Wolfe
Biography
Formerly a reading specialist for Pittsburgh Public Schools, Christine writes and teaches the craft of writing to children and adults. Christine co-edited The Poetic Classroom (Autumn House, 2013) and appears in an anthology of formalist poets writing in five languages: The Phoenix Rising from Ashes (2014). She has published poems in Sonnetto Poesia, a bi-lingual quarterly out of Ottawa, and in Poetry Magazine, Loyalhanna Review, Blast Furnace, City Paper, and more. She was one of twenty poets featured in the anthology Fission and Form, where poetry linked the work of sculptors and illustrators.
Christine is a member of Madwomen in the Attic at Carlow University, the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project, and Pittsburgh Poetry Society, of which she is currently President.
Wendeline Wright
Biography
Wendeline Wright has written almost 2 dozen reviews for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette since 2014. She holds a BA in Literature from Richmond, the American International University in London, an MA in cultural industries from King’s College London, and is a member of the National Book Critics’ Circle. Originally from Beaver County, she spent her 20s in London and San Francisco before returning to her beloved Pittsburgh to settle down with her husband and two sons.
She specializes in reviewing female authors (preferably local), debuts, and short story collections; she is also always looking to indulge her love of horror and science fiction. Ms. Wright will also eventually find the gumption to seek publication for her first book of poetry.
Michael Wurster
Biography
Michael Wurster has lived in Pittsburgh since 1964 and is a founding member of Pittsburgh Poetry Exchange. For 17 years, 1993-2010, he taught at Pittsburgh Center for the Arts School. In 2009, his book, The British Detective, was published by Main Street Rag. His two previous poetry collections are The Cruelty of the Desert (Cottage Wordsmiths, 1989) and The Snake Charmer’s Daughter (ELEMENOPE, 2000). He is co-editor, with Judith R. Robinson, of the anthology, Along These Rivers: Poetry & Photography from Pittsburgh (Quadrant Press, 2008), and The Brentwood Anthology (Lummox Press, 2014). In 1996, Wurster was an inaugural recipient of a Pittsburgh Magazine Harry Schwalb Excellence in the Arts Award for his contributions to poetry and the community.
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