Page Count
Page Count, presented by the Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library, features interviews with authors, librarians, booksellers, illustrators, publishing professionals, and literary advocates in and from the state of Ohio.
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Episodes
Monday Oct 09, 2023
Monday Oct 09, 2023
We’re releasing this episode a day early in honor of Athena Dixon appearing at Literary Cleveland’s debut Plum City Reading event! This reading takes place at Loganberry Books at 7pm on October 9, with an afterparty to follow across the street at Literary Cleveland’s offices. Chris Bachelder and Jennifer Habel will also read.
Athena Dixon takes listeners on a deep dive into the phenomenon of loneliness through her new essay collection, The Loneliness Files. Dixon discusses the inspiration behind these essays, isolation during COVID lockdowns, how online interactions can combat as well as amplify loneliness, true crime, fan fiction, vulnerability in writing nonfiction, the connection between loneliness and writing, the journey to publication as an unagented author, and, naturally, sensory deprivation tanks.
The Loneliness Files was released by Tin House Books on October 3, 2023. Athena Dixon is a poet, essayist, and editor. Her work is included in the anthology The BreakBeat Poets Vol.2: Black Girl Magic, and her craft work appears in Getting to the Truth: The Craft and Practice of Creative Nonfiction. She is also the author of The Incredible Shrinking Woman (Split/Lip Press 2020) and No God In This Room (Argus House Press 2018), winner of the Intersectional Midwest Chapbook Contest. Learn more about Dixon at her website.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
Tuesday Sep 26, 2023
In honor of the upcoming 2023 Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ceremony, we’re proud to share this Asterisk interview with historian, author, and Ohio native Tiya Miles, who won a 2022 Anisfield-Wolf Book Award prize in nonfiction for All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake. The Asterisk is a production of the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards. Karen Long conducted this interview with Miles earlier this year.
The Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, which have been administered by the Cleveland Foundation since 1963, recognize books that have made important contributions to our understanding of racism and our appreciation of the rich diversity of human cultures. To learn about the 2023 winners, please visit anisfield-wolf.org. The 2023 award ceremony will be held Thursday, September 28; a livestream of the event will be available.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook. Page Count will return on October 10, 2023 with a new episode.
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
Tuesday Sep 12, 2023
In honor of Superman’s 85th birthday this year, Dr. Valentino Zullo explores the Cleveland-created superhero’s origin story. Dr. Zullo and Laura discuss some of the first-ever Superman comics; Superman’s early focus on fighting social inequities vs. super villains; how creators Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster came to dream up the famous superhero; Brad Ricca’s entertaining and exhaustive literary biography Super Boys; legal battles surrounding the rights to Superman; and today’s expanded Superman universe, including a look at Supergirl: Being Super by Mariko Tamaki and Joelle Jones.
Dr. Zullo is the Anisfield-Wolf Post-Doctoral Fellow in English and Public Humanities at Ursuline College and a co-director of Superman’s Cleveland, a city-wide celebration of the world’s first comic book superhero. Visit supermanscleveland.com to learn about free events and programs in September, October, and November 2023.
Headshot artist credit: Sina Grace
To learn more about Literary Cleveland's Inkubator writing conference, visit https://inkubator.litcleveland.org. And be sure to register for the live Page Count recording, an interview (and literary tarot readings!) with Elissa Washuta that takes place on Saturday, September 23 at 1:30pm.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Tuesday Aug 29, 2023
Madeline ffitch, author of the novel Stay and Fight, discusses living and writing in Appalachian Ohio; the realities of homesteading; writing in multiple points of view; the art of writing a child’s voice for an adult audience; fiction and autobiography; writing for urban vs. rural audiences; climate activism; Appalachian anti-fascism; the politics-art connection; and why sometimes, a snake is just a snake.
Stay and Fight was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel, the L.A. Times Book Prize for Fiction, the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction, and the Washington State Book Awards. It was Ohio Center for the Book’s 2023 adult selection for Great Reads from Great Places at the National Book Festival. Madeline ffitch writes and organizes in Appalachian Ohio.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Tuesday Aug 15, 2023
Michelle Houts, the author of the picture book When Grandma Gatewood Took a Hike, and Erica Magnus, the book’s illustrator, discuss the life and adventures of Emma “Grandma” Gatewood, the first woman to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail. Houts and Magnus share Gatewood’s incredible story while discussing the power of perseverance, the art of picture books, tips for aspiring authors, finding inspiration in nature, and more. When Grandma Gatewood Took a Hike was the Ohio Center for the Book’s Great Reads from Great Places youth selection at the 2023 National Book Festival.
In this episode:
When Grandma Gatewood Took a Hike by Michelle Houts, illustrated by Erica MagnusEmma Gatewood
Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery
Ohio University Press
Hocking Hills State Park, OhioPenobscot Bay, Maine
Wellfleet, Massachusetts
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
Tuesday Aug 01, 2023
It’s launch day for Cleveland Noir, an anthology offering a twisty, duplicitous, and sometimes murderous view of Cleveland. Anthology editors Michael Ruhlman and Miesha Wilson Headen discuss the noir genre, why Cleveland is an apt city for this work, the process of curating and editing the anthology, the diverse range of voices and geographic locations represented, tips for new writers, and more.
Michael Ruhlman is the award-winning bestselling author of nine nonfiction books, nine cookbooks, and a collection of novellas, as well as a coauthor of many additional cookbooks. Subscribe to his Substack newsletter here.
Miesha Wilson Headen is a journalist, the recipient of Best Minority Issues Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists, has worked as a bookseller, and has organized multiple books fairs in Ohio. She is a former mayor of Richmond Heights.
Cleveland Noir contributing writers: Paula McLain, Susan Petrone, Mary Grimm, Dana McSwain, Abby L. Vandiver, Sam Conrad, Angela Crook, D.M. Pulley, Miesha Wilson Headen, Alex DiFrancesco, J.D. Belcher, Jill Bialosky, Thrity Umrigar, Michael Ruhlman, and Daniel Stashower.
Finally, as mentioned in this episode, Loganberry Books still has a few remaining Author Alley events this summer: August 12 is Fiction Showcase, and September 9 is the Children’s & Illustrated Lit Showcase. Visit the 2023 Author Alley page for details.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Tuesday Jul 18, 2023
Journey into the sewer with Jay B. Kalagayan, the creator, writer, and publisher of MeSseD, a comic series inspired by the nickname for the Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati (MSD) that follows the adventures of sewer worker Lilliput. Kalagayan discusses the art of comic creation and collaboration, his influences, the value of diverse stories and representation, pursuing creativity at all ages, the comics landscape in Ohio, infrastructure, sewer worms, partners in slime, and, naturally, the Hell Is Real billboard.
Kalagayan is the executive director of Cartoon Crossroads Columbus (CXC), a free comics, art, and animation festival in Columbus, Ohio. An entrepreneur and arts advocate in Cincinnati for the last 25 years, he is the founder of Know Theatre of Cincinnati and a co-founder of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. He is a writer of plays, cartoon strips, reviews, articles, marketing collateral, fundraising appeals, and geeky event calendars. Photo by Mikki Schaffner Photography.
The first two seasons of MeSseD are available digitally for free at messedcomics.com, and the series is available on WebToon. Kalagayan will participate in the Cincinnati Comic Expo September 22-24 and Cartoon Crossroads Columbus September 27-October 1.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Monday Jul 03, 2023
Jennifer Fisher, a Nancy Drew expert, author, collector, and historian, sheds light on the life and work of Mildred Wirt Benson, the original ghostwriter of the Nancy Drew series. Fisher reveals how and why the original 34 Nancy Drew books, which were published beginning in the 1930s, were revised decades later—sometimes significantly. She compares the original and revised versions of THE HIDDEN STAIRCASE; discusses the Jennifer Fisher Collection & Portfolio at the Toledo Lucas County Public Library; considers how Mildred Wirt Benson might be considered a real-life Nancy Drew; describes the 1980 court case surrounding the rights to the Nancy Drew series; and offers tips surrounding the art of biography writing.
To learn more about Nancy Drew, visit Fisher’s comprehensive website, which offers information about Nancy Drew books, history, facts, collectibles, and beyond.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
As past panelists for the Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Awards, Traci Brimhall, Melissa Faliveno, and Tanya Rey share what it was like to read and judge applications. They discuss what made an application stand out, how writers can craft the narrative and philosophy statements to good effect, the importance of submitting polished work, the inherent subjectivity of the process, persistence in the face of rejection, and more.
About the Panelists:
Traci Brimhall's fifth poetry collection, Love Prodigal, will be published by Copper Canyon Press in 2024. She is also the author of Come the Slumberless to the Land of Nod (Copper Canyon Press, 2020); Saudade (Copper Canyon Press, 2017); Our Lady of the Ruins (W.W. Norton, 2012), selected by Carolyn Forché for the 2011 Barnard Women Poets Prize; and Rookery (Southern Illinois University Press, 2010). Her children’s book, Sophia & The Boy Who Fell, was published by SeedStar Books in March 2017.
Melissa Faliveno is the author of the debut essay collection Tomboyland, named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR, New York Public Library, Oprah Magazine, and Electric Literature and recipient of a 2021 Award for Outstanding Literary Achievement from the Wisconsin Library Association. Her writing has appeared in Esquire, Paris Review, Bitch, Literary Hub, Ms Magazine, Brooklyn Rail, Prairie Schooner, and in the anthology Sex and The Single Woman (Harper Perennial, 2022).
Tanya Rey is a queer Cuban-American writer whose work has appeared in Guernica, Granta, The Sun, Roads & Kingdoms, McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, The Georgia Review, and Catapult, among others. She holds an MFA from New York University and has received fellowships from The Georgia Review, Rona Jaffe Foundation, San Francisco Writers Grotto, MacDowell, Hedgebrook, UCross, Blue Mountain Center, I-Park, and others. Rey has worked as managing editor for One Story and fiction editor for Epiphany and has taught creative writing at New York University and Writing Pad in San Francisco.
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Tuesday Jun 20, 2023
Chaz O’Neil, the Individual Artist Programs & Percent for Art Coordinator for the Ohio Arts Council, offers behind-the-scenes tips for Ohio writers applying for the $5,000 OAC Individual Excellent Awards. He discusses eligibility, types of writing accepted, submission guidelines, narrative and philosophy statements, the judging process, and how writers can prepare the strongest application possible. Laura also shares a bit about her own application that won her one of these grants in 2022. Learn more about O'Neil at his website and on Instagram.
The Individual Excellence Award application deadline is September 1, 2023. Be sure to check out Part 2 of this series to hear from past OAC panelists who offer advice to applicants.
Additional OAC Resources:
YouTube Channel
Artist with Disability Access Grant
Traditional Arts Apprenticeship
Ohio Heritage Fellowships
Percent for Art
Ohio Artist Registry
Artist Opportunity Database
Following this episode, we offer a preview of “Revising Nancy Drew,” our episode featuring Nancy Drew expert and collector Jennifer Fisher. This episode will drop a day early on July 3. Stay tuned!
Page Count is produced by Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library. For full show notes and a transcript of this episode, visit the episode page. To get in touch, email ohiocenterforthebook@cpl.org (put “podcast” in the subject line) or follow us on Twitter or on Facebook.