Dark City LIT! Schedule
Dark City LIT! is Black Mountain’s grassroots celebration of writers, readers, and the stories that connect us.
What began as a local author fair at the Black Mountain Public Library is growing into a full day of literature and creativity. Our dream is to build an annual festival that brings authors, readers, workshops, conversations, and literary experiences throughout Black Mountain.
This year, Dark City LIT! Festival takes a big step forward with 30 local and regional authors, three free workshops and creative sessions, an afternoon reading showcase, and an evening with acclaimed Asheville author Nathan Ballingrud.
All Dark City LIT! events are free and open to the public.
Plan Your Day
10:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.
Write Local, Read Local Author Fair
Location: Black Mountain Public Library
Meet local and regional authors, discover new books, and celebrate the literary talent of Western North Carolina. Authors of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, memoir, children’s and young adult literature, across all genres, will be meeting readers and selling and signing their books. Drop in, browse the tables, meet a writer, and find your next great read. No registration required. No purchase necessary to meet the authors.
12:00–1:30 p.m.
Idea Incubator Workshop with Jacqui Castle
Location: Lakeview Center
Get those creative wheels turning in this hands-on generative writing workshop.
Author and educator Jacqui Castle will introduce a variety of approaches for generating new work, including erasure, picture and word prompts, mixed media, stream-of-consciousness writing, collage, and more. Bring a notebook or laptop and come ready to experiment.
Jacqui Castle is the author of The Seclusion and The Chasm and was named the 2020 Indie Author of the Year through the Indie Author Project. She teaches creative writing through Redbud Writing Project, the Great Smokies Writing Program, and Story Parlor, and is the founder of Lit Local Mini Bookshops. 90 minutes. All experience levels welcome.
1:30–2:30 p.m.
Write Local, Read Local: Author Reading Showcase
Location: Black Mountain Public Library
Come hear the voices behind the books. A selection of participating Dark City LIT! authors will take the stage to share short readings from their work. From fiction and poetry to memoir and more, WLRL offers an opportunity to experience writers in their own words.
2:30–3:30 p.m.
Behind the Mic: How an Audiobook Gets Made with Leanne Woodward
Location: Black Mountain Public Library
What happens between the printed page and the audiobook in your headphones? Go behind the scenes with narrator Leanne Woodward to explore how audiobooks are cast, crafted, and created. Authors, audiobook listeners, and aspiring narrators are invited to ask questions and learn more about the rapidly growing world of audio publishing.
Leanne Woodward has spent more than 35 years behind a microphone in radio and voiceover and has narrated more than 250 audiobooks for independent authors and publishers, ranging from romantasy to nonfiction.
3:30–5:00 p.m.
Zines: All For One and One For All with Mary Lounsbury
Location: Black Mountain Public Library
A zine can be about anything that fascinates you—and you don’t need fancy equipment or special skills to make one. In this hands-on workshop, Mary Lounsbury will guide participants in creating two zines: one of your own and one collaborative zine made by the group. Everyone will leave with copies, ideas, and the know-how to continue making zines with friends, family, or on their own.
Mary Lounsbury is a mythologist, writer-illustrator, maker, and author of How To Participate in the World: A Manual of Creativity and Connection with Lots of Theory and Digression. Her work celebrates creative engagement as a way of connecting with ourselves, one another, and the world around us. 90 minutes. No skills or experience required—just a desire to express, create, and connect.
6:30–7:30 p.m.
Into the Dark: Horror, Imagination & the Human Heart
An Evening with Nathan Ballingrud in conversation with Jamieson Ridenhour
Location: Black Mountain Center for the Arts
Dark City LIT! culminates with an intimate evening featuring acclaimed Asheville author Nathan Ballingrud.
Nathan Ballingrud will be joined in conversation by author and Palimpsest host Jamieson Ridenhour for an evening of reading and discussion about writing, storytelling, imagination, and the strange and shadowed worlds of Ballingrud’s fiction, followed by questions from the audience.
Malaprop’s Bookstore will be onsite with books available for purchase, with time for signing and conversation following the program.
Admission is free, and no purchase is required.
Help Us Grow the Story
Dark City LIT! remains a small, grassroots festival powered by library staff, community partners, writers, readers, volunteers, and the Friends of the Black Mountain Library. We are starting small—but dreaming big. We envision a future in which Dark City LIT! grows into a weekend of author appearances, workshops, readings, bookselling, and literary events throughout Black Mountain. This year is another page in that story, and we invite you to be part of it.
Rooted in community. Growing one story at a time.
Local Authors
Applications for this year’s Local Author Fair are now closed. Please check back for future opportunities to participate.
Interested in volunteering?