Upcoming Ohio Poetry Association Events: Summer 2026

Discover more at https://www.ohiopoetryassn.org/events.

Lakewood Poet Elliot Nicely Wins Honorable Mention

On May 16th, in recognition of his debut collection Sine Qua Non (Red Moon Press), Elliot Nicely received an Honorable Mention in the 2026 Marianne Bluger Book Award at the Haiku Canada Conference held in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Since 2020, Haiku Canada has sponsored this biennial award to recognize excellence in published haiku. Notable past recipients of this award have included Ohio's own Jennifer Hambrick.

Elliot Nicely has been published in leading haiku and poetry journals since 2006. His haiku has appeared in more than two dozen anthologies across four continents, and his writing was featured in Red Moon Press’s New Resonance series in 2019. Last year, he won an Honorable Mention for the Ohio Poet of the Year Award. Nicely resides in Lakewood, Ohio.

New Location for Kent 3rd Friday Open Poetry Readings

Contact RC Wilson at rcwilsonii@gmail.com for more information.

Jawbone Open Poetry: May 1st thru 3rd in Kent, Ohio

Join us at the annual Jawbone poetry festival in Kent! Please note the new location and time for the Friday and Saturday evening readings. Contact RC Wilson at rcwilsonii@gmail.com for more information.

April 21st thru 25th: 2026 Cleveland Poetry Festival

From our friends at Literary Cleveland:

For more information and to register, please visit https://www.litcleveland.org/events-programs/cleveland-poetry-festival-2026.

2026 Sun & Moon Poetry Festival: May 15–17 in Yellow Springs

The 2026 Sun & Moon Poetry Festival Invites Attendees to “Navigate with Poetry.”

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA), in partnership with Miami Valley Astronomical Society, presents the fifth Sun & Moon Poetry Festival, May 15–17, 2026, in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

Poets and poetry lovers are invited to explore the theme, “Navigate with Poetry,” during a weekend of writing workshops, readings, stargazing, and other activities that culminate in a celebration of poetry and the cosmos. Keynote guest Geoffrey A. Landis is an award-winning poet, science fiction writer, and scientist whose writing has appeared in more than twenty languages.

“At Glen Helen, Poetry and Nature become one in the ravine, the open sky, and our words,” said Susann Moeller, OPA First Vice President and festival chairperson.

Additional workshop leaders for the weekend are renowned poets Lauren Camp, Manuel Iris, Paula J. Lambert, and Dior J. Stephens. A special haiku hike led by Ray McNiece will offer visitors a chance to hear poems in the beautiful setting of Glen Helen Nature Preserve. The weekend also offers street poetry in downtown Yellow Springs, a haiku “death match,” native flute music, sound bathing, and an open-mic for festival attendees to share their own poetry.

"Thanks to the support of our sponsors, we have a remarkable lineup of poets and activities planned for this year's Sun & Moon Poetry Festival, which is a signature OPA event that demonstrates our commitment to expanding poetic craft and community in inclusive spaces," said Holly Brians Ragusa, OPA President.

Sponsors for the festival include the Ohio Arts Council, Full/Crescent Press, Lit Youngstown, LitCincy, Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, and Crisis Chronicles Press.

Complete festival information, a program schedule, and accommodations information is available on the OPA website at ohiopoetryassn.org/sun-moon-festival

Registration is available through April 22th at eventbrite.com/e/sun-moon-poetry-festival-tickets-1892651303999.

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) is a nonprofit, educational volunteer organization with a 501(c)(3) Federal designation and a member state of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.

St. Patrick's Day Reading March 14th

 Join Us in Sandusky

Ray McNiece 

& Open Mic

2:00 - 3:30

Ohio Voices: A Poetic History - March 21st Online

March 21st at 10 a.m., Join the Ohio Poetry Association for a historical look at notable poets with Ohio ties on World Poetry Day!

This is a virtual event. More information and free registration at Eventbrite.

Peace

 

Sandusky Coffeehouse Reading

VALENTINES DAY It's beautiful country along the lake. Join us.

Registration open for Lit Youngstown's free Winter Writing Camp on February 28th

From our friends at Lit Youngstown:

Winter Writing Camp
Registration is Open

Winter Writing Camp 2026 will be Saturday, February 28, for writers ages 5 and up.

Warm up and write at the 9th Annual Winter Writing Camp! Spend the day engaged in interesting writing activities led by regional writers.

Registration is required for this free event, and includes a delicious catered lunch.  Registration is open until February 1 or all seats are filled.

​

​Register at https://www.lityoungstown.org/winter-writing-camp.

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Please note that children in Kindergarten and First Grade require an adult to be with them all day, and children 10 and under require an adult in the building.

 

Adult campers can select sessions on the art of letter writing, telling your own story, adult-child journaling, writing haiku, traditional vs. self-publishing, and more, with workshop leaders Christopher Barzak, John Burroughs, Russell Brickey, JRW Case, Meghan Cliffel, Makenn Liller Dahman, Bella Davis, Teresa Leone, Isabella Moreno, Trennae Roe, Abby Vandiver, Shaunda Yancey & Kara M. Zone. 

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Many thanks to our host the Public Library of Youngstown & Mahoning County.

AURAS OF DECEIT

Long time Cleveland Poet and Writer is a Co-Author of a new book - AURAS OF DECEIT.

Released on Dec. 2, 2025, it is available online in print and ebook form from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.

Auras Of Deceit: A Trivolity Cozy Mystery

by Lake Norman Writers Guild

When a murder mystery party in the exclusive Trivolity active adult community turns deadly, two retired investigators team up to find the killer. They uncover a web of blackmail, jealousy, and secrets hiding beneath the manicured lawns and polite smiles of their quirky neighbors. With a rising body count and a murderer on the loose, they must untangle the truth before another resident checks out permanently.

About the Authors

Lake Norman Writers Guild is a group of authors living in a North Carolina Active Adult Community. As a lark, they thought it would be fun to write a cozy mystery together. One that takes place in a community just like theirs, but not exactly.

Contact them at lnwg@qsynq.pub for more information.

Available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle Unlimited https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FY6ZVSQK

More about the authors at https:// qsynq.pub/lake-norman-writers-guild/

Published by QSynQ Publishing https://qsynq.pub/

Last Exit readings in Kent from December through May

For more info, follow https://www.facebook.com/groups/275521006684052.

November 15th: Get Sharp! 2025 Ohio Poetry Publishing Conference

Join the Ohio Poetry Association on November 15th from 10 to 4:30 at the Cuyahoga County Public Library's South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch for an absolutely free Ohio Poetry Publishing Conference. Registration and more details at https://attend.cuyahogalibrary.org/event/13881294.

Get Sharp! will include an Ohio small press book fair and fab workshop presentations by Dianne Borsenik, Geoff Anderson, Michael Salinger, and Susan Grimm.

Elliot Nicely Wins Ohio Poet of the Year Honorable Mention

On October 18th, in recognition of his debut collection Sine Qua Non (Red Moon Press, 2024), northern Ohio's Elliot Nicely was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 2025 Ohio Poet of the Year ceremonies. 

Since 1976, the Ohio Poetry Day Association has selected annually an Ohio Poet of the Year, basing its choice on a book published in the previous year. Notable recipients of this award have included Mary Oliver and Maggie Smith. This year's winner was Cincinnati's Yalie Saweda Kamara, for her book Besaydoo (Milkweed Editions, 2024). 

Elliot Nicely has been published in leading haiku and poetry journals since 2006. His haiku has appeared in more than two dozen anthologies across four continents, and his writing was featured in Red Moon Press’s New Resonance series in 2019. Nicely also served on the Haiku North America 2023 Programming Committee and was co-judge for HSA’s Merit Book Awards in 2024. Nicely resides in Lakewood, Ohio.

2025 Anthology of the River Roots Poets Published

So many thanks to Ohio Poetry Association President, Holly Brians Ragusa, for her hard work on this excellent project in collaboration with the OPA and America's River Roots. I'm thrilled to have a poem ("After Kao Ch'an") included alongside the work of so many fantastic writers! View the whole digital flipbook anthology at https://midd.me/aspt.

November 8th: Two Ohio Poets in Sandusky

 Join us for a good time of sharing. Two friends and fine poets to us all.

Always Things Going on in Sandusky

ALWAYS THINGS GOING ON IN SANDUSKY

Thanks to the Firelands Writing Center

and Bottom Dog Press.

 

August 30th: The Poetry Airshow

From Mike Credico and our friends at the Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library:

I wanted to let you know that we'll be hosting an open mic poetry reading on Saturday, August 30th from 3-5 PM here at the Ohio Center for the Book. We're offering this as an alternative to the other, better-known, airshow (although it will be in full view). We did something similar last year, by accident, and it turned out to be a very positive, powerful experience for participants. 

We're hoping to have a bunch of readers, so if you're in the area this upcoming Labor Day weekend, stop by!

New from Bottom Dog Press

Ad for America Poetry Review

Frank Lehner at Mr.  Smith's Coffeehouse July 14th 2:00

140 Columbus Ave. Sandusky, Ohio

Open Mic to follow. Join Us.

July 12: Ohio Poetry Association Picnic at Sandy Ridge Reservation

Join us July 12th at the Lorain County Metroparks' Sandy Ridge Reservation in North Ridgeville, Ohio for the Ohio Poetry Association's annual picnic, featuring readings by co-Ohio Poet of the Year Barbara Sabol (Watermark) and recent Cleveland Heights Poet Laureate Ray McNiece (Bone Key Sutra), shorter readings by OPA members with recent publications, plus open mic.

Picnic begins at 12:30 p.m. in the park's Johnson Wetlands Center.

Preceded at 10 a.m. by OPA's quarterly business meeting (all members welcome).

6195 Otten Road
North Ridgeville, Ohio 44039

A Confluence of Poems: 2025 Edith Chase Reading, May 16th at Kent State

Friday 16 May 2025 at 4 p.m., poets from all over Ohio will gather for a dramatic reading on the theme of tributaries. There will be music, and an anthology of the poems performed will be available at the reading.

Kent State College of Architecture + Environmental Design
132 S. Lincoln Street
Kent, Ohio 44240

More info at https://www.facebook.com/events/1007338138041745.

The Cleveland Poetry Scene, 1960s-1970s - Exhibit at Kent State

Just found out about this exhibit at Kent State. For more information, please visit: https://www.library.kent.edu/special-collections-and-archives/exhibitions. 

Jawbone Poetry - May 2nd thru 4th in Kent

 

2025 Cleveland Poetry Festival on April 25-27

From our friends at Literary Cleveland: 

For complete info and to register, please visit https://www.litcleveland.org/events-programs/cleveland-poetry-festival-2025.