Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

@ John D. Calandra Italian American Institute   25 W. 43^rd St., 17^th Floor, NYC

Non-fiction Tales from the Front

 featuring

Maria Teresa Cometto with Glauco Maggi

and Suzanne Cope

2^nd Thursday, October 8, 2026

LIVE 6-8PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6PM; admission is free

Maria Teresa Cometto, journalist and author, was born in Novara, Italy. In 2000 she moved to NYC with her family. She is a contributor to the leading Italian daily Corriere della Sera, and co-author with Glauco Maggi of (re)Covering America  (Bordighera Press, 2026). Other books she wrote: Emma and the Angel of Central Park (Bordighera Press, 2023), and Brothers of the Mountains (KDP, 2020). Cometto was awarded the title Cavaliere dell’Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana for promoting Italian culture in the U.S. in 2017. @mtcometto

Suzanne Cope is a scholar and narrative journalist, and is the author of Women of War: The Italian Assassins, Spies, and Couriers Who Fought the Nazis (Dutton Penguin, 2025) and Power Hungry: Women of the Black Panther Party and Freedom Summer and Their Fight to Feed a Movement (Audiobook, Penguin; print Chicago Review Press, 2021).Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Review of Books, BBC, Washington Post, Aeon, and others.  She is a professor at New York University and lives in Brooklyn. www.suzannecope.com

Nov. 12: Chris O’Hanlon & John Trause

Dec. 10: Buon Natale Festa & Open Mic

BOSTON: 3^rd Saturdays  

PHILADELPHIA: check iawa.net

To renew or join IAWA, https://iawa.net/join/

Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

IAWA-BOSTON Presents:

SARAH C. BECKMANN & PAOLA CORSO

3^rd SATURDAYS, SEPTEMBER 19, 2026

I AM BOOKS, 124 Salem Street, Boston, MA

LIVE 6-8 PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6; admission is free

SARAH C. BECKMANN is from the Boston area and holds an MFA from Emerson College. In addition to The Race for Daphne, she’s author of Naiad Blood, a chapbook. Sarah draws inspiration for her writing from her experiences as an athlete and artist; her identity as a woman and an active member of her family and community; and her interests in genealogy and mythology. Her work has been published by the City of Boston, the Academy of American Poets, and the Under Review. https://sarah-c-beckmann.my.canva.site/ for more.

PAOLA CORSO is the author of eight poetry and fiction books set in her native Pittsburgh where her Southern Italian immigrant family members were steel workers. Most recent are Oxygen for Two, The Laundress Catches Her Breath, winner of the Tillie Olsen Award in Creative Writing, Once I Was Told the Air Was Not Breathing, winner of a Triangle Fire Memorial Association Award, and Vertical Bridges: Poems and Photographs of City Steps.  She received her BA from Boston College. For more, see www.paolajocorso.com

To join or renew IAWA membership: https://iawa.net/join/

Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

@ John D. Calandra Italian American Institute   25 W. 43^rd St., 17^th Floor, NYC

Duo Book Debut: Maria Lisella & Nicole Santalucia

2^nd Thursday, September 10, 2026

LIVE 6-8PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6PM; admission is free

Maria Lisella is the author of At the Hour of Now (Bordighera Press, 2026), Thieves in the Family (NYQ Books, 2014), Amore on Hope Street (Finishing Line Press, 2009), and Two Naked Feet (Poets Wear Prada, 2009). Her poem The Lady in 5A aired on NPR-WNYC during National Poetry Month, Still a Man appeared in The New York Times and new work appears in Lily Poetry Review. Poetry editor for Voices in Italian Americana (VIA), she curates the IAWA-NY readings. The sixth Queens Poet Laureate (2015-19), she was awarded a Poet Laureate Fellowship from the Academy of American Poets in 2020.

Nicole Santalucia is the author of Lesbian Dinosaurs / Dinosaur Lesbians (Bordighera Press, 2026), The Book of Dirt (NYQ Books, 2020), Spoiled Meat (Headmistress Press, 2018), and Because I Did Not Die (Bordighera Press, 2015). She is a Professor of English, the Director of First-Year Writing, member ofthe LGBTQ+ Advisory Council, and she serves on the steering committee of the Institute for Social Inclusion at Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania. She received her M.F.A. from The New School University, her Ph.D. from Binghamton University, and she is currently working toward an M.S. in Social Work.

Oct. 3: NJ Bookfair

Oct 8: Teresa Cometto with Glauco Maggi & Suzanne Cope

Nov. 12: Chris O’Hanlon & John Trause

Dec. 10: Buon Natale Festa & Open Mic

BOSTON: 3^rd Saturdays   PHILADELPHIA: check iawa.net

To renew or join IAWA, https://iawa.net/join/

3 rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books!

IAWA Presents

Share New Work & Works in Progress

at All Open Mic

THURSDAY, August 13, 2026

6-8 PM EST on ZOOM

Registration on Zoom Required

Bring an article, a story, a poem, a friend

Join IAWA NY’s 2^nd Open Read for 2026!

Share if you dare, an excerpt or new work in progress from 2025 – maybe it is close to publication, maybe not. Briefly tell us why you think it is unfinished — this is a chance to connect, listen, share goals and plans for 2026-27.

Post links to publications; and readings.

Readers will have 5 minutes each per our traditional time limit. We can’t wait to see you and hear your poetry and prose!

You are invited to a Zoom meeting. 

When: Aug 13, 2026 06:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) 

Register in advance for this meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/IKbXeBL3QGiUK6pcF6BD-Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

Upcoming NY LIVE Readings

Sept 10: Nicole Santalucia & Maria Lisella

Oct 8: Teresa Cometto with Glauco Maggi & Suzanne Cope

Nov 12: Chris O’Hanlon & John Trause

Dec. 10: Buon Natale Festa & Open Mic

BOSTON: 3^rd Saturdays

PHILADELPHIA: check iawa.net

To renew or join IAWA, go to https://iawa.net/join/

Thursday, June 25 6pm-8pm, VIRTUAL ON ZOOM

RSVP Here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/iawa-pride-a-celebration-reading-open-mic-tickets-1991332597404

Come join the Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) for an evening celebrating the LGBTQIA+ members of our community in a virtual evening of poetry and shared work. We will begin our event either three wonderful features (Ed Allen Lent, Sandra Yannone, and Anthony Thomas Lombardi), followed by an open mic where audience members will be invited to share work.

Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) – Philadelphia Chapter Reading

Sunday, June 14, 2026
4:00 p.m.

Bookish Notions
11 E. State Street
Media, PA 19063

The Philadelphia Chapter of the Italian American Writers Association (IAWA) invites readers, writers, and lovers of literature to an afternoon of poetry, fiction, memoir, essays, and storytelling exploring the Italian American experience and broader themes of family, identity, culture, migration, memory, and belonging.

Featured readers include:

• Maria Giura
• Michelle Reale

Additional readers will be announced, and a limited number of open reading slots may be available.

This event is open to the public. Whether you are a writer, a reader, interested in Italian American culture, or simply enjoy a good story, we hope you will join us.

Admission: Free

RSVP: IAWAPhilly@gmail.com

Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

@ John D. Calandra Italian American Institute   25 W. 43^rd St., 17^th Floor, NYC

Donna Masini and Jennifer Militello

2^nd Thursday, June 11, 2026

LIVE 6-8PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6PM; admission is free

Donna Masini is the author of Did You Find Everything You Were Looking For? (W.W. Norton and Co.), 4:30 Movie (Norton), Turning to Fiction (Norton) That Kind of Danger (Beacon) and About Yvonne (Norton), a novel. Her poems have appeared in The New Yorker, Best American Poetry, American Poetry Review, Yale Review, Paris Review, Poetry, et al. A recipient of an NEA, a NYFA, a Pushcart Prize, and residencies from Civitella Ranieri and the Bogliasco Foundation, she  lives in NYC and is a Professor of English at Hunter College (CUNY).

Jennifer Militello is the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire. She is the author of the hybrid collection Identifying the Pathogen (Tupelo Press, 2026), named a finalist for the FC2 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize, the memoir Knock Wood, winner of the Dzanc Nonfiction Prize, and five collections of poetry, including, most recently, The Pact (Tupelo Press/Shearsman Books, 2021). Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, American Poetry Review, The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review, and Poetry. She teaches in the MFA program at New England College. 

To renew or join IAWA, https://iawa.net/join/

July 18 SAT: IAWA @ NY Poetry Festival, Governor’s Island

Aug. 13: VIRTUAL OPEN Mic

Sept. 10: Maria Lisella, Nicole Santalucia

Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

IAWA-BOSTON Presents:

Jennifer Militello and George Guida

and open mic

Saturday, May 16, 2026, at I Am Books

124 Salem Street, Boston, MA

6-8 PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6; admission is free

Jennifer Militello is the Poet Laureate of New Hampshire. She is the author of the hybrid collection Identifying the Pathogen (Tupelo Press, 2026), named a finalist for the FC2 Ronald Sukenick Innovative Fiction Prize, the memoir Knock Wood, winner of the Dzanc Nonfiction Prize, and five collections of poetry, including, most recently, The Pact (Tupelo Press/Shearsman Books, 2021). Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, Best New Poets, American Poetry Review, The Nation, The New Republic, The Paris Review, and Poetry. She teaches in the MFA program at New England College.

George Guida is the author of thirteen books, including the novels The Uniform (Guernica Editions, 2024) and Posts from Suburbia (Encircle Publications, 2022); and The Pope Stories and Other Tales of Troubled Times (Bordighera Press, 2012), as well as the poetry collections The Fulfillment Center (Foothills Publishing, 2026), Zen of Pop (Long Sky Media, 2020), New York and Other Lovers (Encircle Publications, 2020), and Pugilistic (WordTech Editions, 2015). His long poem Bloom and the Blitz won the 2025 Bright Hill Press Chapbook Award. He curates the Finger Lakes Arts Series in Dansville, New York, and teaches writing and literature at New York City College of Technology.

To join IAWA or renew membership:

Rules of IAWA: Read Each Other, Write or Be Written, Buy Our Books! And review each other!

@ John D. Calandra Italian American Institute   25 W. 43^rd St., 17^th Floor, NYC

Maria Giura and Denise La Neve

2^nd Thursday, May 14, 2026

LIVE 6-8PM EST; Open Mic begins at 6PM; admission is free

Maria Giura’s newest book If We Still Lived Where I Was Born is co-winner of the 2026 Paterson Book Prize. She is also the author of What My Father Taught Me (Bordighera Press) and Celibate: A Memoir (Apprentice House). An Academy of American Poets winner, her work has been published in several journals including New York Quarterly, Prime Number, Liguorian, Presence, Paterson Literary Review and in the anthologies Celebrating Calabria: Writing Heritage and Memory and #Me Too, Anch’io. She currently teaches  virtual writing workshops for Casa Belvedere Cultural Foundation.

Denise La Neve writes both poetry and fiction. She is the author of Half-Lives of the Radium Girls, published by The Poets Press (www.poetspress.org/). She was contributor and co-editor for a trilogy Poets of the Palisades anthologies: Beyond the Rift (2010), META-LAND (2016), and On the Verge (2020). She co-hosts the High Mountain Meadow Poetry Series and has been published in numerous publications.

To renew or join IAWA, https://iawa.net/join/

May 16: BOSTON – Jennifer Militello & George Guida

June 14: NY- Donna Masini & Jennifer Militello

July 18 SAT: IAWA @ NY Poetry Festival, Governor’s Island

Aug. 13: VIRTUAL OPEN Mic