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

The Italian American Writers Association launches its Philadelphia chapter with an inaugural evening of literary work grounded in voice, memory, and red gravy. Founded in 1991, IAWA is a national nonprofit supporting Italian American writers across genres and generations. Founded and launched by its host, the new chapter creates a literary home shaped by Italianità as lineage and sensibility—poetry and storytelling passed hand to hand, heart to heart, generation to generation.

The evening will feature 2 invited readers, followed by a community reading segment, open to those who wish to share their work, with spaces filled as people arrive.

This opening reading takes place at Fergie’s Pub, in partnership with Moonstone Arts Center, and is hosted by writer Julianna Forlano, of the Italian American Herald and Olive on the Apple Tree on Substack—centering Italianità, ancestral voice, and the stories that both carry us forward and root us to home.

Wednesday March 4, 2026 – 7pm – LIVE

Live at Fergie’s Pub, 1214 Sansom Street

Jo Piazza is an international bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and podcast creator known for12+ books, including The Sicilian Inheritance and We Are Not Like Them. She hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Under the Influence. Her work spans fiction and non-fiction, often exploring relationships, motherhood, and social commentary.

Christina Rosso-Schneider (she/they) is a queer, disabled writer based outside Philadelphia. She is the author of CREOLE CONJURE and SHE IS A BEAST. Her fiction and nonfiction—often exploring gender, sexuality, fairy tales, and the occult—has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and Best Small Fictions. She is also the co-owner of A Novel Idea, an independent bookstore and event space on Passyunk named one of the best bookstores in the region by The Philadelphia Inquirer, and teaches in the Humanities department at Moore College of Art and Design.

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