Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All galleries, boutiques and businesses will hold extended hours through 9pm! Come explore!

Music by Darren Cipponeri at the red Flamenco sculpture!

Her 90s pop persona embraced by Gen-Z, Sienna’s stock is rising across social media and the world. Can she write a hit song, book an international tour, keep her boyfriend happy and save democracy while she’s at it? Only a mysterious man in black and the delicate state of global politics stand in her way. 

Caitlin Dennis Bailey (she/her) is from Oklahoma City. She earned her B.A. in theatre and English from Middlebury College. Most recently Caitlin’s short plays have been heard as part of Theatre Crude’s Unconventional Shorts series. In Caitlin’s work the familiar and the extraordinary meet, exploring realities just beyond our own. When not busy with the work of creative storytelling, she is a PR and marketing consultant who helps brands and organizations tell their story to the public.

Kristen Grace is a journalist for 405 Magazine and Art Focus and a graduate from Oklahoma City University’s Red Earth MFA program. She has authored a picture book, The Stepmother Who Believed in Feathers, as well as Wings, a collection of feminist fairy tales, through Literati Press. She has recently published poems in Focus Magazine, Mid/South, Freezeray, Behind the Rain Anthology and other literary journals.

Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All galleries, boutiques and businesses will hold extended hours through 9pm! Come explore!

For Aspiring Editors, Agents, and Publishers (and anyone curious about traditional publishing). Get an inside look at the various roles and paths in book publishing.

Kristina Sutton Lennon is a bilingual, Latiné, media executive and the CEO/Co-Founder of Focused Artists. Kristina serves as a literary manager and producer at Focused Artists, where she has facilitated book deals with HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin Random House and National Geographic. She pitches content to producers, studios and networks, and has projects in various stages of development. 

Prior to delving into producing and management, Kristina was an actor (SAG-AFTRA) and educator, teaching acting and improv at the college level. She previously served as a film/tv agent and as the Director of the Louisiana Division for a talent agency headquartered in Atlanta. Kristina recently served as the Director of Media Rights at Context Literary Agency and currently serves as a Talent Manager for Citizen Skull.

In 2022, Publishers Weekly named her an Honoree in their annual Rising Star Watch. Kristina earned her MFA in Acting from Louisiana State University. She is a proud member of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, the Oklahoma Motion Picture Alliance, and a board member of SPARK! Creative Lab in OKC.

For the Author- whether you're self-published and want to learn about traditional publishing, or you are a writer who wants to be published, we are here to give you insight on navigating the current publishing landscape. If attendees have a query ready, I can do a live query critique for a minimum of 5 queries, and more, as time allows.

Kristina Sutton Lennon is a bilingual, Latiné, media executive and the CEO/Co-Founder of Focused Artists. Kristina serves as a literary manager and producer at Focused Artists, where she has facilitated book deals with HarperCollins, Hachette, Penguin Random House and National Geographic. She pitches content to producers, studios and networks, and has projects in various stages of development. 

Prior to delving into producing and management, Kristina was an actor (SAG-AFTRA) and educator, teaching acting and improv at the college level. She previously served as a film/tv agent and as the Director of the Louisiana Division for a talent agency headquartered in Atlanta. Kristina recently served as the Director of Media Rights at Context Literary Agency and currently serves as a Talent Manager for Citizen Skull.

In 2022, Publishers Weekly named her an Honoree in their annual Rising Star Watch. Kristina earned her MFA in Acting from Louisiana State University. She is a proud member of NALIP (National Association of Latino Independent Producers), the Hollywood Radio & Television Society, the Oklahoma Motion Picture Alliance, and a board member of SPARK! Creative Lab in OKC.

Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All galleries, boutiques and businesses will hold extended hours through 9pm! Come explore!

Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All galleries, boutiques and businesses will hold extended hours through 9pm! Come explore!

You’re writing for publication, seeking a publisher, planning to self-publish, or something else. Creating good files up front can make you look more professional, pave the way for effective editing and design, attract a publisher, and produce well-formatted print files. You don't have to be the editor, designer, marketer (though you may be). But understanding enough about those tasks can help position yourself for success. You’ll get a brief introduction to resources and a reference list, hear cautionary tales from 45 years of book design and production, and have a chance to ask thorny questions. 

Emmy Ezzell is a native Texan, but has lived in Oklahoma 6 years (the first time) and another 19 years the second time. Her daughter Sarah Atlee is an OKC fiber artist and painter, and her little dog, Flower, helps out at Literati as a Bookshop Dog. 

Emmy spent her professional life designing and producing books for University Presses in New Mexico, Indiana, and Oklahoma, thereby accumulating a vast store of esoteric trivia. She is enjoying learning the other side of the book business, and also enjoying the ringside seat for Literati Press's new venture, the Creative Writing Center.

Join Comedian John Fannell and Musician Warren Blumears aka War 'N' Peace for this special combination workshop. The first part will be lead by John and focus on an Introduction to Comedy Writing: Finding Your Funny, the second part will be lead by Warren and focus on an Introduction to Song Writing: Finding Your Song. Designed for aspiring comedy writers and song lyricists (especially those who want to do both!), discussions and group activities will revolve around each art form's role in storytelling and how they can work together.

About the instructors:
Warren Blumears aka War ‘N’ Peace hails from the town of Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa. His musical journey began at 13 when he chose “Guitar Club” from a list of mandatory school activities. At 19, one of his first songs was recorded by legendary jazz musician and producer Kelly Rusike and received significant radio play. Today Warren performs his soulful acoustic originals wherever the world finds him. His music stays with you long after the show is over. You can find his songs on Spotify and other streaming platforms.

Comedian/Actor John Fannell fell in love with standup by way of George Carlin as a young boy.  Today he performs at comedy clubs, colleges and in concerts all over. He has worked with a diverse group of entertainers from Weird Al Yankovic to BB King to Lewis Black. He has also appeared in several movies.

Together, John and Warren present a concert experience, “Somewhere between the Lines”, a concert ranging from comedy to musical comedy to power heartfelt originals.

Introducing a new and gorgeous design for our Fiber Look Book class, by Melissa! 🪡 You can sign up for this beginner friendly class now on our website!

Fun times are comin’ for ya at the shoe shop! Join us Saturday, June 21st for a pop-up event with my friends @colberthatco! They’re coming all the way from Colorado with the most amazing custom cowboy hats and fedoras for your shopping pleasure. And of course shoes and bubbles will be happening. Join us, won’t you?

Our Father’s Day custom belt event is now available for sign ups on our website 🥳 During your consultation, you’ll work with Ellie to create the perfect belt canvas! Once a design has been decided upon, we’ll paint it for you and just like that- you’ll have a fabulous new needlepoint belt canvas to stitch for your loved one.

A step by step guide to the long journey from concept to outlining to production and distribution. Whether you want to publish your own stories or work within the industry, this course will help you understand how to plan out the finances and deadline flow of a book release. 

Charles J. Martin founded Literati Press Comics & Novels in 2010 to give a platform to progressive storytelling in Oklahoma. In 2016, he took over as the gallery manager for the Paseo Plunge, later building out the Literati Press Bookshop which started with two modest bookcases by the front door and has since sprawled deeper and deeper into the building with no end in sight.

This workshop is designed to introduce participants to the exploration of their poetic voice through a combination of brief exercises and discussions, participants will begin to tap into their creativity and express themselves through poetry.

Mary B. Gray is a poet grounded in the rich rhythms of Oklahoma, weaving compelling stories of identity, resilience, and connection. Her award-winning debut collection, Who Do You Think You Are?, honored with the 2023 Oklahoma Book Award in Poetry, blends heart and history to leave a lasting impression on readers. With an MFA in Creative Writing from Oklahoma City University, Mary has brought her craft to life through workshops and readings at events such as the OU Black Poetry Exhibition and the Society of Urban Poets. Driven by her belief in the transformative power of language and poetry, and the conviction that everyone holds poetry within, she cultivates spaces where voices are valued, words resonate, and verses vibrate.

Each First Friday of the month, the community is invited to stroll the historic Paseo Arts District. All galleries, boutiques and businesses will hold extended hours through 9pm! Come explore!

Have you ever felt like premade book journals don’t quite fit how you'd like to track your reading? I don't know about you, but I have a pile of half-filled-out book journals myself!

Join me for a fun, creative Book Journaling Workshop, where you'll create our very own tailor-made book journal that truly fits your reading life!

Tracking your reading in fun and unique ways can help you get to know yourself as a reader, and give you something to look back on at the end of the year and feel a sense of accomplishment for the time you took to reflect and interact with the books you read over the year.

In addition to a blank journal that you can customize to reflect your unique reading style, you'll also get:
• Inspiration for the many different layouts you can use to track your reads
• Help designing your own reading challenges and goals that sound fun to you!
• Access to decorating supplies so you can design each page exactly how you want—think markers, stencils, washi tape, and stickers!

Let's get together and have some creatively bookish fun!

Melissa Coast is a book concierge and book buyer at Literati Press Bookshop. Melissa pinged on the Literati Press radar with her fantastic Instagram account, @stickynote_bookrecs as well as her frequent trips to our shop. Initially roped into the crew to help with spare hours, we soon realized she was a voracious reader and loved talking, selling, and curating books. Her role expanded into lead book buyer in 2023. She's always ready to chat with anyone who loves books as much as she does, happy to share recommendations, or just gush about favorite reads.