Announcing the CityLove Project 2011!

Writer Friends! Most of you probably know that I am from Baltimore, and that I'm fiercely, passionately, loudly in love with my city.

This past weekend I attended Create Baltimore, a participant-created conference for artists, entrepreneurs and techies who are passionate about and committed to making this vibrant city an even better place. The awesome people I met, the three fabulous round-table sessions I attended, and the overall atmosphere of intelligence and excitement reaffirmed what I already knew: that I live in a darn cool city.

I was also lucky to meet Kevin Griffin Moreno, whose writing has impressed and inspired me for ages, and who epitomizes so much of what I love about this city's inhabitants: that they're not only brilliant, but also committed to doing good; that they see beyond the sometimes unpleasant aspects of this city and inspire confidence in positive change for themselves and the rest of Baltimore; and that they love to celebrate this city and each other.

And this reminds me of you, Writer Friends! Because you make the publishing community awesome! Because you love to celebrate your fellow writers! And because you probably live in really cool places too, all over the country!

So a week from today, on January 24th, I'm going to tell you all about the greatest places, people and ideas in this city. I'll post links to my favorite arts organizations, cool grassroots initiatives, local businesses and publications, and all-around awesome individuals in Baltimore.

And here's the cool part: I want you to do the same. Celebrate your city! Tell us all who you admire, what cool ideas are taking hold in your area, and what makes you call your city home! And once you've done so, post a link in the comments to my post so we can all celebrate each other's cities!

Let's give credit to our local movers and shakers! Let's explore some places we've never been! Let's learn from each other's cities, and find more ways to make ours awesome! I can't wait. See you next week!*


*The Why Write?^TM series will return right after this brief interlude, promise! Look for the last post in the series, all about literary fiction, in two weeks.