Charlotte Lit

Authors Lab and Chapbook Labs are year-long immersions to assist writers in completing a novel or memoir (Authors Lab) or a book of poetry (Chapbook Lab). Writers in each cohort attend craft classes as a group, receive individual coaching and feedback on their writing, and experience extensive support from their peer group. Authors Lab had 23 writers in the 2023 cohort; Chapbook Lab had 10. Both Lab programs are fee-based with scholarships available.

Charlotte Lit Press, the publishing imprint of Charlotte Lit, held the second Lit/South Awards, for writers who reside or once resided in North Carolina and its four contiguous states: South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, and Tennessee. In 2023, awards were given in three categories: poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. 320 entries were received, and $7,000 in prizes were awarded. Winners in each category, plus all poetry finalists and semi-finalists, were published in the Spring 2023 issue of Litmosphere: Journal of Charlotte Lit. Charlotte Lit Press also began publishing poetry collections: three chapbooks by local writers; and a full collection by acclaimed poet Lola Haskins, which was named the Southern Literary Review Poetry Book of the Year.

Charlotte Lit provides more than 100 classes per year, half of them free. Three-quarters are targeted to writers who wish to improve their craft or learn about the business side of being a writer, with another quarter targeted to anyone who appreciates literature or wants to explore their world through literature. Weekly, Charlotte Lit offers a free writing session called Pen to Paper, which draws more than 1000 people annually.

Charlotte Lit hosts a variety of literary arts programming, most of it free and open to the public. These include Community Conversations, poetry readings, and social events. Program expenses in this category include direct expenses for the category, plus general expenses that cannot be attributed directly to one of the other listed programs.