Community Initiatives:
JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X-December 2023: 2023 marks a decade of the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival where we’ve come together around our literary community and shared in narrating Jacksonville’s story. Over these ten years, we’ve shared poems in arcades, performed interpretive readings at the Jessie, and shared the words of many. We’ve also built a community, and that community is growing. We are deeply thankful for the unwavering support and contributions of past directors and JaxbyJax pioneers, Tim Gilmore, Jo Carlisle, Brad Kuhn, and Darlyn Finch Kuhn. Their vision has brought JaxbyJax to where it is now, and part of their vision looking forward seeks to grow and evolve our literary community across story genres, continue strong community partnerships, and provide opportunities for diverse thought. Facilitating these upcoming changes, JaxbyJax is happy to announce that they have appointed Erica Saffer as Co-Director for the 2023 JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival. We are excited to see how her vision advances the momentum of the movement that is JaxbyJax!
Author Showcase and Book Festival for Women Authors-June 2023: In yet another effort to level the playing field and lift the voice of the feminine—in a time where the words of women, BIPOC, and LGBQTIA communities are literally being suppressed— we are offering the community an opportunity to meet face-to-face with a diverse group of authors, listen to their words, and celebrate their work. A collaboration with Women Writing for (a) Change, JaxbyJax will be holding space and making connections for writers to plug into the community through our mutual endeavors.
#TruthBeTold-May 2023: In anticipation of the African American Policy Forum's #TruthBeTold day of action, we have organized an event where we can discuss real harm in our community--and discuss real action steps to address that harm. Our evening will end with a DJ and a celebration of all of the different voices that make Jacksonville great.
St. Augustine Poet Fest at Flagler College-April 2023: JaxbyJax worked in collaboration with the St. Augustine Poet Fest to bring a student showcase featuring four up-and-coming youth voices from Jacksonville to share their diverse perspectives, poetry, and ideas to enhance the tapestry of the event.
The Banned Books Bash-March 2023: MomsRising is partnering with the JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival to bring you "The Banned Book Bash", a family-friendly event that centers around the simple idea that books belong in the hands of children. During this event, we will work together to label over 200+ books from the Essential Voices Collection that will go directly to the children of our community through free distribution. We are looking for volunteers to come out and help us label these books, but also to celebrate children’s literature in Jacksonville! We will have book read-alouds by several Jacksonville authors, children’s activities, and music!
