Blue Stoop and The Free Library Foundation Present Clearing the Mist: Alternative Paths to Publication
A Mixer and Panel Discussion Featuring: Anni Liu, Christopher R. Rogers, Warren R. Basla, M Téllez, and Josh Dale
The path from emerging writer to published author can be mysterious and intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. In this lively panel discussion, indie and self-published writers and representatives from small- to mid-sized presses will discuss the publishing journey for those who prefer the path less traveled. Attendees will learn about viable alternatives to Big Five publishing houses and get candid answers to common publishing questions. After the panel discussion, attendees can network and connect with other debut and seasoned writers, booksellers and publishing professionals; learn more about local resources, opportunities, and organizations; and enjoy a truly immersive literary experience.
An editor at Graywolf Press, Anni Liu seeks out writers who take bold risks on the level of style and content. Books she’s edited have won the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, the Ernest Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and the Arab American Book Award, among others; her titles include The Memory Museum by M Lin, without terminus by chaun webster, Trigger Warning by Jacinda Townsend, and If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga. Anni is also the author of the poetry collection Border Vista (Persea Books), which won the Lexi Rudnitsky Prize and was named a best poetry book of the year by The New York Times. The recipient of an Undocupoets Fellowship, she translates occasionally from Mandarin Chinese and lives in Germantown.
Christopher R. Rogers, Ph.D is an educator and cultural worker from Chester, PA with more than a decade of experience in supporting justice-oriented arts, culture, and community in the Greater Philadelphia area. He currently coordinates the Friends of The Tanner House, incubating a revitalized Henry Ossawa Tanner House at the intersection of Black heritage preservation and community cultural organizing. As a Facilitator with the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition & Reconstruction, he supports aspiring movement leaders serving communities most impacted by poverty, policing, and mass incarceration. Rogers recently released a collaborative book, My City Need Something: Portraits and Prose for Black Existence, with documentary photographer Karim Brown (Common Notions, 2026). It serves as a sequel to the edited anthology How We Stay Free: Notes of a Black Uprising (Common Notions, 2022) that was developed in collaboration with novelist Fajr Muhammad.
Warren R. Basla is a graduate of Drexel University. He has been a youth advocate for over 15 years and works as a director of development at an education non-profit in Philadelphia. Warren serves on the Blue Stoop Advisory Board and is a member of the local writing group, the Philly Scribes. The Blade of Milan is his debut novel.
M Téllez of CYBORG MEMOIRS is a heavily hybrid wordsmith and sloganeer from the 215 who makes stationery for writers and creates and performs sci-fi magic smut survivor memoir tales for the people.
Josh Dale does well with cats and coffee and is probably hiking the beautiful Pennsylvanian forests. He’s an alumnus of Temple University (BA) & Saint Joseph’s University (MA). He is the author of a poetry collection, Duality Lies Beneath, a fiction chapbook, RAGE: Stories, and a novella, The Light to Never Be Snuffed. He founded Thirty West Publishing House in 2015 and has been the editor-in-chief ever since. He also co-hosts the Bring a Blanket reading series in Center City.
Founded in 2018, Blue Stoop provides high quality classes, inspiring events, and transformative professional opportunities to creative writers in the greater Philadelphia area. Blue Stoop envisions a radically inclusive literary community where Philadelphia readers and writers are thriving and supported. Learn more about their work at bluestoop.org
Special thanks to The Author’s Guild Foundation for supporting this event. Learn more about their work at authorsguild.org
The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees.
