Lit Youngstown is a non-profit literary arts organization founded in 2015 in Youngstown, Ohio. Youngstown has a long and abundant history of writers, beginning with immigrant steelworker Michael McGovern, the “Puddler Poet,” who published his verse in the late 1800s. Today we celebrate award-winning poets, fiction and non-fiction writers and journalists, as well as presses, programs and publications. The literary, musical and visual arts generate a tremendous amount of economic activity in our region, and are a critical element in making Youngstown a great place to live. We believe that the acts of writing and reading foster creativity, an increased understanding of the self, a strengthening of community, and a broader knowledge of the world.