(Featured in picture from left to right: Max Terry, Madeline Jewell, and Ginny Shimek)

On Saturday, Sept 12, the Lake Erie Lit Festival was held at McClelland Park from noon to 5 p.m. In attendance were resident and national authors, small businesses, and local universities, including Penn State Behrend, all of which were freely distributing or selling merchandise. A Banned Books Tent was situated at the entrance of the park, giving out free banned books ranging from The Witches by Roald Dahl to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. Throughout the afternoon, on stage performances included music from 45th Street Band and creative works read by students, authors, and professors.  

Behrend’s student and faculty led literary journal Lake Effect was represented at the event with its own tent, handing out free editions of its magazine to interested readers. When asked about the experience, H&SS Professor and Contributing Editor for Lake Effect Tom Noyes stated, “…some of it was [for] recruitment [specifically our BFA and creative writing, our English programs] but we also wanted to be a good literary citizen of the community.” Alongside Lake Effect, Mercyhurst and Gannon also displayed their creative works. Professor Noyes later noted about the journal, “we gave away all the ones we brought, so people were interested in that magazine.”

The series of creative speakers lasted roughly an hour, with students and faculty from Behrend, Gannon, and Mercyhurst reading poems or brief excerpts from original compositions/theses. Behrend had three readers, including faculty member Elizabeth Fogle, current student Cyrus Pagan-Wilpan, and alumni Matt Grolemund. 

The 2026 Erie Lit Fest, despite a looming threat of rain, concluded as a relatively dry success.