Erica Saffer proudly announced the launch of the Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance (JLAA) at the JaxbyJax preparty held at Babs’ Lab Saturday night, October 22nd. The preparty was an opportunity for JaxbyJax participants and sponsors to meet, mingle, and hear short snippets of the readings from fellow writers whom they may not get to hear on festival day, due to simultaneous scheduling.

Barbara Colaciello and Erica Saffer are suitemates at Babs’ Lab, where Barbara teaches acting, improv, and story-telling, and where Erica has set up a beautiful writing studio/business office for JLAA. Check out JLAA’s brand-new website here. It’s going to be the connective tissue for all things art and literature in Jacksonville.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival was grateful to both women for hosting our preparty, and proud to be JLAA’s first literary event. Ask them how to get involved, and/or how to rent their wonderful space for a soiree of your own.

JaxbyJax wishes to thank Kim Allen, 904WARD, and their Jacksonville Community Remembrance Project for sponsoring a dramatic reading of Screams Echo at 6:30 PM on Friday, October 28 to kick off this year’s festival at the Jessie Ball duPont Center. Doors open at 6:00 PM, so that attendees can view art related to the project, learn more about it, and pay respects to the soil jars collected at the sites of seven Duval County lynchings.

A Q&A with the cast and audience discussion of the play’s impact will follow the performance.

It’s nice to have a fiscal sponsor like 904WARD so that donations to JaxbyJax are tax-deductible for donors. But it’s especially nice when you know that your fiscal sponsor is doing important work in the world. Here’s how to get involved.