When JaxbyJax and local student writers think about what they are most thankful for, influential writing mentors surely come to mind. For Andres Rojas, his professor and mentor from FSCJ Kent Campus, Dr. James Robert Cobb, is the person whose memory he has chosen to honor with a student writing prize.

On Saturday, December 2nd, starting at 3 PM, student writers from DA, FSCJ, and UNF will read their work in the Main Auditorium F-128, to be followed by the presentation of the Cobb awards to student poets, prosers, and spoken word artists. Rojas will say a few words about what his mentor meant to him and his work, and we hope it will inspire other local writers to consider influencing student writers in their work.

Then, on Sunday, December 3rd, Rojas will conduct a workshop on Poetry in B building, Room 208 at noon. His work is incredible, and aspiring poets won’t want to miss this.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

Brooks Decker is a writer, artist and mental health professional in Jax. She may be found walking the St. Johns River, treasure hunting at various thrift stores, swinging through Starbucks with one or both of her teenagers, front porch sitting with her husband, and ceaselessly assessing her relentless faith despite the perpetual pecking of existential dread. Brooks has been featured in a few local anthologies, and recently published her first chapbook, Purge & Bloom.

Decker will read from her work at noon on Saturday, December 2nd at the Main Auditorium F-128.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

Tonn Pastore has lived at the beach for 28 years because that is where they keep the ocean. This time has allowed him to witness many changes. The influx of culture and the migration people energized the slow pace of Jax. The ocean breezes thinned not just the air around him, but also the barriers around his heart. He married a third-generation native who showed him the joys of Jacksonville and he love of a new family. His poems pull from the pain and joy of life and loss.

Pastore will read on Saturday, December 2nd at 3 PM in the Art Gallery Auditorium E-112-F.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.

After graduating from UNF in 2014 with a double major in English and Criminal Justice, Ma Bones was hired by Douglas Anderson High School to teach ninth and tenth grade creative writing and developed a playwriting class curriculum she instructed. She is a Jacksonville native and writer.

She will read from her work at 11:45 AM on Saturday, December 2nd in the Art Gallery Auditorium. Then on Sunday, December 3rd at noon, she will lead a workshop on 6×6 Words and 6×6 Sentencesin Bldg B, Room 206.

JaxbyJax Literary Arts Festival X, a celebration of Jacksonville Writers Writing Jacksonville, will be held on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, December 1, 2, and 3, 2023 at FSCJ’s Kent Campus, 3939 Roosevelt Blvd, Jacksonville, FL, 32205.

JaxbyJax is grateful to our generous sponsors: FSCJ, Alternate Roots, Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, 904WARD, Chamblin’s Bookmine and Uptown Café, Delegal & Poindexter, Andres Rojas, Jacksonville Literary Arts Alliance, Babs’ Lab, JaxPsychoGeo, San Marco Books and More, Scribbles, and Brad Kuhn & Associates, LLC.