What We Do · Writer-in-Residence

Dani McClain
A reporter and author whose work has been featured in Time, Slate and Ebony.com will serve as the Library Foundation’s Writer-in-Residence for 2020. Dani McClain is a contributing writer for The Nation magazine and a fellow at the Type Media Center in New York. Her work centers on reproductive health, race and activism.
McClain has been tapped to serve during 2020 as the Library’s literary ambassador to the community, and receives a $10,000 stipend thanks to the generous support of Naomi Tucker Gerwin and the Library Foundation. She’ll also host a monthly podcast, write blog posts, hold office hours and lead writing workshops.
“Dani McClain brings so much prestige to the Writer-in-Residence,” said Kathy Y. Wilson, author, University of Cincinnati Hall of Fame journalist, inaugural Writer-in-Residence, and member of the WIR Selection Committee. “She is an old-school, passionate, never-give-up journalist; she is a voracious and thirsty reader and she is proof that not all Cincinnati writers are steeped in fiction or poetry--which are fine unto themselves--but Dani scores a big one for narrative, long-form, nonfiction, reportage and memoir writing that shows others working on that ilk there is room for them at the Inn. And the Writer-in-Residence is meant to make room for us all,”
McClain grew up in Camp Dennison and, after graduating from Indian Hill High School, attended Columbia University for both her undergraduate and graduate work, earning a Master of Science from its prestigious School of Journalism. She has received numerous awards, including the James Aronson Award for Social Justice Journalism, and awards from the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association. She is the author of We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood and contributed chapters to Killing Trayvons: An Anthology of American Violence and Octavia's Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movements. She lives in Northside.
The goal of the Writer-in-Residence program is to foster engagement between the Library and the community’s writers and readers by providing instruction on the craft of writing, both online and in-person. The Library Foundation’s Writer-in-Residence serves as the Library’s literary ambassador to the community. The goal of the Writer-in-Residence program is to foster engagement between the Library and the community’s writers and readers by providing instruction on the craft of writing, both online and in-person. The Writer-in-Residence will also serve as the Library’s representative in the local literary arts scene.
Connect with Dani
- Office Hours With the Writer-in-Residence.Need help with your writing project or have an idea but are not sure how to get started? Have any question at all about your writing? Ask the Writer-in-Residence! She'll look at your project, help you get started or answer your questions. Drop in with your finished work, a few notes, or just a blank piece of paper! Let's talk about your writing together. Office hours are 4-5 p.m. on the 3rd Friday of each month.
- Office Hours With the Writer-in-Residence.Need help with your writing project or have an idea but are not sure how to get started? Have any question at all about your writing? Ask the Writer-in-Residence! She'll look at your project, help you get started or answer your questions. Drop in with your finished work, a few notes, or just a blank piece of paper! Let's talk about your writing together. Office hours are 4-5 p.m. on the 3rd Friday of each month.
- February 21, 2020: Groesbeck Branch Library
- March 20, 2020: Downtown Main Library Reading Garden Lounge
- April 17, 2020: West End Branch Library
- May 15, 2020: Facebook Live Event, Please e-mail austin.winters@cincinnatilibrary.org to get started.
- June 19, 2020: Virtual Office Hours for Teens
- August 21, 2020: West End Branch Library
- September 18, 2020: Blue Ash Branch Library
- October 16, 2020: Groesbeck Branch Library
- November 20, 2020: Downtown Main Library Reading Garden Lounge
- December 18, 2020: West End Branch Library
- Friday, May 8, 2-3 p.m. - Facebook Live Event. Please e-mail austin.winters@cincinnatilibrary.org to get started. The Prose of Parenting with Writer-in-Residence Dani McClain. This workshop is an opportunity for people who are raising children to reflect on and write about their experiences. Moms, dads, grandparents, aunts, uncles, foster parents and others who care for young people (full- or part-time) are invited to reflect on the triumphs and tribulations of caregiving. Dani McClain will share short passages from her book We Live for the We: The Political Power of Black Motherhood to prompt participants’ own reflections on issues including education, building community and family formation. We will use writing to explore what values we are passing on to the young ones in our care.
- Friday, July 17, 4-5 p.m. - Virtual Workshop:What Does It Take to Speak Truth to Power? Writing Op-Eds and Letters to the Editor. This workshop is for people who want their thoughts on that recent school board decision, the latest development project, or the upcoming city council race to reach a broad audience. Together we will practice writing news analysis and commentary that has the power to inform opinions and frame the news of the day. Participants will learn how to move from having an emotional response to breaking news to constructing a passionate, well-researched op-ed. Participants will also learn how to decide where they want their op-eds published and how to write compelling pitches to make that happen.
- Saturday, September 19, 2-3 p.m. - Pleasant Ridge Branch Library: What Do Journalists Do Anyways? Intro to ReportingTogether we'll demystify the work of news gathering and explore how journalists start with a burning question and end up with a report that weaves together interviews, research and observations. We'll discuss how to choose sources whose storytelling and insights add depth to your work and how to structure an article once you've learned all you can about the issue you're reporting on.
- Saturday, December 12, 2-3 p.m. - Downtown Main Library: There's More Than One Way to Publish a Book: Round-table With Industry Experts and Writer-in-Residence Dani McClainThis panel discussion brings together writers and publishing professionals who will offer their perspectives on how to bring a book to publication and successfully share it with the world. Panelists will speak to their experiences finding a literary agent, writing a book proposal and working with publishers. We will explore costs related to self-publishing and the freedom it allows, what to expect of an editor, the importance of marketing and publicity, and how authors build an audience for their books.
- Stay up-to-date with the Writer-in-Residence on our blog.
- Inside the Writer's Head Podcast: Season 5. Conversations about writing with Dani McClain.
Past Writers-in-Residence
Special thanks go out to the WIR Selection Committee: Mike Boberg, Emma Carlson Berne, Susan Cranley, Naomi Tucker Gerwin, Joe Hoffecker, Dan Hurley, Kate Lawrence, Blossom Smith, and Kathy Y. Wilson.