Philadelphia, Ep. 6

November 14, 2023 — After ten long years away, Literary Death Match returned to the City of Brotherly Love for a whizbang affair at City Winery that saw Eshani Surya outlast co-finalist Joseph Earl Thomas in a tense battle of Arithme-Lit, winning Surya the LDM Philadelphia, Ep. 6 crown, and literary immortality to go with it. 

Here's the full lineup from the night: 

JUDGES: 
Literary Merit: Conrad Benner, founder of StreetsDept.com, he's a photo-blogger, curator, and podcaster who was named one of the 76 most influential people in Philly by Philadelphia Magazine. The Guardian named his blog the 'Best Blogs for Travellers', his photography has been printed in Time and Encyclopedia Britannica, and he's co-curator of the booklet series Artseeing: Self-Guided Tours of Philly's Art World

Performance: Sarah Knittel, award-winning theater artist, event producer, and clown, she helped found the Free Fringe Philly festival, produces the monthly variety experience HELLRIDE, and recently wrote and starred in a series of horror comedy shorts called HELLTOWN. Follow her on Insta NOW: @sarahhmonster

Intangibles: Madinah Wilson-Anton, stand-up comedian, Delaware’s 26th District State Representative, she's the first Muslim to be elected to the Delaware State House, and is a champion for econimic and racial justice

READERS: 
Round 1: 
* Eshani Surya, author of the forthcoming novel, RAVISHING (Roxane Gay Books/Grove Atlantic, 2024), a 2022 Asian Women Writer’s Workshop mentee, a 2022 Kenyon Review Writer’s Workshop scholarship recipient, a 2021 Mae Fellowship recipient and a 2021 Semi-Finalist for Key West Literary Seminar’s Marianne Russo Award for Novel In-Progress

* Tara Murtha, award-winning journalist, policy strategist, writer pursuing an untidy range of topics & forms, and author of the critically-acclaimed Ode to Billie Joe

Round 2: 
* Joseph Earl Thomas, author of the memoir Sink and winner the 2020 Chautauqua Janus Prize, he's received fellowships from Fulbright, VONA, Tin House and Breadloaf, and is now an Anisfield-Wolf Fellow at the CSU Poetry Center. His work's appeared in VQR, N+1, Gulf Coast and more, and he's Director of Programs at Blue Stoop, a literary hub for Philly writers

* Zachariah Ohora, author and illustrator of a number of award-winning books including the parent trap for cats epic Niblet & Ralph featured on The Today Show. He's also illustrator of the New York Times best-seller Wolfie the Bunny, and is the Creator and Executive Producer of the forthcoming animated PBS TV series Carl The Collector, about a raccoon on the spectrum 

Hosted by LDM creator Adrian Todd Zuniga (author of the award-nominated novel Collision Theory)

Produced by Dennis DiClaudio, writer, editor and digital media strategist

Where: City Winery, 990 Filbert St, Philadelphia, PA (map)