An Evening for the City’s Storytellers
On Tuesday night, May 13, the Palladium Theater’s Side Door Cabaret became a hub for St. Pete’s literary elite as St. Petersburg Press hosted its annual State of the Word celebration. From journalists and novelists to educators and cultural leaders, the city’s creative heartbeat was on full display.
At the center of it all: the Roy Peter Clark Award, a hallmark honor recognizing those shaping the writing and reading life of the region.
Honoring the Written Word
This year’s top honors went to Colleen Wright, hard-hitting reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, and Mark Parker, a key voice at the St. Pete Catalyst. Both were recognized for their journalistic excellence, and perserverance, during last year’s hurricanes.
They joined past winners in a growing circle of local wordsmiths whose work leaves a lasting mark on the city’s narrative.
A Crowd That Reads—and Leads
Five runners up also basked in the prestige of the RPC award. They included:
- Lillian Dunlap, co-founder of Your Real Stories
- Giovanni Cerro, beloved street poet and community fixture
- Andi Pignato, events curator at Book + Bottle
- Britt Moseley, Pinellas County Schools’ Language Arts director
- Gord Hume, Canadian novelist and longtime resident
Joe Hamilton, publisher of the St. Pete Catalyst emceed the evening under the careful watch of Bill DeYoung, Catalyst senior writer and local author; and yours truly, Samantha Elliott, representing DTSP.
The Power Behind the Pages
Founded in 2019, St. Petersburg Press is more than a publisher—it’s a platform for homegrown talent. Created to uplift local authors and amplify St. Pete stories, the press offers full publishing support, from design to distribution, all under a mission-driven model that puts the writer first.
Their growing catalog includes fiction, memoir, poetry, and children’s books—all tied to Tampa Bay voices. Several St. Pete Press writers were seen signing books including Tom Gribbin, author of The Last Florida Boy and the aforementioned Bill DeYoung who’s published three volumes in his Vintage St. Pete series.
A City That Writes Its Own Story
Palladium executive director Paul Wilborn delighted the crowd from the piano with writing-themed tunes. As his music, along with that of fellow pianist Roy Peter Clark, floated through the venue with people laughing and glasses clinking, the event felt less like a ceremony and more like a reunion of the city’s creative class. Stories were shared, books were swapped, and the literary spirit of St. Pete proved as vibrant as ever.
If the evening was any indication, the pen is alive and well in the Sunshine City.