Amanda Page is the Founder and Executive Director of Scioto Literary, a nonprofit that supports writers and storytellers in Scioto and surrounding counties in Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Scioto Literary’s first project is Peerless City, a documentary that examines the rise and decline of economic prosperity in Portsmouth, Ohio through the lens of three distinct slogans adopted by the city over two centuries. In addition to her work with Scioto Literary, Page is a freelance writer who focuses on stories in the Midwest and Appalachia. Her work appears in Belt Magazine, The Daily Yonder, 100 Days in Appalachia, Literary Hub and Yes! Magazine. She is the editor of The Columbus Anthology from Belt Publishing and The Ohio State University Press, and creator of Packard’s Columbus, a walking tour of Frank Packard architecture in downtown Columbus, Ohio. Her essay, “The Packard Presence in Columbus, Ohio,” about developing the tour, is featured in the anthology Midwest Architecture Journeys from Belt Publishing. Page earned a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing from the University of Alabama. Originally from southern Ohio, she currently lives in Columbus where she teaches scholarly writing and humanities at Mount Carmel College of Nursing. She is a 2022 Leadership Ohio Fellow.
Why I Love Belt
I stumbled upon Belt Magazine way back when it was first started because I followed the founder, Anne Trubek, on Twitter. I admired her hybrid career as an academic and a journalist. Then, I admired her move to publisher. The publication is a much needed voice among all the noise about the Midwest and the Rust Belt in particular. I appreciate that Belt publishes about Appalachian Ohio, which is where I'm from and the focus of much of my creative work. It is good to know that there is always a possible home for an essay or article about issues in the region, and that the readers have a stake in the region, as well. I like being a member and a writer for an organization that provides a counternarrative to so much parachute journalism for national outlets. That's important to me and why I continue my membership, even in lean times.
Recommended Titles
The Columbus Anthology edited by Amanda Page, obviously, because I am so proud of the writers and their pieces in it.
What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia by Elizabeth Catte because it is a counternarrative to the one that a very popular memoir promotes about the region.
Car Bombs to Cookie Tables: The Youngstown Anthology because I have an affinity for Youngstown. It's a kindred spirit to my hometown of Portsmouth, Ohio, I think.
The Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffens because I love that this gives us a real look at the purpose of journalism as the media landscape shifts and changes. It also reminds us that fighting corruption is a long game. Like, a really long one.
Midwest Architecture Journeys edited by Zach Mortice because architecture is just one element of what makes a place a place, and how we create a feeling of belonging in our built environments.
Where to Find Me
On Twitter @amandadashpage