06/08/2026
✨✏️ June 2026 Artist of the Month ✏️✨
Karim Ragab is an Egyptian and Irish-American writer, spoken word artist, and teacher from Cleveland, Ohio. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in The Gordon Square Review, the Neighborhood Voices writing program from Literary Cleveland + the Cleveland Public Library, and Flora Fiction, among others. He is one of the co-founders of Radio FreeWrite, a creative writing podcast that has been going on for the last five years, in which writers craft fresh pieces every episode based on prompts, read and critique each others’ pieces, and talk about the process of creative writing. Karim is a regular participant in Story Wars, a story writing competition, and has a record of 4 wins in about 20 appearances, including being one of the finalists for the "Champion of Champions" event. He participates in open-mics around the Cleveland area, and has been a featured poet at One Mic Open.
In addition to writing, he has also acted as a beta reader and ARC reader for other writers, developing his editing and communication skills.
Karim is at work on a young adult fantasy novel that explores themes of anti-domination culture, environmentalism, and mental health. In his free time he enjoys spending time with loved ones, caring for his elderly cat Mochi, and getting outside in nature, especially the Cleveland Metroparks.
