Each year, Poe Baltimore invites artists, writers, performers, and creators from around the world to carry forward the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe. The Saturday ‘Visiter Awards’ celebrate new work that adapts, reimagines, or is inspired by Poe’s life and writing — proof that his influence is very much alive in today’s creative culture.

The awards take their name from The Saturday Visiter (sic), the Baltimore periodical that awarded Poe a prize for “MS. Found in a Bottle,” helping launch his literary career while he was living at Amity Street (the very house that is today the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.) The awards honor that same spirit of emerging talent and bold imagination. Winners are announced each October during the annual International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards in Baltimore.

Two Juried Awards Categories

Artists may submit work in two primary categories:

1. Adaptation of E.A. Poe’s Life or Works – Works that directly adapt Poe’s life or writings, including biography and true interpretations of his poetry or prose.
2. Original Works Inspired by E.A. Poe’s Life or Writing – Original works that draw creative influence from Poe’s themes, style, or legacy without being direct adaptations.

In addition, major historic Poe sites,  including the Poe Museum (Richmond), the Poe Cottage (The Bronx, NY,) and the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum — may highlight exceptional entries connected to their regions.

NEW: The Public Acclaim Category

This year introduces something entirely new: Public Acclaim.

Unlike the submission-based awards, the Public Acclaim category recognizes a work that demonstrates Poe’s continued presence in popular culture through broad visibility or cultural impact, and it is the public who submits their favorite entry! Eligible works might include film, television, digital media, games, performances, or other creative projects that reference, adapt, or reinterpret Poe for contemporary audiences.

Here’s what makes this category different:

• The public can nominate a work
• There is no submission fee
• Judges curate the final slate of nominees, but it’s the public who determines the recipients through open voting

It is a non-competitive recognition, separate from the juried awards. Public Acclaim is a chance for fans to say: this is where we see Poe’s spirit thriving today.

When visitors step into the tiny brick house at Amity Street, they often fall silent. They look around at the narrow stair, the worn floorboards, the small rooms where a young Edgar Allan Poe lived with his family — and where he began the writing career that helped shape America’s literary tradition. That moment of wonder is only possible because supporters keep this National Historic Landmark open, protected, and alive.

Now, as we approach the New Year, the Poe House is entering one of its most critical chapters. Demolition of the Poe Homes next door will begin in early 2026, placing the historic house at real risk as heavy machinery moves just feet away. To keep the site safe and accessible, we must strengthen security, improve lighting, and continue activating the property with our outdoor gallery so that the house remains welcoming throughout this transition. Donated support is essential to protect this irreplaceable home during a vulnerable time.

At the same moment, America’s 250th anniversary draws near — a national milestone that will shine a spotlight on stories that shaped our country. Poe’s voice is central to that story, and with your help, the Poe House will stand ready to represent Baltimore and the nation.

Thanks to a generous grant that includes matching support, your gift will be doubled — protecting Poe’s home now and helping build the expanded museum ahead.

Your gift supports:

• Protection and preservation during demolition — including enhanced security,lighting, and site activation that keep the Poe House safe and welcoming.
• Design and planning for the new Poe House museum, including galleries,community space, a literary garden, and expanded room for our collections.
• Programs that connect Poe’s legacy to new generations, including the International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards, youth arts partnerships, and the new members-only experiences launching next year.

This is a rare moment when your support not only preserves the past but ensures the future. With your help, the Poe House will remain a cultural anchor through neighborhood change — and emerge ready to welcome the world for America 250 and beyond. Will you make a year-end gift — now doubled in impact — to protect Poe’s historic home and help build the museum his legacy deserves?

Yours in Poe,

Enrica Jang

Executive Director, Poe Baltimore

Poe Baltimore Programming in 2026

• Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum Tours
• America 250 & The Poe Death Exhibit at historic Carroll Mansion
• The Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards & Young Saturday ‘Visiter’ Awards
• The Poe Toaster Murder Mystery at Westminster Hall
• Poe’s Death in Baltimore Bus Tours
• Revolution & Rememberance: Baltimore Patriots & The Poe Family Tours
• Ghastly Galentine Gothic Tea Party
• Pints for Poe
• Poe Baltimore Membership and The Tell-Tale Travel Club

and

• The International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards!

See the exhibit, included with Admission to the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore!

November 17, 2025 will mark the 150th anniversary of when Edgar Allan Poe’s grave memorial monument was erected at Westminster Hall & Burying Ground. See a special exhibit of original illustrations created by Poe House featured artist Jason Strutz to commemorate the United States’ first monument to an American writer. Includes mobile app access to an exhibit featuring special artifacts and history courtesy of The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. Included with admission to the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.

“WRITTEN IN STONE: 150 Years of the Poe Monument” Original Art and virtual exhibit

Edgar Allan Poe died under mysterious circumstances and was buried in 1849 in a hasty, unmarked grave in the back corner of Westminster Burying Ground in Baltimore—an ignominious ending for a storyteller whose life and writing shocked the world. In true Poe fashion, the story doesn’t end with the body in the ground. Nearly 30 years later, his grave forgotten and untended, a Baltimore schoolteacher and her students took it upon themselves to rewrite Poe’s story. With pennies, persistence, and the power of public sentiment, they raised the funds to build a proper monument—though not without controversy, complications, and no shortage of gothic drama. Even famed poets Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Walt Whitman weighed in, drawn into the literary storm surrounding Poe’s legacy. Over time, the once-overlooked grave became a pilgrimage site for fans, scholars, and the mysterious figure known only as the Poe Toaster, who for decades left cryptic tributes in the dead of night.

Visit Poe House to see original illustrations by Poe House featured artist, Jason Strutz, created for “Written In Stone: 150 Years of the Poe Exhibit” commemorating the 150th anniversary of Poe’s monument, the extraordinary events that brought it to fruition, and the eerie tales that followed. In the virtual app, explore rarely seen artifacts from Poe’s second funeral (and third burial!), including the original 1875 ceremony program, accounts of mislaid bones, and unsettling claims that the wrong man lies beneath the stone. Learn about the many cenotaphs that were proposed and abandoned, and the strange posthumous journey of Poe’s wife, Virginia—her remains shut in a box and kept under a bed for years before she was finally reburied beside her darling “Eddie,” a tale as haunting as any he ever wrote.

Written In Stone unearths 150 years of strange stories, shifting memory, and the enduring question: how do we honor a man whose life—and death—remain forever shrouded in mystery?

Exhibits presented by Poe Baltimore and The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, at the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum in Baltimore. Included with admission!

Poe Baltimore Awarded Grants for America 250 Programming

As the nation prepares to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence in 2026, Poe Baltimore is proud to announce new funding for programs that connect Baltimore’s Revolutionary past to the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe.

Maryland Historical Trust and Maryland Heritage Areas Authority recently announced the award of $44,100 to Poe Baltimore for our forthcoming “Revolution & Remembrance: Baltimore’s Patriots and the Poe Family” program which will include bus tours, diorama, and lecture series at Carroll Mansion and Westminster Hall. This year Poe Baltimore was also awarded a $4,000 Inclusive History Grant from the Maryland 250 Commission. 

These funds will support expanded exhibits, a new Revolutionary-themed bus tour, and additional public programming leading into the Semiquincentennial next year. Tour highlights to include burial sites of Poe’s grandparents and other Revolutionary-era figures at Westminster Hall, the expanded exhibits at the historic Carroll Mansion—once home to Declaration signer Charles Carroll of Carrollton—and the grave of Samuel Chase, another Baltimore signer.

This project builds on Poe Baltimore’s multi-year program to reveal the hidden history the Edgar Allan Poe family’s service during the American Revolution. Our most recent programming was made possible via $20,000 Heritage Investment Grant from the Baltimore National Heritage Area, awarded in 2024 to open the Poe, Revolution & the Marquis de Lafayette exhibit on view now at Carroll Mansion. In 2022-24, Poe Baltimore worked with Westminster Preservation Trust, Sons of the Revolution in the State of Maryland, and several others to update interpretive signage at Westminster Hall, where over 300 veterans of the Revolution and War of 1812 are buried, alongside literary legend Edgar Allan Poe.

More details will unfold in the months ahead as we continue preparations for 2026!

Poe House Outdoor Gallery & Community Art Installation, Unveiling Fall 2025

Poe Baltimore is thrilled to announce a major milestone for the future of the Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum this Fall: the launch of a dramatic outdoor gallery & community art installation at 203 North Amity Street.  This new project will officially debut during the 2025 International Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for festival weekend, October 4–5.

Guests to the historic site may notice that the museum has recently been enveloped in construction fencing in preparation for construction in Poppleton. While the Poe House and surrounding site prepare for transformation for the neighboring Poe Homes Housing redevelopment, a planned outdoor gallery at Poe House will ensure the museum continues to speak — even behind the fence. Thanks to generous support from multiple funders, including $68,000 from the Middendorf Foundation and $20,000 from the Baltimore Community Foundation, the Outdoor Gallery will bring the future of Poe House into the present, featuring a combination of large-format graphics and interpretive signage on perimeter fencing and community art produced in partnership with Creative Nomads, a Baltimore-based arts collective. Visitors will experience both a preview of the museum to come and a celebration of the neighborhood’s vibrant creativity.

Additional funding support for the activation includes grants from the Baltimore National Heritage Area and the Wells Fargo Foundation, among other funders, to support the early stages of the museum expansion effort. The new gallery will be the first on-site glimpse of what’s to come and a museum experience that is literary, immersive, and deeply local.

The unveiling of the Outdoor Gallery marks the first public-facing activation since Poe Baltimore announced a planned campaign to expand the historic site into a world-class literary museum and cultural destination. The project will transform the tiny 620-square-foot Poe House and historic site with a dynamic new visitor center that includes modern galleries, community space, and an immersive visitor experience — all while honoring the poet’s legacy in the city where he launched his career and met his mysterious end.

We can’t wait to reveal the gallery this October. Come for the Poe Festival — stay for the future!

2025 Int’l Edgar Allan Poe Festival & Awards

📅 October 3–5, 2025
📍 Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum, 203 N. Amity Street, Baltimore, MD
🎀 Outdoor Gallery ribbon-cutting ceremony — Saturday, October 3, 2025, 11AM. 

Three Cities, Three Stories: Poe Baltimore Shares New Vision Abroad

This summer, Poe Baltimore embarks on a milestone journey to honor the legacy of Edgar Allan Poe, explore the roots of his extraordinary story, and share what lies ahead for the museum that bears his name. Executive Director Enrica Jang will represent the organization during a series of literary and historical engagements in Paris, Ayrshire (Scotland), and London, marking the first time Poe Baltimore’s new museum designs will be introduced abroad.

From Revolutionary history to literary legacy, this journey reveals the global threads woven into Poe’s life story.

1. Paris, France | June 25
Jang will participate in the annual flag replacement ceremony at the grave of the Marquis de Lafayette, representing Poe Baltimore and the American Friends of Lafayette. Held at Picpus Cemetery in partnership with the U.S. Embassy in Paris, the ceremony honors Lafayette’s critical role in the American Revolution—and his ties to Poe’s family. Poe Baltimore’s related exhibit, “Poe, Revolution, and the Marquis de Lafayette,” is on view now at Carroll Mansion in Baltimore.

2. Irvine, Ayrshire, Scotland | June 26
In Scotland, Jang will visit sites connected to Poe’s foster family, the Allans. Irvine tradition holds that young Edgar received some of his earliest reading lessons by tracing names and epitaphs on gravestones. This poetic origin story bridges Poe’s formative years with the themes that would later define his work. On Thursday, June 26, Enrica will share a talk about the enduring mystery of Edgar Allan Poe’s death at “Poe, a Pie and Prosecco,” event hosted by Scottish Poe group, POEtic Justice Productions, at the Harbour Arts Center in Irvine. The event will also feature Scottish author, Allan Martin. Tickets available!

3. Paris, France | July 3
Poe Baltimore will present at the International Poe Conference, alongside Poe scholars and literary professionals from around the world, to share the newest design concepts for the expanded Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum.  The Poe House Director will be joined by Poe Baltimore Board member, Professor Amy Armiento, and David Gaylin, President of the Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore. The conference is hosted by the Poe Studies Association, an International association of Poe and literary scholars. The conference presentation is made possible through a generous grant from the Maryland State Arts Council.

4. London, England | July 5
The final stop brings Poe Baltimore to the Charles Dickens Museum, where Jang will speak on the transatlantic relationship between Dickens and Poe. Though their connection was brief, the literary kinship between these two authors reveals a shared fascination with serialization, satire, and the macabre. For museum info visit the Dickens Museum website.

Follow the Journey
This trip represents a turning point for Poe Baltimore, connecting past and future, local and global. For updates, follow along at poeinbaltimore.org and on social media @PoeBaltimore.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2025 (updated May 6, 2025)
Wells Fargo Commits First Funding for Historic Poe House

Baltimore, MD, May 1, 2025–Poe Baltimore, the non-profit that stewards the historic Edgar Allan Poe House & Museum is proud to announce the Wells Fargo Foundation as inaugural donor of $150,000 for planned expansion and preservation of the historic site. The museum submitted plans for a major expansion at the Baltimore City Urban Design and Architectural Planning Board (UDAAP) in April. The multi-phase, multi-year expansion, proposes up to 17,000 additional square feet for ongoing and special exhibits in multiple galleries, an auditorium, reading room, special collections and exhibits, a literary garden, and expanded space for museum operations and gift shop. Poe Baltimore is completing schematic design for the expansion this Spring and plans to launch a major capital campaign to raise funds for the expansion that is projected to take place in two phases over several years.

“We are proud to support this transformative expansion, which will add 17,000 square feet of new space and enhance the museum’s ability to inspire, educate, and engage the community for years to come. This collaboration reflects our commitment to preserving history, fostering cultural enrichment, and investing in spaces that bring people together,” said Traci Horne, Vice President and Sr. Philanthropy & Community Impact Leader.

The project goals are foremost to preserve Poe House, the historic home of Edgar Allan Poe in Baltimore, as neighboring public housing in Poppleton are developed around the historic site. Collectively, the new spaces will celebrate the Poe House and further cement Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy in Baltimore, which in turn will allow the museum to better serve and engage with the surrounding community and the thousands of Poe fans from around the world who travel to Baltimore to learn about his life and legendary works.

“We are excited to expand our ability to engage residents, neighbors, and visitors from around the world. This once-in-a-generation project will allow us to honor Edgar Allan Poe’s legacy and inspire even more people through dedicated spaces for exhibits, programs, and education. We are deeply grateful to Wells Fargo for sharing this vision.,” said Enrica Jang, Executive Director for Poe Baltimore.

Planning for the expansion began during the “Transform Poe” community study conducted by the Housing Authority of Baltimore City for the redevelopment of the Poe Homes public housing which adjoins the historic site. The report recommended more space for the Poe House and Museum, a plan presented and approved by HUD in 2021. Once the Capital Campaign is completed, new construction will begin around the Poe House and will include multiple gallery spaces, an auditorium/event space and enhanced visitor center. A second round of comment review from UDAAP is complete (rendering is available upon request, updated May 6, 2025.)

Poe Baltimore is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to fund, maintain and interpret The Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum, and to celebrate the legacy of one of Baltimore’s most famous residents. The organization is dedicated to maintaining the museum as a vibrant experience for the thousands of visitors who come from around the world each year, and as part of a broader mission of city-wide events and educational opportunities celebrating Poe’s legacy in Baltimore and beyond.

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