17th Annual National Black Writer's Conference with Percival Everett, Jaquline Woodson, Edwidge Danticatt and More!
Wed, Mar 20
|Medgar Evers College
The 17th National Black Writers Conference will take place at Medgar Evers College, CUNY (in Brooklyn, NY), March 20 - 23, 2024. More than 50 Black writers, publishing executives, and literary activists will gather to discuss the triumphs and challenges facing Black writers today.
Time & Location
Mar 20, 2024, 6:00 PM – Mar 23, 2024, 8:00 PM
Medgar Evers College, 1650 Bedford Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11225, USA
About the Event
NBWC2024 PROGRAM AT-A-GLANCE
Wednesday, March 20
Opening Keynote: All That We Carry, Where Do We Go From Here? | 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Farah Jasmine Griffin in conversation with Michael Eric Dyson | Emcee: Brenda M. Greene
Thursday, March 21
Re-Envisioning Our Lives through Literature (ROLL) Youth Program
• 10:00 am to 12:00 pm - Jennifer Baker in conversation with Jason Reynolds
• 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm - Renée Watson in conversation with Cheryl Hudson and Wade Hudson
Virtual Scholarly Presentations on Conference Theme | 11:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sponsor: The African American Studies Committee of the College Language Association
Dramatic Reading from the Dr. Edith Rock Writing Workshop for Elders | 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm
Tiya Miles in conversation with Brenda M. Greene | Emcee: Novella Ford | 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Friday, March 22
Technology, Social Media, and the Fight for Racial Justice | 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm
Confirmed: Marc Lamont Hill, Bettina Love, Wesley Lowery, and Emily Raboteau
Moderator: Jelani Cobb:
The Healing Power of Literature | 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm
Confirmed: Patricia Spears Jones, Kalisha Buchanan, Marita Golden, and Kevin Powell.
Moderator: Rachel Eliza Griffiths
Black Writers’ Letters to America | 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm
Confirmed: Victoria Christopher Murray, Pamela Newkirk, Thabiti Lewis, and
Khalil Gibran Muhammad.Â
Moderator: Donna Hill
Summit Keynote: A Conversation with the 2024 Honorees
Friday, March 22, 2024 | 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
2024 Honorees: Paul Coates • Percival Everett • Peniel Joseph • Bernice McFadden
Moderator: Gloria J. Browne-Marshall
Emcee: Wallace Ford
Saturday, March 23
Wild Seeds Alumni Reunion | 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
This special event is reserved for alumni of CBL’s Wild Seeds Retreat for Writers of Color.
Saturday, March 23
Talkshops | 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
• Publishing. Leader, Tracy Sherrod, Vice President; Executive Editor at Little, Brown
• Book Proposals and Finding an Agent. Leader, Regina Brooks, Founder and President of
Serendipity Literary Agency
• Poetry. Leader, Darrel Alejandro Holnes | Afro-Panamanian American award-winning
author of Stepmotherland and Migrant Psalms
• Fiction. Leader, Kalisha Buchanon | Author of Upstate and Speaking of Summer
• Memoir. Leader, Patrick Dougher | Award-winning artist; author of If By Some
Impossible Miracle: Coming of Age in Underground New York
The Power of Historical Narratives | 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
 Confirmed: W.B. Garvey, Maryemma Graham, Ayana Mathis, and A.J. Verdelle
Moderator: Diane Richards
Black Writers Crossing Boundaries and Borders | 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm
 Confirmed: Edwidge Danticat, Kwame Dawes, Stéphanie Martelly, and Patrick Nganang
Moderator: Jasmine Claude Narcisse
Myth and Reality: The World of Publishing for the Black Writer | 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
 Confirmed: Regina Brooks, Karen Hunter, Christopher Jackson, Lisa Lucas, and Jamia Wilson
Moderator: Yahdon Israel
Saturday, March 23
7:00 pm to 7:45 pm
PAUL COATES
The National Black Writers Conference
Margaret T. Burroughs Award
PERCIVAL EVERETT
The National Black Writers Conference
John A. Williams Award
PENIEL E. JOSEPH
The National Black Writers Conference
W.E.B. Du Bois Award
BERNICE MCFADDEN
The National Black Writers Conference
Toni Morrison Award
Emcee/Host: Jacqueline Woodson
Opening Remarks: President Patricia Ramsey, Medgar Evers College
Closing Remarks: Brenda M. Greene, Center for Black Literature