17th Annual National Black Writer's Conference with Percival Everett, Jaquline Woodson, Edwidge Danticatt and More!

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. 

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