National Black Writers Conference

The 17th National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) was held from March 20 to March 23 at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York. This year’s conference was themed “All That We Carry: Where Do We Go From Here?” and drew its name from the title of Tiya Myles’s nonfiction book, All That She Carried: The Journey of Ashley’s Sack, a Black Family Keepsake, which “illustrates the value of tradition and history…as the nation witnesses an erosion of democratic values.” The conference featured panel discussions, a keynote conversation, presentations on conference honorees, author readings, writing workshops, and film screenings for poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and literary scholars. Participating writers included poet Kwame Dawes; fiction writers Edwidge Danticat and Marita Golden; and nonfiction writers Jelani Cobb, Marc Lamont Hill, Karen Hunter, Bettina L. Love, Tiya Miles, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, and Kevin Powell. Nonfiction writers Michael Eric Dyson and Farah Jasmine Griffin were the keynote speakers. The 2024 honorees were fiction writers Percival Everett and Bernice L. McFadden, scholar Peniel E. Joseph, and publishing professional Paul Coates. The cost of the conference was $80. Registration was first come, first served. Visit the website for more information.

Accessibility accommodations include public transportation near the venue; elevators in all multilevel event spaces; accessible parking; accessible sidewalks, pathways, and doorways; external ramp access to the auditorium; reserved seating in event spaces; and ASL interpretation. E-mail the chief of staff at chunter@mec.cuny.edu for additional accessibility details.