The National Black Writers Conference is presented by the Center for Black Literature (CBL) at

Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College is a public college in New York City. It is a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY), offering baccalaureate and associate degrees. It was officially established in 1970 through cooperation between educator ...

The City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

. Founded by Dr.

Brenda M. Greene Brenda M. Greene, is an American scholar, author, Literary activism, literary activist, and radio host at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York. Greene is also the founder and executive director of the Center for Black Literatur ...

, the Center for Black Literature was officially approved by the College Council of

and by the Board of Trustees in October 2002. Its mission is to expand, broaden, and enrich the public's knowledge and aesthetic appreciation of literature produced by people of the

African Diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...

. It accomplishes its mission through a variety of programs and partnerships and by serving as a forum for the discussion, reading, research, study, and critical analysis of Black literature. It is the only center devoted to this mission in the country. Founded at

in 1986, the National Black Writers Conference is the vision of the late

John Oliver Killens John Oliver Killens (January 14, 1916 – October 27, 1987) was an American fiction writer from Georgia. His novels featured elements of African-American life. In his first novel, ''Youngblood'' (1954) Killens first coined the phrase "kicking a ...

and is a major program of the Center for Black Literature. It has been held at Medgar Evers College since 1986. The first National Black Writers Conference was presented by the Humanities Division at

Maya Angelou Maya Angelou ( ; born Marguerite Annie Johnson; April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American memoirist, popular poet, and civil rights activist. She published seven autobiographies, three books of essays, several books of poetry, and ...

delivered the keynote address. The event, a public gathering, has consistently attracted an array of renowned writers and scholars, including

Amiri Baraka Amiri Baraka (born Everett Leroy Jones; October 7, 1934 – January 9, 2014), previously known as LeRoi Jones and Imamu Amear Baraka, was an American writer of poetry, drama, fiction, essays and music criticism. He was the author of numerous bo ...

Gwendolyn Brooks Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks (June 7, 1917 – December 3, 2000) was an American poet, author, and teacher. Her work often dealt with the personal celebrations and struggles of ordinary people in her community. She won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetr ...

Edwidge Danticat Edwidge Danticat (; born January 19, 1969) is a Haitian-American novelist and short story writer. Her first novel, ''Breath, Eyes, Memory'', was published in 1994 and went on to become an Oprah's Book Club selection. Danticat has since written or ...

Michael Eric Dyson Michael Eric Dyson (born October 23, 1958) is an American academic, author, ordained minister, and radio host. He is a professor in the College of Arts and Science and in the Divinity School at Vanderbilt University. Described by Michael A. Fletch ...

, Charles Johnson,

Paule Marshall Paule Marshall (April 9, 1929 – August 12, 2019) was an American writer, best known for her 1959 debut novel '' Brown Girl, Brownstones''. In 1992, at the age of 63, Marshall was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship grant. Life and career Marshall wa ...

Haki Madhubuti Haki R. Madhubuti (born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States) is an African-American author, educator, and poet, as well as a publisher and operator of black-themed bookstore. He is particularly recognized ...

Walter Mosley Walter Ellis Mosley (born January 12, 1952) is an American novelist, most widely recognized for his crime fiction. He has written a series of best-selling historical mysteries featuring the hard-boiled detective Easy Rawlins, a black private inv ...

David Levering Lewis David Levering Lewis (born May 25, 1936) is an American historian, a Julius Silver University Professor, and a professor of history at New York University. He is twice winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography, for part one and ...

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically acclaimed '' So ...

Ishmael Reed Ishmael Scott Reed (born February 22, 1938) is an American poet, novelist, essayist, songwriter, composer, playwright, editor and publisher known for his satirical works challenging American political culture. Perhaps his best-known work is '' M ...

Sonia Sanchez Sonia Sanchez (born Wilsonia Benita Driver; September 9, 1934) is an American poet, writer, and professor. She was a leading figure in the Black Arts Movement and has written over a dozen books of poetry, as well as short stories, critical essay ...

Tracy K. Smith Tracy K. Smith (born April 16, 1972) is an American poet and educator. She served as the 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States from 2017 to 2019. She has published four collections of poetry, winning the Pulitzer Prize for her 2011 volume ''Life ...

Quincy Troupe Quincy Thomas Troupe, Jr. (born July 22, 1939) is an American poet, editor, journalist and professor emeritus at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, California. He is best known as the biographer of Miles Davis, the jazz music ...

Alice Walker Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was aw ...

Derek Walcott Sir Derek Alton Walcott (23 January 1930 – 17 March 2017) was a Saint Lucian poet and playwright. He received the 1992 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works include the Homeric epic poem ''Omeros'' (1990), which many critics view "as Walcot ...

John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus o ...

John A. Williams John Alfred Williams (December 5, 1925 – July 3, 2015) was an African Americans, African American author, journalist, and academic. His novel ''The Man Who Cried I Am'' was a bestseller in 1967. Also a poet, he won an American Book Award for hi ...

, and

Colson Whitehead Arch Colson Chipp Whitehead (born November 6, 1969) is an American novelist. He is the author of eight novels, including his 1999 debut work '' The Intuitionist''; '' The Underground Railroad'' (2016), for which he won the 2016 National Book Awa ...

among others.

History

The National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) convenes to provide emerging and established writers, literary scholars, critics, agents, publishers and booksellers, as well as educators, students, and the general public, with a forum for sharing the writing published by Black writers, discussing the trends and themes in black literature and identifying the major issues and challenges faced by Black writers and those in the business of reading, publishing, and selling black literature. The conversations and presentations of these writers, scholars and industry professionals are held through panel discussions, roundtable conversations, writing workshops, and literary readings.

, the Conference founder, was a writer-in-residence and professor at

from 1981 to 1987. The first NBWC held at Medgar Evers College, a year before Killens's death on October 27, 1987, focused on the social responsibility of the Black writer. Each subsequent Conference has built on the theme of the previous one and has attracted a national and international audience. A four-day NBWC is held biennially and a NBWC Symposium, begun in 2009, is held biennially for one day. Peter Lang published the proceedings of the 1996 Conference in 1998 in both hardcover and softcover, and the Center for Black Literature published the proceedings of the 2000 and 2003 Conferences.

Third World Press Third World Press (TWP) is the largest independent black-owned press in the United States, founded in 1967 by Haki R. Madhubuti (then known as Don L. Lee), with early support from Johari Amini and Carolyn Rodgers. Since the 1960s, the company ha ...

published the proceedings of the Sixth National Black Writers Conference in 2008 and Morton Books Inc. published the proceedings of the Eighth National Black Writers Conference in 2010.

NBWC Conference and Symposia

2022 —16th National Black Writers Conference: “The Beautiful Struggle: Black Writers Lighting the Way." Honorees were award-winning journalist and writer

Herb Boyd Herb Boyd (born November 1, 1938) is an American journalist, teacher, author, and activist. His articles appear regularly in the ''New York Amsterdam News''. He teaches black studies at the City College of New York and the College of New Rochel ...

, esteemed scholar Eddie S. Glaude Jr., 22nd Poet Laureate of the United States

, and award-winning novelist

Jacqueline Woodson Jacqueline Woodson (born February 12, 1963) is an American writer of books for children and adolescents. She is best known for '' Miracle's Boys'', and her Newbery Honor-winning titles ''Brown Girl Dreaming'', ''After Tupac and D Foster'', ''Fea ...

. The Center for Black Literature’s Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient was the legendary performer and literary activist Nana Camille Yarbrough. 2021 — National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium: “They Cried I Am: The Life and Work of

and

Unsung Black Literary Voices
��' 2020 — 15th National Black Writers Conference: “Activism, Identity, and Race: Playwrights and Screenwriters at the Crossroads." Honorees Carl Clay,

Dominique Morisseau Dominique Morisseau (born March 13, 1978) is an American playwright and actress from Detroit, Michigan. She has authored over nine plays, three of which are part of a cycle titled ''The Detroit Project.'' She was a recipient of the MacArthur Fell ...

Stanley Nelson Stanley Earl Nelson Jr. (born June 7, 1951) is an American documentary filmmaker and a MacArthur Fellow known as a director, writer and producer of documentaries examining African-American history and experiences. He is a recipient of the 2013 N ...

, Voza Rivers, and

Richard Wesley Richard Wesley (born July 11, 1945) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is an associate professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing. Early life Wesley w ...

were recognized for their outstanding contributions and work in theater and film. 2019 — NBWC Symposium: “Playwrights and Screenwriters at the Crossroads: Tribute to Poet, Playwright, and Novelist

Ntozake Shange Ntozake Shange ( ;
FilmReference.com. Retrieved October 27, 2018. October 18, 1948 – October 27, 2018) ...

” 2018 — 14th NBWC: “Gathering at the Waters: Healing, Legacy, and Activism in Black Literature” The 14th NBWC, honored writers

Steven Barnes Steven Barnes (born March 1, 1952) is an American science fiction, fantasy, and mystery writer. He has written novels, short fiction, screen plays for television, scripts for comic books, animation, newspaper copy, and magazine articles. Career ...

Kwame Dawes Kwame Senu Neville Dawes (born 28 July 1962) is a Ghanaian poet, actor, editor, critic, musician, and former Louis Frye Scudder Professor of Liberal Arts at the University of South Carolina. He is now Professor of English at the University of N ...

Tananarive Due Tananarive Priscilla Due ( ) (born January 5, 1966) is an American author and educator. Due won the American Book Award for her novel '' The Living Blood''. She is also known as a film historian with expertise in Black horror. Due teaches a cours ...

Eugene B. Redmond Eugene B. Redmond (born December 1, 1937, St. Louis)Burton, Jennifer"Eugene Redmond" ''Oxford Companion to African American Literature''. is an American poet, and academic. His poetry is closely connected to the Black Arts Movement and the city ...

Susan L. Taylor Susan L. Taylor (born January 23, 1946) is an American editor, writer, and journalist. She served as editor-in-chief of ''Essence'' from 1981 through 2000. In 1994, ''American Libraries'' referred to Taylor as "the most influential black woman i ...

, and

for the way in which their works explore and convey messages that heal and restore our individual selves and the collective community. 2017 — NBWC Symposium: “Our Miss Brooks: Tribute to Poet Laureate

” 2016 — 13th NBWC: “Writing Race, Embracing Difference”

Rita Dove Rita Frances Dove (born August 28, 1952) is an American poet and essayist. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress. She is the first African American to have been appointed since the posit ...

, U.S. Poet Laureate from 1993 to 1995, served as Honorary Chair at the 13th NBWC. Authors

, Charles Johnson, and

Woodie King Jr. Woodie King Jr. (born July 27, 1937) is an American director and producer of stage and screen, as well as the founding director of the New Federal Theatre in New York City. Early life and education King was born in Baldwin Springs, Alabama. He g ...

founder of the

New Federal Theatre The New Federal Theatre is a theatre company named after the African-American branch of the Federal Theatre Project, which was created in the United States during the Great Depression to provide resources for theatre and other artistic programs. ...

, were honored. A town hall forum with Dr.

Haki R. Madhubuti Haki R. Madhubuti (born Don Luther Lee on February 23, 1942, in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States) is an African-American author, educator, and poet, as well as a publisher and operator of black-themed bookstore. He is particularly recognized ...

and journalist Ashley Johnson and a conversation with

and Khalil Gibran Muhammad were featured events during the Conference. 2015 — National Black Writers Conference Biennial Symposium: “Voices of Liberation and Resistance” and a Tribute to Danny Glover 2014 — 12th NBWC: “Reconstructing the Master Narrative”

Margaret Burroughs Margaret Taylor-Burroughs (November 1, 1915 – November 21, 2010), also known as Margaret Taylor Goss, Margaret Taylor Goss Burroughs or Margaret T G Burroughs, was an American visual artist, writer, poet, educator, and arts organizer. She co-fo ...

Maryse Condé Maryse Condé (née Boucolon; February 11, 1937) is a French novelist, critic, and playwright from the French Overseas department and region of Guadeloupe. Condé is best known for her novel ''Ségou'' (1984–85).Condé, Maryse, and Richard P ...

, and

were honored during the Conference. Steve Cannon,

Zakes Mda Zakes Mda ( ), legally Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (born 1948) is a South African novelist, poet and playwright and he is the son of politician A. P. Mda. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays. He i ...

, and

were among the participants in the Conference. Nobel Prize Laureate

was featured at the special literary event “The Search for Self in Caribbean Literature.” 2013 — NBWC Symposium: “Celebrates the Life and Works of Writer, Filmmaker, and Social Activist

Toni Cade Bambara Toni Cade Bambara, born Miltona Mirkin Cade (March 25, 1939 – December 9, 1995), was an African-American author, documentary film-maker, social activist and college professor. Biography Early life and education Miltona Mirkin Cade was bor ...

” 2012 —11th NBWC: “The Impact of Migration, Popular Culture and the Natural Environment in the Literature of Black Writers” Dr. Howard Dodson, former chief of the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) b ...

, and writers and poets

Nikki Giovanni Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni Jr. (born June 7, 1943) is an American poet, writer, commentator, activist, and educator. One of the world's most well-known African-American poets,Jane M. Barstow, Yolanda Williams Page (eds)"Nikki Giovanni" ''E ...

, and

Ngugi wa Thiong’o Ngugi or Ngũgĩ is a name of Kikuyu origin that may refer to: *Ngugi wa Mirii (1951–2008), Kenyan playwright *Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (born 1938), Kenyan writer *David Mwaniki Ngugi, Kenyan politician and member of the National Assembly of Kenya *Jo ...

were celebrated at the Awards and Tribute program.

, Ron Daniels, and Michael Simanga engaged in a roundtable discussion and critical response to ''Manning Marable's Malcolm X: A Life of Reinvention''. 2011 — NBWC Symposium: “Honoring the Work and Life of American Playwright

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

” 2010 —10th NBWC: “And Then We Heard the Thunder: Black Writers Reconstructing Memories and Lighting the Way”

was the Honorary Chair of the 10th NBWC, which also celebrated the work and lives of poets and writers

;

Kamau Brathwaite The Honourable Edward Kamau Brathwaite, CHB (; 11 May 1930 – 4 February 2020), was a Barbadian poet and academic, widely considered one of the major voices in the Caribbean literary canon.Staff (2011)"Kamau Brathwaite." New York University, D ...

; and

Edison O. Jackson Edison O. Jackson (born October 1, 1942) was the sixth president of Bethune-Cookman University. Previously, he was president of Medgar Evers College from 1989 to 2009. In 2013, Jackson was appointed president of Bethune-Cookman University. He ...

, former president of

. The Center also launched the ''Killens Review of Arts & Letters'', a biannual literary journal, at the Conference. 2009 — NBWC Symposium – Honoring the Work and Life of Speculative Fiction Writer

Octavia E. Butler Octavia Estelle Butler (June 22, 1947 – February 24, 2006) was an American science fiction author and a multiple recipient of the Hugo and Nebula awards. In 1995, Butler became the first science-fiction writer to receive a MacArthur Fellowshi ...

2008 — 9th NBWC: “Black Writers: Reading and Writing to Transform Their Lives and the World” The 9th NBWC was dedicated to the Centennial of Richard Wright. Activist and writer Susan Taylor served as Honorary Chair for the Conference. Activist-scholar, author

Randall Robinson Randall Robinson (born July 6, 1941) is an African-American lawyer, author and activist, noted as the founder of TransAfrica Forum, TransAfrica. He is known particularly for his impassioned opposition to apartheid, and for his advocacy on behal ...

, poet

, public intellectual

Cornel West Cornel Ronald West (born June 2, 1953) is an American philosopher, political activist, social critic, actor, and public intellectual. The grandson of a Baptist minister, West focuses on the role of race, gender, and class in American society and ...

, and publishers Cheryl Hudson and Wade Hudson were honorees. 2006 — 8th NBWC: “Expanding Conversations on Race, Identity, History and Genre” Dr.

Myrlie Evers-Williams Myrlie Louise Evers-Williams (née Beasley; born March 17, 1933) is an American civil rights activist and journalist who worked for over three decades to seek justice for the 1963 murder of her husband Medgar Evers, another civil rights activist ...

was the Honorary Chair of the 8th NBWC, which was dedicated to the memories of speculative fiction writer

and playwright

. Conference honorees were

Samuel Delany Samuel R. "Chip" Delany (, ) (born April 1, 1942), is an American author and literary critic. His work includes fiction (especially science fiction), memoir, criticism, and essays (on science fiction, literature, sexual orientation, sexuality, a ...

Marita Golden Marita Golden (born April 28, 1950) is an American novelist, nonfiction writer, professor, and co-founder of the Hurston/Wright Foundation, a national organization that serves as a resource center for African-American writers. Background and caree ...

, and

. Participating authors included

Walter Dean Myers Walter Dean Myers (born Walter Milton Myers; August 12, 1937 – July 1, 2014) was an American writer of children's books best known for young adult literature. He was born in Martinsburg, West Virginia, but was raised in Harlem. A tough childho ...

Elizabeth Nunez Elizabeth Nunez is a Trinidadian American novelist and Distinguished Professor of English at Hunter College– CUNY, New York City. Her novels have won a number of awards: ''Prospero's Daughter'' received the ''New York Times'' Editors' Choice ...

Willie Perdomo Willie Perdomo is a Puerto Rican poet and children's book author. He is the author of ''The Essential Hits of Shorty Bon Bon'' (Penguin Poets, 2014), a National Book Critics Circle Awards finalist, ''Where a Nickel Costs a Dime'' ( W. W. Norto ...

, and

among others. 2004 — 7th NBWC: “A Tribute to Activist and Writer

”

Gil Noble Gilbert Edward "Gil" Noble (February 22, 1932 – April 5, 2012) was an American television reporter and interviewer. He was the producer and host of New York City television station WABC-TV's weekly show '' Like It Is'', originally co-hosted with ...

, host of the award-winning television show Like It Is, delivered the keynote address for the Conference.

Ossie Davis Raiford Chatman "Ossie" Davis (December 18, 1917 – February 4, 2005) was an American actor, director, writer, and activist. He was married to Ruby Dee, with whom he frequently performed, until his death. He and his wife were named to the NAACP ...

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress, poet, playwright, screenwriter, journalist, and civil rights activist. She originated the role of "Ruth Younger" in the stage and film versions of ''A Raisin in the Sun'' (19 ...

Mos Def Yasiin Bey (; born Dante Terrell Smith, December 11, 1973), previously and more commonly known by his stage name Mos Def (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and actor. His hip hop career began in 1994, alongside his siblings in the s ...

Farai Chideya Farai Chideya (; born July 27, 1969, in Baltimore, Maryland, United States) is an American novelist, multimedia journalist, and radio host. She produced and hosted ''Pop and Politics with Farai Chideya'', a series of radio specials on politics fo ...

Abiodun Oyewole Abiodun Oyewole (born Charles Davis, February 1948), is a poet, teacher and member of the African-American music and spoken-word group The Last Poets, which developed into what is considered to be the first hip hop group. Critic Jason Ankeny ...

, and

were among the featured authors and panelists. 2003 — 6th NBWC: “Literature as Access: Connecting to Ourselves, Our Communities, Our Histories” Poets

, Linda Susan Jackson, Louis Reyes Rivera, and

were among the featured writers participating at the Conference. 2000 — 5th NBWC: “The Impact of Literature by Black Writers on Culture and Values in America” 1996 — 4th NBWC: “Black Literature in the ’90s: A Renaissance to End All Renaissances” 1991 — 3rd NBWC: “New Directions for Black Literature in the 21st Century” 1988 — 2nd NBWC: “Images of Black Folk in Black American Literature and in the Literature of the Other Americas” 1986 — 1st National Black Writers Conference: “The Social Responsibility of the Black Writer”

NBWC Publications

Greene, Brenda, and Fred Beauford, Eds. ''Resistance and Transformation: Conversations with Black Writers''. Irvington: Morton Books, 2010. Greene, Brenda, and Fred Beauford, Eds. ''Meditations and Ascensions: Black Writers on Writing''. Chicago: Third World Press, 2008. Greene, Brenda, N. Smith and T. Gordon, Eds. ''And Then They Heard Our Thunder, Selected Proceedings from the Sixth National Black Writers Conference'', New York: Center for Black Literature, Spring 2004. Greene, Brenda, N. Smith and T. Gordon, Eds. ''And Then They Heard Our Thunder, Selected Proceedings from the Fifth Annual National Black Writers Conference'', Eds. Greene, Smith and Gordon. New York: Center for Black Literature, Spring 2003. Greene, Brenda and Elizabeth Nunez, Eds. ''Defining Ourselves: Black Writers in the 90s''. New York: Peter Lang, 1999. Visit thecenterforblackliterture.org

References

{{Reflist Writers' conferences