National Black Writers Conference

The 18th National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) was held from March 25 to March 28 at Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, in Brooklyn. This year’s conference was themed “Expanding Conversations on Environmental Justice, Popular Culture, Resilience, and Peace.” The conference featured panel discussions, a keynote conversation, presentations by conference honorees, author readings, and writing workshops for poets, fiction writers, nonfiction writers, and literary scholars. Participating writers included poet, fiction writer, and nonfiction writer Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, fiction writers Cebo Campbell and Victor LaValle, and publisher Ayo Sekai (Universal Write Publications). Nonfiction writers Nikole Hannah-Jones and Michael Harriot were the keynote speakers. The 2026 honorees were poet Camille T. Dungy, nonfiction writer and scholar Imani Perry, and publishing professional Kassahun Checole (Africa World Press and Red Sea Press). The cost of the conference was $50. Registration was first come, first served. Visit the website for more information.

Accessibility accommodations included 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. Writers contacted the chief of staff via e-mail at chunter@mec.cuny.edu for additional accessibility details.