the 2023 Kweli International Literary Festival will be held from July 15 – September 15.
The hybrid festival will feature virtual readings and conversations with debut and award-winning BIPOC writers, master classes, craft talks, and much more, as well as the year’s best opportunity to connect with agents, editors, and fellow creatives of color at our in-person Festival Inaugural Day. Read on to see our incredible lineup this year!
Festival Inaugural Day will be held on SATURDAY, JULY 15, 8AM-6PM, in-person at Barnard College, New York City.
The full-day program will include Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Pulitzer Prize Finalist), Namwali Serpell (Windham-Campbell Prize), screenwriter Raven Jackson (Sundance Short Film Prize), Jocelyn Nicole Johnson (National Book Critics Circle Leonard Prize Finalist), Victor LaValle (Whiting Award), a keynote conversation between Hanif Abdurraqib (Andrew Carnegie Medal) and Kaitlyn Greenidge (Center for Fiction First Novel Prize) along with other highly acclaimed writers, as well as groundbreaking debut authors ready to share their publishing journeys with emerging writers of color. Take a peek at our Schedule at a Glance. Register for Festival Inaugural Day below!