NYBALF 2025 - Festival Retrospective

September 5–7, 2025 | Harlem, New York

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The inaugural New York Black and African Literature Festival (NYBALF) took place from September 5–7, 2025, under the theme Radical Solidarity, an attempt to reimagine connection and creative cooperation across the Black world.

Held at The Africa Center and the Guggenheim Museum, the three-day gathering brought together writers, poets, thinkers, artists, and cultural organizers from Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and the Americas for dialogues at the intersection of literature, culture, and social change.

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A Space for Connection and Imagination

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Over three days, audiences came together for readings, performances, and conversations, bridging continents and affirming literature’s power to hold our shared histories and imagine freer futures.

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Panels examined the mechanics of movement building and brought frontline organizers from Abuja, the Bronx, and the Dominican Republic into dialogue about strategies for collective action across borders. Other conversations compared notes on reparative justice with scholars and cultural workers from the UK, the US, and Nigeria.

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Publishers and editors from Africa is a Country, Brittle Paper, and the Radical Books Collective examined the challenges of publishing, distributing, and protecting African and Black voices in an era of political volatility and information distortion.

Festival directors and cultural producers from Kenya, Jamaica, and the UK discussed the practical and imaginative work of moving books, people, and ideas across the Black world.

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​Keynotes and readings placed writers, poets, and scholars from different geographies of experience in conversation. Workshops centered emerging voices and collective care. 

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Looking Forward

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The New York Black & African Literature Festival was founded to foreground African and Black diasporic voices, expand networks of literary and cultural exchange, and build lasting solidarity between communities separated by geography but united by history and vision.

As we look to future editions, the festival will grow into a year-round platform of public programs, workshops, and residencies, continuing to connect writers, readers, and audiences across the globe.

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Thank you to all who helped bring this beginning to life: our partners, sponsors, speakers, volunteers, and audiences.
Together, we have laid the foundation for a new cultural home in New York City, one built on imagination, collaboration, and care.