Get Involved: Propose an Event or Volunteer

Open Call: Event Proposals + Volunteers

The New York Black and African Literature Festival invites event proposals and volunteer sign-ups for our 2026 festival, taking place September 18–20, 2026 in New York City.

This year’s theme, The Village in the Book: Literature and the Near, asks how literature helps us see what is closest to us: the family, the neighborhood, the language community, the classroom, the city the reader, the audience, and the political commons.

We are interested in proposals that think with care, imagination, and urgency about Black and African literature, culture, memory, language, place, and belonging.

Host an Event

We welcome proposals from writers, artists, scholars, publishers, booksellers, performers, teachers, students, organizers, collectives, and community practitioners.

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Volunteer

We are looking for volunteers who want to be part of creating a generous, well-run, and welcoming space for Black and African literary culture in New York.

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