Literary Cleveland’s annual Inkubator Writing Conference will take place online September 6-8 and in-person September 9-10 at the downtown Cleveland Public Library, kicking off Cleveland Book Week.
The Inkubator Writing Conference is one of the largest free writing festivals in the country and has been presented annually by Literary Cleveland since 2015. After two years of virtual programs, the Inkubator is returning in 2022 with a hybrid model featuring three days of virtual events leading up to a two-day in-person conference.
Free virtual programs September 6-8 include a panel discussion on poetry and the environment with Ross Gay (The Book of Delights) and Aimee Nezhukumatathil (World of Wonders), a conversation about identity and place with memoirist Brian Broome (Punch Me Up to the Gods), and a discussion on humor and horror in fiction with Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah (Friday Black).
The two-day in-person conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library on September 9-10 will feature 39 free workshops, craft talks, and panel discussions as well as a book fair with regional bookstores, presses, journals, and literary arts organizations. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and multigenre programs will help writers improve their craft and generate new material. Sessions on publishing in literary journals, writing a nonfiction book proposal, and finding an agent are designed to advance writers’ careers. This year the conference expands to include new forms of writing and literature with sessions on podcasting, adapting writing for new media, and videography for literature lovers. In addition to workshops for adults, the conference will also include programs specifically for teenagers on Saturday, September 10 in collaboration with Lake Erie Ink.
Presenters for the in-person conference include Kenyon Farrow, David Giffels, Stephanie Ginese, Noor Hindi, Paula McLain, D. M. Pulley, Ken Schneck, Thrity Umrigar, Abby Vandiver, Laura Maylene Walter, and more as well as special guests Prince Shakur (When They Tell You to Be Good) and Negesti Kaudo (Ripe: Essays) both from Columbus.
The conference will be capped off with a keynote by renowned author Jami Attenberg on Saturday, September 10 at 7pm at the downtown Cleveland Public Library. Attenberg is a New York Times bestselling author of author of seven books of fiction and the founder of 100 Words of Summer. Her most recent book, I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home, is a memoir about unlocking and embracing her creativity—and how it saved her life.
This year the Inkubator is part of Cleveland Book Week in September and will be followed by Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA) programs September 11-16, and the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC pronounced “glossy”) on September 17. By partnering for the first time on Cleveland Book Week, AWBA, GLAAWC and Literary Cleveland will enhance and amplify each other’s programs for greater impact. Award-winning authors will connect with local emerging writers to develop the next great voices, and collaborative events will inspire new projects and partnerships. More information about AWBA and GLAAWC will be announced soon.
The 2022 Inkubator is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, and the Cleveland Foundation. Sponsors include the Cleveland Public Library, Mac’s Backs Book, Clevo Books, Hathaway Brown, Appletree Books, Loganberry Books, Fireside Books, and Margaret W. Wong & Associates.
Literary Cleveland is a nonprofit that empowers people to explore other voices and discover their own. The organization is a community of writers committed to bringing people into the world of words by providing educational writing opportunities at all levels, promoting new and existing literature of the highest quality, and advancing Northeast Ohio as a vital center of diverse voices and visions.
To register and for more information, visit the Inkubator website: inkubator.litcleveland.org
