Literary calendar.JANUARY January 14-17 Visit the African American African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. Pavilion at the Midwinter mid·win·ter n. 1. The middle of the winter. 2. The period of the winter solstice, about December 22. midwinter Noun 1. the middle or depth of winter 2. Meeting of the American Library Association American Library Association, founded 1876, organization whose purpose is to increase the usefulness of books through the improvement and extension of library services. (ALA) in Boston. The pavilion will feature exhibits from African American publishers directed at the nation's libraries. Details on the ALA meeting are available by calling 800-545-2433 or going to www.ala.org. January 26-30 Travel to Zora Neale Hurston's hometown of Eatonville, Florida Eatonville is a town in Orange County, Florida, six miles north of Orlando. The population was 2,432 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 2,272[1]. , for the annual festival in her honor. The 16th annual Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 – January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the 1937 novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. Festival of the Arts
The Festival of the Arts, or simply Festival is a three day arts festival in Grand Rapids held on the first Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of June. & Humanities features panel discussions, authors, a gala, musical performances and a street festival with arts and crafts arts and crafts, term for that general field of applied design in which hand fabrication is dominant. The term was coined in England in the late 19th cent. as a label for the then-current movement directed toward the revivifying of the decorative arts. , as well as a fine-art show. Call 407-647 3307, visit www.zoranealehurston.cc for more information. FEBRUARY February 5 Explore the world of literature for young readers at the 13th Annual African American Children's Book Fair at the Community College of Philadelphia About CCP '''Community College of Philadelphia is a community college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The main campus is located at 1700 Spring Garden Street. Community College of Philadelphia is an open-admission, Associate degree granting institution with more than 70 . For more information, call 215-878-BOOK (2655). February 6 & 7 Participate in the National Council of Teachers of English Mission As stated on their official website, the NCTE ( National Council of Teachers of English) is a professional organization dedicated to "improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts at all levels of education. African American Read-In sponsored by the organization's Black Caucus. Schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations are encouraged to make literacy a part of Black History Month by coordinating a read-in in their community. The read-in must feature books by African Americans. For more information, visit www.ncte.org/prog/readin/. MARCH March 10-13 The 10th installment of the Romance Slain Jam will be held in Dallas, Texas “Dallas” redirects here. For other uses, see Dallas (disambiguation). The City of Dallas (pronounced [ˈdæl.əs] or [ˈdæl. . The event features workshops lead by published romance authors and a chance for fans to meet their favorite romance scribes. Visit www.romanceslamjam.com for registration and hotel information. March 19 Valerie Boyd, author of the biography Wrapped in Rainbows: The Life of Zora Neale Hurston, and Trisha Thomas, author of the best-selling book Nappily Ever After, will make presentations and sign books at the 6th Annual Lee County Reading Festival to be held on Saturday, from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M. in downtown Fort Myers Fort Myers, city (1990 pop. 45,206), seat of Lee co., SW Fla., on the Caloosahatchee River, near the Gulf of Mexico; founded 1850, inc. 1905. It has a tourist trade and light industry and is a shipping point for citrus fruits, winter vegetables, flowers (especially . For more information, visit www.lee-county.com/library. APRIL April: see month. April 2 Writers and readers will gather in Los Angeles for Black Writers On Tour, a one-day event one-day event a contraction of the three-day event but like that contest is aimed at selecting the best all-round horse and rider. The events usually contested are show-jumping, dressage and cross-country. featuring seminars, book signings, a keynote speaker and exhibitors. The event will be at the Radisson Hotel at 6225 West Century Boulevard. Call 323-750-3592 or e-mail: drrosie@aol.com for more information. April 8 The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College Medgar Evers College (MEC) is a college campus (offering bachelor's and associate's degrees) of The City University of New York. MEC was founded in 1970 through cooperation from educators and community leaders in central Brooklyn. , CUNY CUNY City University of New York , will hold a Literary Symposium for Gwendolyn Brooks from 3 to 10 P.M. The event will include readings and panel discussions celebrating the work of poet Gwendolyn Brooks. For more information, call 718-270-6983. The center is at 1650 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . For more information, log on to www.blacklitcenter.org. April 8-9 Visit Howard University in Washington, D.C., for a two-day symposium titled "Situating August Wilson in the Canon and in the Curriculum." Speakers at the event will present challenging research and innovative thought on the works of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright. For more information contact Dr. Sandra G. Shannon at sshannon@howard.edu. April 9 The Prince Georges Chapter of the Black Writers' Guild of Maryland will hold an Afrocentric Literary Conference at the Karibu Books in Bowie, Maryland. The conference will be a day of workshops and author signings with Mudada Abdue, author of God and the Revival of the African Spirit, as the speaker. For more information e-mail: lj1369@hotmail.com or visit www.blackwritersguild.org. April 21-23 The Memphis Black Writers Conference & Southern Film Festival will focus on the Harlem Renaissance: The Southern Connection will include authors, panels, writers workshops, art exhibits and an international film festival. The festival will be held in downtown Memphis, one block from historic Beale Street. For more information, call 901-392-0632. College authors are recognized at the Hurston/Wright Award for College Writers in Washington, D.C. The event date is scheduled for some time in late April. Details will be posted to http://www.hurstonwright.org or you can call 301-683-2134 for more information. MAY May 14 Mystery writers and mystery fans will head to Oakland, California, for the 10th anniversary Friends of Chester Himes Conference. The group promotes African American mystery writers, and the conference provides a forum for authors to network and for readers to meet favorite as well as new authors. The conference will include a film festival, panels and presentations at the Oakland Museum. Contact The Friends of Chester Himes at 415-885-4709 or tfoch200@yahoo.com for details. May 19-22 Travel to Jamaica for the Go on Girl Book Club, Inc.'s 13th Annual Author Awards Weekend Conference in Montego Bay at Wyndham Rose Hall. The 2005 theme is "Jammin' in Jamaica" and will highlight the achievements of authors. The event also brings together members of the 33 chapters of the national organization. For more information visit www.goongirl.org or call Linda Davis-Morris at 312-407-0734. The 5th annual Calabash calabash Tree (Crescentia cujete) of the trumpet-creeper family (Bignoniaceae) that grows in Central and South America, the West Indies, and extreme southern Florida. It is often grown as an ornamental. International Literary Festival opens in Treasure Beach, Jamaica. For more information and list of scheduled readings, visit www.calabashfestival.org. JUNE June 2-5 Do some power networking at the 2005 BookExpo America, the premier book industry trade show and conference. Educational Programs, June 2-5; International Rights Marketplace, June 3-5; Exhibition Halls, June 3-5. For the second year, the African American Pavilion will showcase books and magazines, as well as black interest titles by black publishers. The African American Booksellers Conference also meets during the convention. Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is a large convention center on the west side of Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by architects I. M. Pei and partners. The revolutionary space frame structure was built in 1986 and named for New York Senator Jacob K. , New York, NY. For more information, log on to www.bookexpoamerica.com. June 10 & 11 The second annual Los Angeles Black Book Expo will be held at Exposition Park. The event is free and open to all. Visit the Web site www.labbexpo.com for details. June 10-12 The Amigal's Literary Retreat will be held at the Sharpe Reservation at Camp Mariah in Fishkill, New York Fishkill is a village within the Town of Fishkill in Dutchess County, New York, USA. The population was 1,735 at the 2000 census. The Village of Fishkill is in the northeast part of the town on US 9. It is north of Interstate 84. NY 52 is the main street. . Avid readers can meet authors, participate in exercise activities and take advantage of spa services at the camp. For more information and registration fees, go to www.thepassageinstitute.com/amigals.htm. June 17-18 Celebrate Juneteenth at Wine, Watermelon watermelon, plant (Citrullus vulgaris) of the family Curcurbitaceae (gourd family) native to Africa and introduced to America by Africans transported as slaves. Watermelons are now extensively cultivated in the United States and are popular also in S Russia. & Word in Dallas. The event will be held at the Black Academy of Arts and Letters Arts and Letters (1966-1998) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse. Owned and bred by American sportsman, and noted philanthropist Paul Mellon, and trained by future Hall of Famer Elliott Burch, the colt began racing at age two. and will feature authors and spoken-word performers. For ticket information, call 214-743-2440 or visit www.tbaal.org. June 19-June 25 The second annual North Country Summer Institute and Retreat for Writers of Color will be held at the Valcour Educational and Conference Center on the shores of Lake Champlain in New York. The retreat is held by the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College. The Institute and Retreat provides emerging writers of color with an opportunity to receive writing instruction and to workshop their writing with experienced institute faculty. Institute faculty from the 2004 retreat and institute included Sonia Sanchez. Tony Medina and Indira Ganesan. For more information, call 718-270-6983. June 23-29 Visit the African American Pavilion at the Annual Meeting of the American Library Association (ALA) in Chicago. The pavilion will feature exhibits from African American publishers directed at the nation's libraries. Details are available by calling 800-545-2433 or going to www.ala.org. JULY July 9-14 Christian Booksellers Association International Convention: Colorado Convention Center The Colorado Convention Center is a multi-purpose convention center in downtown Denver, Colorado which recently underwent a major expansion. The expansion added 600,000 sq. feet of space and a 5,200 seat concert hall. The total area of the convention center is 1.2 million sq. feet. , Denver, CO. Newly expanded facilities in the Rockies. For information see: www.cbaonline.org. The Christian African American Booksellers Association, www.caaba.net, is a major participant in the convention. July 17-23 The Hurston/Wright Writers Week will be held the second week in July at American University in Washington, D.C. The multiyear summer writers workshop is open to writers of African descent and features courses in building the novel, nonfiction writing and screenwriting. For an application and details, go to www.hurstonwright.org or call 301-683-2134. July 22-24 Head to Harlem for the annual Harlem Book Fair and events. The book fair is on Saturday on West 135th Street (between Fifth Avenue and Adam Clayton Powell Adam Clayton Powell can refer to:
AUGUST August 5-7, The world's largest book club meeting will take place in Atlanta at the third annual National Book Club Conference. Committed authors for the 2005 event include J. California Cooper Joan California Cooper is an African-American playwright and author. , Lolita Files, Walter Mosley, Valerie Wilson Wesley, Zane and others. Call 888-406-6222 or visit www.nationalbookclubconference.com for more information. SEPTEMBER Dates to be determined Spend four days honing your writing skills with Tina McElroy Ansa and other authors at the Sea Island Writers Retreats. The retreats take place in September, October and November on Sapelo Island, off the coast of Georgia. Participants attend workshops in fiction, nonfiction, memoir and editing. Ansa hopes to add children's fiction and screenwriting for the 2005 retreats. In addition to Ansa, Cornelia Walker Bailey, Zaron W. Burnett Jr., Pearl Cleage and Blanche Richardson conducted workshops at the 2004 retreats. Call 912-638-4418 or e-mail: books@tinamcelroyansa.com for details. Keep an eye out for the dates for the 2005 Hurston/Wright Legacy Award Ceremony in New York in late September. The organizers present an annual award for debut fiction, fiction and nonfiction to published writers of African descent in partnership with Borders Books & Music. Details will be posted to www.hurstonwright.org or you can call 301-683-2134 for more information. Tickets for the event range from $250-$500. OCTOBER October 6-9 Visit the University of Texas at Austin “University of Texas” redirects here. For other system schools, see University of Texas System. The University of Texas at Austin (often referred to as The University of Texas, UT Austin, UT, or Texas for Fire & Ink 2: Revival, a writers' festival for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered transgendered adjective Relating to a person who has undergone genital/sexual reassignment surgery Transgender health issues Hormonal therapy, cosmetic surgery, fertility options–eg, egg and sperm banking. See Sexual reassignment. Cf Transsexual. persons of African descent. Authors, publishers and editors gather to discuss the craft-the business, social and political implications of documenting their stories. Past speakers, performers and workshop presenters have included Keith Boykin, Cheryl Clarke, Samuel R. Delany, Thomas Glave and Michelle Parkerson. Go to www.fireandink.org or e-mail: info@fireandink.org for more information. Call festival manager Adrian King for details at 713-839-7377. October 16-23 Set sail with your favorite authors at the sixth annual African American Book Club Summit. The cruise departs from Los Angeles (Long Beach) and stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas Cabo San Lucas (popularly known as just Cabo) is a small city at the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula at , in the municipality of Los Cabos in the state of Baja California Sur, Mexico. , Mexico. Readers on this literary voyage can discuss books, share ideas and meet authors. Aspiring writers will have an opportunity to learn about self publishing, marketing and the writing craft. Visit www.summitatsea.com or call 866-875-1044 for details. October 19-22 The Gwendolyn Brooks Writers Conference at Chicago State University will celebrate its 15th anniversary with panel discussions on fiction, poetry and issues in the African American literary community. The conference includes a literary award program and independent book festival. For details, visit www.csu.edu/gwendolynbrooks/. Join the National Association of Black Storytellers for their annual conference and festival in Tampa, Florida in November. The association promotes the art of black storytelling and passes on the folklore, legends, myths, fables and mores of Africans and their descendants. Details on the 2005 festival will be available closer to the event date. Contact Barbara Eady for more information at Barbaraeady@ameritech.net. November 5 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the name by which it is known, (or, as named on the building itself, the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts but, locally called the The Kennedy Center in Washington, D. C., will hold its annual free children's Multicultural Book Festival on Saturday, from 12 -5 P.M. The event will include readings, book signings and other activities with special guests. The event is produced by Kids Cultural Books, a nonprofit organization Nonprofit Organization An association that is given tax-free status. Donations to a non-profit organization are often tax deductible as well. Notes: Examples of non-profit organizations are charities, hospitals and schools. . For details, visit www.kennedy-center.org. November 26 Check out the 18th annual African American Book Expo in Norfolk, Virginia. For more information contact E. Curtis Alexander at 757-651-5555 or go to www.blackwordsonline.com. DECEMBER December End the year on a literary note with the Essence of Motown Writers Alliance Meet & Greet in Detroit. Authors, writers and readers gather to talk literature, promote literacy; and check out the book fair. For more details, call 313-289-8614 or go to ww.geocities.com/essenceofmotown. December 26-January 1, 2006 Celebrate Kwanzaa by sharing a culturally relevant book, one of the ways recommended for observing this African American holiday. Ujaama! Did we miss your event? Send us the details to include in a future issue of the magazine, on our Web site or in the 2006 calendar. E-mail us at: bibredit@cmapublishing.com, or mail the information to Black Issues Book Review, 350 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1522, New York, NY 10118. Design: Salahadeen Betts |
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