Well-Read Black Girl

Brooklyn, September 9, 2107 - the first Well-Read Black Girl Festival. So much brilliance, talent, passion, wisdom, support, and sisterhood in one space. And so many powerful words. Speakers and panelists included Jacqueline Woodson, Tayari Jones, Renee Watson, and Tia Williams; session topics: "Writing Rituals As Self Care"; "Owning Your Truth"; and "Writing as Political Resistance." So you know I have pages and pages of notes and quotes. But even though this writer has issues with brevity, there aren't enough words to truly capture the inspiration of this day.

That happy but kind of dazed look I have in this photo with Rita Williams-Garcia - it was affixed to my face pretty much throughout the event. Rita told me she's adding my new book to a library she's building for her grandbaby on-the-way. I met two of my fave writers, Tayari Jones and Bernice McFadden. (And because I choose writing over images every time, I didn't ask them to take photos with me. My focus was on getting them to autograph their books.. I was reading Book of Harlan at the time, so having Bernice McFadden autograph it WHILE I was half-way through - epic.)

Then there's my book haul - all books penned by Black women. I think that's all they were selling, which was perfectly fine with me.

I have no idea when the 2018 Well-Read Black Girl Festival will take place, but if you've read all the way to the end of this post, and you're even a little close to NYC, you've got to go next year. Follow them on Twitter at @wellreadblkgirl