Full Schedule

Inkubator 2026

Literary Cleveland's Inkubator Writing Conference is one of the largest free writing conferences in the country, providing workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, readings, and more to empower writers, celebrate literary excellence, and amplify diverse voices.

Free registration opens August 10.

Wed Sept 9

Virtual Event

Wed Sept 9 · 7:00–8:30PM ET · Virtual

Toni Morrison Panel

We are launching this year’s free Inkubator Writing Conference with a discussion about the life, literature, and legacy of Toni Morrison as part of Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison, a yearlong statewide project led by Literary Cleveland and Ohio Humanities. This event will feature six of the authors who have written introductions to the new editions of Toni Morrison’s novels: Julia Alvarez, Sasha Bonét, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Imani Perry, Danzy Senna, and Kevin Young. Together we will explore Toni Morrison’s craft and use of aesthetic forms, how her writing reshaped American literature, and how she continues inspire writers today.

Julia Alvarez, Sasha Bonét, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Imani Perry, Danzy Senna, Kevin Young

Thu Sept 10

Kickoff Mixer

Thu Sept 10 · 5:30–8:00PM ET · Community

Kickoff Mixer at Zygote Press

Celebrate the start of our 2026 in-person Inkubator Writing Conference with a free mixer at Zygote Press from 5:30-8:00PM in connection with the opening of their exhibition of art inspired by Toni Morrison. Meet and mingle with fellow writers and enjoy light food and drink from 5:30-7pm. Then from 7-8pm meet fellow writers working in similar genres. Whether you're a longtime writer or brand new, joining us from out of town or a lifelong Clevelander, we'll have a chance for you to connect with others writing similar work to help you find your people.

Community Event

Fri Sept 11

In-Person Conference

Fri Sept 11 · 10:00AM–5:00PM ET · Community

Book Fair

Meet the independent booksellers, literary journals, publishers and presses, writing groups, and literary organizations.The book fair will be open from 10:00am-5:00pm on Friday and 9:00am-5:00pm on Saturday at the conference and will feature local independent booksellers, literary journals, publishers and presses, writing groups, and literary organizations.

Participants so far include: Acre Books, American Diary Project, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, Belt Publishing, Cleveland Review of Books, CRAFT by Elizabeth's (a curated craft-book concept from Elizabeth's Bookshop), Creative Groove, Cuyahoga County Public Library William N. Skirball Writers' Center, English-Speaking Union Cleveland Branch, Great Lakes Fiction Writers, Hexagon Book, Jagged Edge Press, Kent State University Press, Lake Erie Ink: A writing space for youth, LGBTQ Book Love, Loganberry Books, Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry, Mahoning Valley Book Bazaar, ND Miller Publishing LLC, Nightlight Books, Northeast Ohio MFA, Ohio Center for the Book, Parallel Universe Books, Rescue Press, Seeds of Literacy, Sibling Rivalry Press, The Buckeye Flame, The Dodge, The Inventory of Lost Books, The Pilgrim Press, The Reading Room CLE, The Scribbler's Den, The Viridian Bookshop, The Wandering Lantern Bookstore, ThirdSpace Reading Room, Thurber House, Visible Voice Books, Wick Poetry Center, Writers in Residence, Writing Circles Podcast & Storied Account Podcast, Zygote Press, and more to come.

Community Event

Fri Sept 11 · 10:00AM–5:00PM ET · Community

Lit Fits

Show off your bookish style at Inkubator this year and you could win a prize! At this year’s festival come dressed in your best literary-related outfit (Lit Fit): from a book dress or paper tie to a full Edgar Allen Poe outfit complete with a live raven. Get your photo taken by photographer Kenneth Cody and at the end of the conference we will vote on best Lit Fits and the winners will receive a free portrait session, membership and more.

Community Event

Fri Sept 11

Session 1

11:00AM–12:30PM ET

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Fiction

“Trans-ing the Narrative”: Trans Fiction Then & Now

A conceptual, forward-thinking celebration of trans identity in conversation with fiction. This panel will discuss trans fiction’s past and present—including issues of visibility and representation, dysphoria and euphoria, trans pain and trans joy—and offer a future-focused take on “trans-ing the narrative.” This dialogue grows out of the urgency to examine “trans fiction” as a question of both social change and craft.

Willow Campbell, Benvolio Nichols

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Nonfiction

I Like, I Hate, I am Bored to Death With: The Art of the List in Creative Nonfiction

Writers have employed list-making in the creative process for centuries. From the artfully listed observations of an 11th-century lady-in-waiting in The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon, to Lorraine Hansberry’s lists of what she likes, hates, and is “Bored to Death With” (at the top of which is A Raisin in the Sun), list-making can inspire reflection and observation. Lists also have the potential to act as experimental containers for less-straightforward nonfiction writing. In this introductory workshop, participants will examine how list-making can be an interesting and inventive avenue for their own writing, in both craft and form.

Mallory Donoghue

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Poetry

The Thing & the Other Thing

Every good poem is about its subject plus something else. A great sex poem probably isn’t, on its surface, about sex. A really good bird poem? Not about birds. So how DO we convey the heartfelt message of our poems—whatever that is—while avoiding either the solipsism or the didacticism that turns our readers off? Toni Morrison offers one hint: write what you don’t know. Here, we’ll explore the concept of metaphor as a way of making the ineffable effable, writing poems that surprise our readers—and more importantly, ourselves.

Paula J. Lambert

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Publishing

Managing Your Social Media Gracefully

These days, publishers expect a social media presence, a "platform," from aspiring writers. After years in the game (and sometimes hiring publicists) our panel can share how they manage their social media presence in a way that doesn't eat up their free time or turn readers away.

Rachel E. Cargle, Sonia Feldman, Quartez Harris, Marie Vibbert; Mod: Nahomy Ortiz-Garcia

Cargle-Feldman-Harris-Vibbert-OrtizGarcia

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Beyond

Playing the Long Game: The Evolution of a Book Project

So you want to write a book. Great! All it takes is a few years of your life plus countless reserves of persistence, patience, and creative juice. In this all-genre panel, the 2026 cohort of the Literary Cleveland Breakthrough Writing Residency discuss what it takes to persevere through rough drafts, imposter syndrome, and setbacks to watch a creative project take shape. They’ll share practical tips for committing to a book-length manuscript, including strategies for creating a writing routine, developing accountability, building literary community, working with a mentor, and, most of all, finding time in a busy life to make writing a priority.

Jamie Stewart Crawford, Eris Eady, Stafford Hartman, Taylor Patterson, Tristan Summers, Michelle Tackla Wallace; Mod: Laura Maylene Walter

Crawford-Eady-Hartman-Patterson-Summers-Wallace

Fri Sept 11 · 11:00AM ET · Genre Fiction

Horror in the Hidden Bits: Creating Tension by Withholding Information

Horror is as much about seeing the monster, as not seeing it. Knowing the length of the predator's claws and seeing the rabid light in the murderer's eyes can inspire both fear and intrigue in our readers. Knowing when to withhold those details allows us to 1) strengthen the relationship between reader and writing, and 2) use the most impactful tool at our disposal: readers' imagination. During this workshop, we will review examples of information being concealed within sentences, in dialogue, and on a larger plot level. What do we know? What don't we know? How would the story change if a different piece of information was hidden? Time will be set aside for participants to brainstorm with the class how to apply this principle to their own work.

Carter Keane

Fri Sept 11

Lunch Break

12:30–1:30PM ET

Fri Sept 11 · 12:30PM ET · Community

Lunch

During the lunch break, prepaid box lunches and free ice cream from Mitchell’s will be available in the outdoor reading garden at Cleveland Public Library.

Visit Poetry Free Cleveland's typewriter station in the reading garden during lunch on Friday and Saturday to add lines to our collaborative poems. In honor of Toni Morrison, each typewriter will host a different poem beginning with a line from Morrison's work. Participants can add lines to one or multiple poems, and they can visit the typewriters on both days to see the poems develop and add another line. The purpose of this project is to provide an accessible, lighthearted point of connection and collaboration within the community that is inspired by Morrison's work.

Community Event

Fri Sept 11

Session 2

1:30–3:00PM ET

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Fiction

Designing the Midpoint: Story Structure from the Inside Out

Whether it’s the sagging middle of a novel or a short story in need of more dramatic tension, unlocking a story’s midpoint can often help address the issues we know we’re having with our works in progress. Together, we’ll discuss different approaches to midpoints and reference numerous examples (including works by Toni Morrison). We’ll also get a chance to work on our current stories' midpoints, or outline a new story from the inside out.

Joseph Celizic

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Nonfiction

Write What You Carry: Voice, Memory & Story

Inspired by Toni Morrison’s concept of rememory, the idea that stories live beyond us and can be revisited, shared, and reshaped through connection, this workshop invites participants to write from the stories they carry. Writers begin by sharing a brief personal memory. A partner then reflects back a line, image, or moment that resonates, offering an unexpected entry point into writing. Moving from conversation to the page, you’ll shape stories into original pieces while uncovering the ways memory creates connection and reveals new perspectives. Writers of all levels are welcome.

Charisse Bailey

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Poetry

Love Poems & the Art of Liberation

Love Poems & the Art of Liberation is a generative workshop facilitated by CHIMI x MATTMATT focusing on the use of love poems as a technology of liberation. In this workshop best practices will be shared with participants for them to write themselves free from whatever oppressive forces acting against them. CHIMI x MATTMATT believe it is a good time to fall in love and they believe love is a more powerful force inside of the current political climate. Come to Love Poems and the Art of Liberation to hone your skills in the act of writing toward liberation.

CHIMI, MATTMATT

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Publishing

Pathways to Book Publishing

There is more than one path to publishing your book. What are the benefits and challenges of self-publishing, of publishing with a small independent press, of going for publication with one of the Big Five traditional publishers in New York? How do you know which path is best for you? And how much does your journey change depending on if you are writing a novel, story collection, memoir, essay collection, or collection of poetry? This session won’t answer all of your questions (we only have 90 minutes!) but it will give you the lay of the land, a map from which you can embark on your book publishing journey.

Kyle Winkler

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Beyond

Writing New Worlds in the Shell of the Old

What is the role of fiction and nonfiction in creating social change? How can speculative fiction and horror not only illuminate the reality of oppressive institutions, but also combat them? How can nonfiction writers break through AI slop and misinformation? How do we communicate radical political positions in an era of increased repression? Four radical writers across genres of horror, journalism, speculative fiction, and memoir discuss their approach to writing in and against an authoritarian political climate. This will also include time for questions and discussion from the audience.

Peter Gelderloos, Raechel Anne Jolie, Carter Keane, Prince Shakur

Fri Sept 11 · 1:30PM ET · Genre Fiction

Writing Sci-fi & Fantasy Stories that Imagine Hope

While we may live in times that are dark and difficult, that doesn’t mean our writing has to be. Ursula K. Le Guin once said, “Resistance and change often begin in art. Very often…in the art of words.” In this interactive workshop, we’ll examine science fiction and fantasy stories (in genres such as solarpunk, hopepunk, and eco-fantasy) that use futuristic or fantastical concepts to imagine hope into being. We’ll discuss the very real challenges of writing hopeful stories, dig into concrete craft skills you can use to overcome these challenges, and practice these skills via multiple guided prompts.

Johnny Caputo

Fri Sept 11

Session 3

3:30–5:00PM ET

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Fiction

Non-Protagonist-Centered Writing: Beyond the Individual

Though much of western literature is concerned with centering a single protagonist, there are other possibilities. Semyon Khokhlov, founder of LEAN magazine, will introduce non-protagonist-centered writing, showing how it works and what it can do. Authors Jon Conley and Semyon Khoklov will present examples and discuss their work. The workshop will culminate in a writing exercise where participants will be given a canonical, protagonist-driven short story (there are many to choose from!). We’ll then try our hand at our own radical revisions, using key techniques of non-protagonism that may complicate the status of the individual in storytelling.

Jon Conley, Semyon Khokhlov

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Nonfiction

Our Stuff, Ourselves: Flash Nonfiction Inspired by Objects

We’re all surrounded by objects.They fill many roles in our lives, from the strictly practical to the intensely emotional, and sometimes both! Considering an object can be a way to practice tapping into sensory details as well as reaching down to explore other layers of meaning and memory. In this hands-on workshop, we'll consider and try writing flash nonfiction stories that focus on objects in their own right but also as springboards that can open surprising, affecting paths to stories about relationships, love, and loss.

Hattie Fletcher

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Poetry

“Look how the fish mistake my hair for home”: Writing Grotesque Poetry

During this generative workshop and short lecture, we will explore the joys of incorporating traditionally displeasing aesthetics into our poetic practices. How can we beautify the non-beautiful? When should we let it remain hideous—and where can we use grotesque imagery as metaphor, emphasizing disgust, contamination, and monstrosity? In her poetry and prose, Toni Morrison incorporates hauntings, mutilations, scars—and she asks us to look in the mirror when we flinch. With poets such as Ada Limón and Sy Hoawah as models, we will explore what it means to call something disgusting, to label a body or idea contaminated.

Hannah V. Warren

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Publishing

Many Paths, One Craft: Navigating a Career With or Without an MFA

There's more than one way to build a career in creative writing. This panel brings together Ohio MFA program faculty and directors alongside accomplished local writers who've built their careers without a graduate degree, for a candid conversation about different paths to the same goal: a sustainable writing life. Panelists will speak honestly about program structure and funding, relationships and community, publication and career-building, and what they wish they'd known—helping attendees weigh what's right for their own path and artistic vision for their writing lives. This panel won't tell you which path to choose, but it will give you a roadmap for your options.

Mary Biddinger, Joseph Celizic, Stephanie Ginese, Quartez Harris; Mod: Julianne Taylor

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Beyond

Thriving on Paper, Broken in Practice: Black Women, Non-Binary, and Femmes Writing Through Harm in Cleveland

Cleveland loves to celebrate, even when there’s nothing actually to celebrate. We hear about a “thriving” literary arts scene, but thriving for whom? Black women and femme writers in Cleveland have always carried the intellectual, emotional, and cultural labor of this city—archiving neighborhoods erased by development, documenting state violence, naming misogynoir, and sustaining community through language. At the same time, a lot of us have been sidelined, underpaid, tokenized, silenced, or pushed out of the very literary institutions that claim to champion Black women and femme writers. In this conversation, we will confront the historical and ongoing harm done to Black communities in Cleveland—through segregation, displacement, economic divestment, and arts & cultural extraction—and interrogate how those same patterns show up in Cleveland’s literary ecosystem. Who benefits from the narrative of progress? Who is asked to perform diversity? Who gets funding,visibility, and protection—and who gets erased and overlooked? And let’s be honest: harm doesn’t only come from white-led institutions and systems. Black women and femme writers have also experienced misogynoir within Black literary spaces—dismissal, intellectual theft, silencing, being talked over, and being framed as “difficult.” This is not an indictment of Black men as a whole. It’s a refusal to ignore misogynoir when it appears inside our own communities. We’re also not trying to tear down community. We’re refusing to lie and be quiet about it. Finally, scarcity has also been used to pit Black women and femmes against each other. Instead of confronting inequity, we have been forced to fight over crumbs. We reject that. This conversation is about naming harm, and it’s about accountability without spectacle. We are not here to be polite. We are here to be clear because clarity is a form of care and action. Led by Ali Black, this panel refuses a polished narrative.

Kisha Nicole Foster, Raja Belle Freeman, Siaara Freeman, Kortney Morrow, Michelle R. Smith; Mod: Ali Black

Fri Sept 11 · 3:30PM ET · Genre Fiction

How to Get Away with Writing Murder

A How-to-Do-It for Whodunits, How to Get Away with Writing Murder is a participatory workshop on what it takes to craft mysteries for the page and stage. Beginning with basic story structure, presenter Gary Earl Ross will lead participants in brief exercises in developing characters, finding settings, and imagining plots. Then the workshop will shift into the mechanics of mystery, and identifying where a particular story idea belongs—in a short story, novel, or play.

Gary Earl Ross

Fri Sept 11

Please note: We do not have any Friday evening programs this year so that those who wish can celebrate Rosh Hashanah.

Sat Sept 12

In-Person Conference

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM–5:00PM ET · Community

Book Fair

Participants so far include: Acre Books, American Diary Project, Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, Belt Publishing, Cleveland Review of Books, CRAFT by Elizabeth's (a curated craft-book concept from Elizabeth's Bookshop), Creative Groove, Cuyahoga County Public Library William N. Skirball Writers' Center, English-Speaking Union Cleveland Branch, Great Lakes Fiction Writers, Hexagon Book, Jagged Edge Press, Kent State University Press, Lake Erie Ink: A writing space for youth, LGBTQ Book Love, Loganberry Books, Mac's Backs-Books on Coventry, Mahoning Valley Book Bazaar, ND Miller Publishing LLC, Nightlight Books, Northeast Ohio MFA, Ohio Center for the Book, Parallel Universe Books, Rescue Press, Seeds of Literacy, Sibling Rivalry Press, The Buckeye Flame, The Dodge, The Inventory of Lost Books, The Pilgrim Press, The Reading Room CLE, The Scribbler's Den, The Viridian Bookshop, The Wandering Lantern Bookstore, ThirdSpace Reading Room, Thurber House, Visible Voice Books, Wick Poetry Center, Writers in Residence, Writing Circles Podcast & Storied Account Podcast, Zygote Press, and more to come.

Community Event

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM–5:00PM ET · Community

Lit Fits

Community Event

Sat Sept 12

Session 1

9:00–10:30AM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Fiction

Bad First Drafts: On Freewriting and Failure

This workshop will begin with an honest discussion of our favorite failures (from rejections to abandoned projects), as we consider the growth that can emerge from setbacks. We’ll then turn to Anne Lamott’s essay on first drafts to reframe our understanding of early writing as spaces for experimentation and play. Through a guided freewriting exercise inspired by Lynda Barry, students will access memory, image, and emotion without self-critique. Taking inspiration from Toni Morrison’s belief that writers must remain open to the unexpected, we’ll write with curiosity and trust that sometimes our best work comes when we give up control.

Maggie Su

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Nonfiction

Race & the Urban Outdoors

The legacy of racism in America not only affects where you live, but what it feels like to live there. In this session we will explore writings from Black Detroiters about how racism impacted their outdoor summer engagement. Many of the experiences bear striking similarities to the experiences of African Americans in other Great Migration cities. Despite these common threads, each locale holds distinct narratives about how African Americans resisted, transformed, innovated, and insisted upon outdoor joy. Through a series of prompts, participants will write their own histories, examining how race influenced their childhood—and more recent experiences—in urban outdoor spaces.

Desiree Cooper

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Poetry

Bridging the Historical Gap: Poetry for Difficult Times

One of the best ways to make sense of who and where we are is to interrogate ourselves and our time-period through the events and stories of the past. In this workshop, participants will analyze contemporary poems about historical events, then write poems that blend images of Ohio today with an element of Ohio's history, in attempt to find ourselves in these narratives.

Sara Moore Wagner

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Publishing

Writing in the Age of GenAI

Listen. Are you tired of arguing with your uncle about AI? For a technology so new, it feels like we’ve been recycling the same arguments for ages. In this session, three writers will cut though the noise, unpack the implications of Generative AI, discuss its ever-evolving effects on writers, and offer advice for the uncertain future. We will touch on the theft of authors’ intellectual property, the flood of AI output sent to literary journals, the proliferation of GenAI’s prose style, the elimination of job opportunities for writers, and more. How do writers think about GenAI as a research tool? Are there ethical uses of this technology in creative writing? What happens when GenAI shows up in a workshop? What can we learn from authors like Vauhini Vara or Sheila Heti who are venturing out into new aesthetic territory? What—in this techno feudalist moment—oh what is a writer to do?

Matthew Breit, Danielle Evans, Lincoln Michel; Mod: Hilary Plum

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Beyond

The Diasporic Writer: A Time Traveler Between the Past and the Future

This craft talk explores the role of the diasporic writer as a connector between ancestral histories and imagined futures. How do we write about what we cannot return to or for futures we may not live to see? This craft talk also addresses the unique challenges facing diasporic writers, including language choice, translation, fragmentation, and political writing that's bound with social movements and collective causes. Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the diasporic writer’s role in stitching multiple belongings. They will also gain practical strategies for working at a distance from "home" and memory as well as negotiating decisions around language, audience, and purpose in their own writing. In our increasingly multicultural and diasporic world, this is a space to navigate themes of displacement and identity with greater intentionality, depth and nuance.

Sara Abou Rashed

Sat Sept 12 · 9:00AM ET · Genre Fiction

Who's Afraid of a Haunted House?

Learn how to write books that go bump in the night! Explore the origin story of the "haunted house" trope and why these Gothic mysteries and horror stories still captivate audiences today. Author D.M. Pulley will dissect the inner workings of several classics along with a few modern masterpieces of the genre, and she will lead a group discussion on building the atmosphere and plot elements that will thrill and chill your readers. You might even catch a glimpse into Pulley's next novel.

D.M. Pulley

Sat Sept 12

Session 2

11:00AM–12:30PM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Fiction

Uprooted: Geography as Muse & Place as Character

Where do you call home? What if your answer is nowhere? Where are your most vivid memories formed? And how does your connection to a place on the map influence the stories you want to tell and the characters who inhabit your pages? We examine these questions and more in a generative workshop. The streets we walk on, the parks we play in, and the politics and community dynamics of place will find a way into our writing. The work of Ohio writers, conversation, and interactive prompts will help us explore how belonging (or not) allows us to craft vivid stories that need to be told.

Hillary Behrman

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Nonfiction

Writing with the Ancestors

"The past is not done, and it is not over," wrote Toni Morrison. "It’s still in process, which is another way of saying that when it’s critiqued and analyzed, it yields new information about itself. The past is already changing as it is being reexamined, as it is being listened to for deeper resonances." In this class, we will work with the ancestral past as a dynamic space, rich with stories and insights that have unique resonance in the present. Writing about—and with—our ancestors allows us to personalize history, and to access complex humanity in our writing. Still, there are unique ethical and formal puzzles that arise when we write our ancestral stories. In this class, we will discuss the ethics and practices of turning our ancestral stories into creative writing done in the service of justice and healing. We will explore methods of research, imagination, and collaboration. Then we will do a writing exercise that invites an ancestral story onto the page. Please consider coming with curiosity and some information about a specific ancestor so you can fully benefit from the practice.

Rachel Jamison Webster

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Poetry

Poetic Placekeeping

Placemaking is defined as the process of reimagining and reinventing spaces to revitalize a community, often by creating new infrastructure or using arts and culture to attract investment. Placekeeping, by contrast, is the active maintenance of a place and its existing social fabric. It focuses on preserving a community's history, cultural memory, and way of life to prevent displacement. This workshop takes the development processes of placemaking versus placekeeping and applies them creatively to poetry. As opposed to dreaming about renewal, participants will read and generate work that celebrates and preserve the places we love.

Stephanie Ginese

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Publishing

Writing an Effective Query Letter

Done with your book and ready to query literary agents? This practical talk from agent Alia Hanna Habib will explore the do's and don'ts of querying and walk through specifics samples of successful letters. How do you concisely describe your book? What makes for good comp? How is the process different for fiction and nonfiction? And how do you find agents to query? (Hey, what even is a query or a comp in the first place? We’ll tell you!) Come with your query letter draft and we will take two or three volunteer examples from the audience to workshop with Alia.

Alia Hanna Habib

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Beyond

On Genre, Gender & More: Aubrey Hirsch & Virginia Konchan in Conversation

The Ohio Center for the Book at Cleveland Public Library presents a conversation on genre and gender featuring Cleveland natives Aubrey Hirsch, author of the collection of graphic essays Graphic Rage: Comics on Gender, Justice, and Life as a Woman in America, and Virginia Konchan, whose latest book of poems, Requiem, considers grief in the literary and religious contexts.

Aubrey Hirsch, Virginia Konchan

Sat Sept 12 · 11:00AM ET · Genre Fiction

Worldbuilding in this World and Others

Vladimir Nabokov said, "We should always remember that the work of art is invariably the creation of a new world." Worldbuilding is an essential part of creating alien planets and fantasy realms, but it's also an important skill for writers in any type of story where setting plays a major role. How can setting inform story and character? How do we make it come alive in the reader's mind? This lecture will discuss some different worldbuilding techniques for both realist fiction and speculative fiction (as well as the differences between them) and then offer some generative-writing exercises for creating compelling story worlds.

Lincoln Michel

Sat Sept 12

Lunch Break

12:30–1:30PM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 12:30PM ET · Community

Lunch

During the lunch break, prepaid box lunches and free ice cream from Mitchell’s will be available in the outdoor reading garden at Cleveland Public Library.

Community Event

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30–4:30PM ET · Community

Kenyon Review Writing Room

Inspired by the conference and want a quiet place to write? Want to make progress on your project? Need to clear your head and draft some ideas (or just escape the crowd)? Stop in the Kenyon Review Writing Room managed by staff and associates from the legendary Kenyon Review. They will have prompts, snacks, writing materials, and anything else you need to outline, write, revise. Join anytime and leave anytime, set a goal or just sit down for a minute. The Kenyon Review Writing Room is here for you.

Community Event

Sat Sept 12

Session 3

1:30–3:00PM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Fiction

Ticking Clocks: Time and Interruption in Fiction

Much of the emotional impact of a piece of fiction comes from how it engages our awareness of time-- its capacity to suggest that something that happened long ago is haunting the story or that what happens in the present will have repercussions well into the future, or to place us in scene and abruptly remind us that everything is fleeting. In this workshop, we will consider various ways writers manage time, with particular attention to passages that deliberately call attention to time: interruptions, flashbacks, glimpses of the future, paragraphs quickly carrying the reader through a stretch of many years. Participants will read and discuss brief excerpts of work by Toni Morrison, Edward P. Jones, Lauren Groff, Victor LaValle, and Caitlin Horrocks and complete three short generative exercises.

Danielle Evans

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Nonfiction

Mining the Past: Techniques and Tools for Excavating Memories

Great memoir writing often relies on vivid, powerful memories. Unfortunately, our memories can either be so flimsy or so all encompassing, that they can feel impossible to wrangle into words. But what's worse than having a memory that defies description is not having one at all. How do you fill in the blanks of a story when there is no readily accessible record in your mind or the minds of your family or community? Author Wilbert L. Cooper has wrestled with challenges like this as he penned his debut memoir, The Black Shield, which chronicles three-generations of his Black family surviving in Cleveland and working in law enforcement. He'll give you practical tools to not only connect and commune with your own memory and the memory of your community, but he'll also show you how to put that past on the printed page.

Wilbert L. Cooper

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Poetry

SoulCare 313: Writing & Movement Workshop

Toni Morrison wrote, "If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." In this session, Detroit Poet Laureate jessica Care moore and SoulCare313 Co-Founder Kamau Ayubbi will lead a workshop on the power of our imaginations, writing ourselves into the future, building institutions with art, and the healing power of poetry. SoulCare313 is an art and wellness initiative that blends poetry and connection to our community through mindful literary circles that offer heart space with gentle movements. Come with your heart open and your pen ready. Wear comfortable clothes and cute socks.

jessica Care moore, Kamau Ayubbi

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Publishing

A Celebration of Poetry & Independent Publishing

Four poets with new books will read from their work and discuss their new collections' paths to publication. Topics will include manuscript development and working with editors, the business of poetry (and poetry's resistance to "business as usual"), and poetry's relationship to its communities. All four poets are published by Black Ocean Press or by Cleveland-based Rescue Press, renowned publishers entering their third decades. The panel will discuss the role of these presses during the past twenty years and in the current publishing landscape. Where can independent publishing take us next? What can we still make happen?

Sandra Doller, Joe Hall, Nathan Hoks, Sara Wainscott; Mod: Zach Savich

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Beyond

The Craft of Poetry with Kevin Young

How do we craft feeling into language? How can history and heartbreak be contained in a single line? In this session, Anisfield-Wolf Book Award program director Kortney Morrow will moderate a craft-focused discussion with award-winning poet Kevin Young about his latest collection, Night Watch, which won the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize. Together they will explore how to draft and revise poems, how to use craft techniques to achieve emotional and thematic ends, and how to sequences work to create a cohesive collection. Kevin Young is the poetry editor for The New Yorker and has worked as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and director of the New York Public Library’s Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Join to learn how to breathe your poems to life.

Kevin Young, Mod: Kortney Morrow

Sat Sept 12 · 1:30PM ET · Genre Fiction

The Romantasy Cauldron: Genre Bending and Blending

Serving up love, magic, and adventure in equal parts, romantasy is already the ultimate genre blend. But what happens if we toss a little solarpunk into the cauldron and let it simmer? What about zombies? Can romantasy handle it? Let's find out! Join Mir Benitz, author of Fire Power, a sports romantasy, for this workshop on romantasy genre blends. Bring your adventurous spirit, your curiosity, and something to write with as we pop on our witch's hats and brew up something magical.

Mir Benitz

Sat Sept 12

Session 4

3:30–5:00PM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Fiction

Fiction Reading

Hear short fiction readings from our local, regional, and featured fiction presenters including Hillary Behrman, Willow Campbell, Joseph Celizic, Danielle Evans, Semyon Khokhlov, Lincoln Michel, and Benvolio Nichols.

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Nonfiction

Creative Nonfiction Reading

Hear short creative nonfiction readings from our local, regional, and featured nonfiction presenters including Charisse Bailey, Mallory Donoghue, Desiree Cooper, Wilbert L. Cooper, and Rachel Jamison Webster.

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Poetry

Poetry Reading

Hear short poetry readings from our local, regional, and featured poetry presenters Stephanie Ginese, Paula J. Lambert, jessica Care moore, and Hannah V. Warren.

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Publishing

Practical Advice from Literary Agents

Each year, Literary Cleveland brings together a panel of working literary agents to dispel myths and answer common questions. Literary agents are like mythical creatures: storied, elusive, little understood, perhaps magic. In this session, three active literary agents bring you behind the curtain to discuss the realities of their work, their role in the publishing process, how they work with authors, and why you may or may not need one for your book. This year's agents include Alia Hanna Habib from The Gernert Company, Kayla Lightner from Ayesha Pande Literary, and Dana Murphy from Trellis Literary Management. Take aways from this panel include resources for researching agents, tips for query letters, and advice for finding the best agent to fit your career.

Alia Hanna Habib, Kayla Lightner, Dana Murphy

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Beyond

Revise, Surprise & Alchemize: How to Coax Glimmer & Brilliance from Our Leaden First Drafts

First drafts can feel heavy, uncertain, even a little hopeless, but they hold all the shine and promise we need. In this hands-on workshop, we’ll re-envision revision as a creative act of discovery rather than the sting of red-penned corrections from past English teachers. Through guided exercises, we’ll uncover the hidden energy, imagery, and insights already present in our work. We’ll experiment with strategies for re-seeing, reshaping, and refining drafts so they twinkle with more clarity and purpose. Participants will leave with concrete tools, fresh perspective, and renewed confidence to transform rough material into writing ready to publish and share.

Annmarie Kelly

Sat Sept 12 · 3:30PM ET · Genre Fiction

Make Darkness Matter: Four Revision Lessons for Dark Fantasy

Dark fantasy isn't dark simply because terrible things happen. The darkness becomes meaningful when it changes what characters do, shapes the worlds they inhabit, and leaves readers unsettled long after a scene ends. Using her debut novel, The Descended, as a case study, author Michelle Park Lazette will share four hard-won revision lessons for writing dark fantasy with emotional weight, believable worlds, and magic that does more than "look cool." This session is for dark fantasy writers who want to move beyond “make it darker” and learn how to make the darkness matter.

Michelle Park Lazette

Sat Sept 12

Keynote

6:30–8:00PM ET

Sat Sept 12 · 6:30-8:00PM ET · Keynote

Keynote with Colson Whitehead

Our 2026 keynote speaker, Colson Whitehead, is the author of nine novels, including The Intuitionist, The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys, and the three novels of his Harlem Trilogy: Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto, and his latest: Cool Machine. Whitehead is a MacArthur Fellow, National Book Award Winner, and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In this reading and moderated discussion with Kevin Young, Whitehead will discuss his development as a writer, his Harlem Trilogy, taking inspiration from Toni Morrison, and the place of writing today. This event will take place at the Cleveland Public Library Martin Luther King Jr. branch (10601 Euclid Ave, Cleveland, OH 44106).

Colson Whitehead

Sun Sept 20

Books at the Market

Sun Sept 20 · 10:00AM–2:00PM ET · Community

Books at the Market

Join us Sunday, September 20 after the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards weekend for a free book giveaway at the West Side Market in partnership with the Cleveland Public Library and Rust Belt Humanities Lab! CPL will give away books at their stand in the market for people of all ages and Comics at the Corner and Carol and John’s Comic Shop will have free comics. Great for the whole family! Hope to see you there as part of Inkubator and Cleveland Book Fest!

Community Event