Greetings Lover of African American Art & Culture:
Welcome to the landing page of the 8th Annual Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC, pronounced “Glossy”). Wow! Eight years and counting! We are thrilled to have arrived at the critical juncture and are excited about the present and future evolution. My shift to Emerita status has temporarily been put on hold as my long-held vision of a thoroughly regional conference is finally manifesting. These emerging dynamics are the result of forging quality relationships over the years.
Over the last few months, major transitions have been under way. First, author and podcaster Nicole D. Miller joined our producing team. Then, an organic evolution enabled Alicia Wiggins, D.L. Augustine and Sandee Hemphill—a group of Columbus-based authors and past supporters led by the incomparable Colette Harrell—to join the GLAAWC team. So, on Saturday, September 27th, 2025, for the first time, GLAAWC will have a satellite launch for lovers of African American literature in all its various forms—novels, poetry, plays, journalism, etc.—at the Martin Luther King Branch of the Columbus Public Library.
As yet another way of honoring our esteemed ancestor, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., our location this year shifts to the exquisite and newly opened MLK Branch of the Cleveland Public Library on Saturday, September 27th, from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. Parking is available on the third floor and above in the Parking Garage, located behind the Branch at 10601 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44106. As fate would have it, it is the MLK Branch of the Columbus Public Library that will host our Columbus-based participants.
Joining us via livestream will be the Detroit Public Library—and there will be more virtual participants to come. These esteemed library systems join our beloved host, the Cleveland Public Library, and our newest partner, the Cuyahoga County Public Library (CCPL), in bringing lovers of African American literature together. Indeed, CCPL is now the named sponsor of our Langston Hughes Literary Keynote speaker, who this year is Diane McKinney-Whetstone, author of Family Spirit.
If you plan to attend GLAAWC 2025 in Cleveland in person, please order a copy of her book here. Diane will sign the books after her keynote address.
If participating in Columbus, you may order a copy of Diane’s book to be autographed and shipped to you here.
Detroit, you too may order autographed copies of Diane’s by clicking this link.
Joining Diane as a keynote speaker is seasoned editor Kim M. Sadler who serves as this year’s Alice Dunbar Nelson Professional Keynote. Kim is a long-standing friend of GLAAWC and a former editor at Cleveland’s own Pilgrim Press.
We will round out Saturday with notable authors and journalists, including, but not limited to, Women Career Magazine publisher Regina Jones, best-selling author and life coach Dr. Lisa Wicker, humanitarian and activist Dr. Yvonne Pointer, inspirational leader and business strategist Jazmine Bailey, Literary Cleveland Writing Resident Staci Kirk, domestic violence activist Laura C. Cowan, Literary Cleveland Fellow Silk Allen, FutureLand Project Coordinator and Mistress of Ceremonies Nikki B. and Demetrius C. Harvey of the Pink & Black Honors and Master of Ceremonies, and award-winning journalist Felicia Haney, known as “the Super Producer.”
And, once again, we share the blessing of spending time and space with the faculty and students of Case Western Reserve University as we honor Cleveland’s own, poet Julie Ezelle Patton, as the fifth Alice Dunbar Nelson Lifetime Achievement Awardee. Julie joins past awardees Walter Mosley, Pearl Cleage, Carl Phillips and Rita Dove. Clevelander and Stanford University professor Adam Banks, Ph.D., will serve as Julie’s interlocutor on Friday, September 26th. The colloquium takes place in the Guilford Parlor (in Guilford House, 11112 Bellflower Road on the Case Western campus), from 3:15-4:30.
Thank you to our Legacy Sponsors: The Cleveland Foundation’s Anisfield-Wolf Funds, the Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and the Case Western Reserve University English Department; and to our Lineage Sponsors: The Gund Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, the Cuyahoga County Public Library, Case Western Reserve University Baker-Nord Center and Jeremy Johnson & the Turrell Fund.
We would also like to thank ThirdSpace Action Lab & Reading Room and our newest, Sprout Partners: the Columbus Public Library and the Detroit Public Library.
We look forward to seeing you on Saturday, September 27th live in Cleveland and Columbus, and via livestream in Detroit and points beyond. Please register here for our Cleveland location and here for Columbus and here for Detroit.
Godspeed,
Dr. Leah Lewis, J.D.
Executive Producer
Langston Hughes Keynote Speakers
2025 Diane McKinney Whetstone
2024 Kimberla Lawson Roby
2023 Abby L. Vandiver
2022 Walter Mosley
Alice Dunbar-Nelson Professional Keynote
2025 Kim Martin-Sadler
2024 Cherise Fisher
2023 Janice Lowe
2022 Denne Michele Norris
2019 – 2021 Kima Jones
Alice Dunbar-Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award Winners
Meet the GLAAWC 2025 Sponsors
LEGACY SPONSORS
LINEAGE SPONSORS
SPROUT SPONSORS
SATELLITE PARTNERS
REGIONAL PRODUCERS
The GLAAWC website aims to conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.1 AA standards. If you experience an accessibility barrier while on the GLAAWC website, please contact us via email at glaawcfd2018@gmail.com. We will provide alternative formats and work to eliminate any barriers to create a more accessible experience for everyone.
GLAAWC. All Rights Reserved. 2025.