In an interview with Bill Moyers in March of 1990 for his television series A World of Ideas, Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison defines the master narrative as whatever ideological script that is being imposed by the people in authority on everybody else. In other words, the master narrative is created by those in power. Thus, the master narrative is shaped by a certain viewpoint. In analyzing the master narrative found in literature, we examine what texts are present and which ones are omitted. It is important that we consciously take the steps to ensure that the master narrative encompasses the Black literary tradition—past and present. The National Black Writers Conference (NBWC) offers us an opportunity to present to the public the complexity of the texts produced by Black writers throughout the African Diaspora.

The 2014 NBWC theme of “Black Writers Reconstructing the Master Narrative” builds on previous NBWCs and takes into account the need to expose the general public to the vast range of texts that Black writers throughout the diaspora are producing. Using this theme as the premise of this public gathering of writers, students, literary agents, editors and the general public will have an opportunity to attend panels, roundtables and readings, participate in workshops, and take in performances over the four days of the Conference. Dr. Myrlie Evers-Williams is the Honorary Chair of the 2014 National Black Writers Conference. The honorees for the Twelfth NBWC are:Maryse Condé, Walter Mosley, Quincy Troupe, Derek Walcott, and posthumously to Margaret Burroughs.

The National Black Writers Conference is a public program that will provide writers, scholars, literary professionals, students, and the general public with a forum for expanding their knowledge and reading of Black literature and for engaging in dynamic and spirited conversations, panel discussions, readings, workshops, and performances on conference themes and on future trends in the literature of Black writers.

The Conference will also pay tribute to and celebrate Black writers who have made significant contributions to the literary canon and will provide emerging writers with opportunities to improve their writing craft. Conference panels, roundtables, and featured speeches will be streamed and videotaped. Selected proceedings will be published.

Free and Open to the Public
Date: Saturday, March 22, 2014
Time: 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Location: Medgar Evers College, Founders Auditorium
1650 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225

In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Center for Black Literature will partner with The Du Bois-Bunche Center for Public Policy, MEC’s English Department and the Center for Women’s Development to pay tribute to the legacy of the feminist poet and writer Audre Lorde. The program will focus on promoting dialogue concerned with the intersectionality of race, gender, class, and sexual identity in Lorde’s works. Guest participants include activist and scholar Angela Davis; Steven Fullwood, assistant curator of the Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Division, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; and asha bandele, human rights advocate, poet, journalist, and the award-winning author. During the program, there will also be a tribute to Esther Cooper Jackson for her leadership as an editor and publisher of Freedomways Journal.

Click here to RSVP for the Audre Lorde: A Burst of Light Symposium”.

Date: Friday, March 21, 2014
Time: 9:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Location: Medgar Evers College, CUNY
Founders Auditorium
1650 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225

The Twelfth National Black Writers Conference will host a day of programs geared toward young readers. There will be presentations and readings during an Elementary School Program, coordinated by Just Us Books (9:30 to noon).

Just Us Books’ Youth Literacy Program
9:30 a.m.: Welcome: Coordinated by Wade Hudson & Cheryl Willis Hudson, authors and founders of Just Us Books Inc.
9:41 a.m.: Giveaway Contest
10:00 a.m. Presentation by Calvin Alexander Ramsey, author of Ruth and the Green Book andBelle, the Last Mule at Gee’s Bend
10:31 a.m.: Students Reading their Poems & Giveaway Contest
11:00 a.m. Presentation with Jerry Craft, author/illustrator, Mama’s Boyz cartoon series andHillary’s Big Business Adventure and Looking to the Clouds for Daddy; and illustrator George Ford.
11:46 a.m.: – Noon: Giveaway Contest & Wrap-up
1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Middle School Program with Greg Walker; and a High School Program coordinated by Nina Angela Mercer
Author and poets DuEwa Frazier and Reginald Harris will share poetry and fiction and lead workshops.

6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Location: Central Brooklyn Public Library
Dweck Center
10 Grand Army Plaza
Brooklyn, NY 11238

This year’s Poetry Café is dedicated to the memory of Amiri Baraka, cosponsored by the Central Brooklyn Public Library and coordinated by Wendy Robinson and Tai Allen. Featured authors and poets include Tony Medina, jessica Care moore, Ed Mabrey, and the works of emerging poets.

Noon to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Medgar Evers College
Founders Auditorium
1650 Bedford Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11225

A selection of short films inspired by and with literary themes. Hosted by African Voices/Reel Sisters, the film presentation will include a screening of Gordon Parks’ Solomon Northup’s Odyssey, which premiered in 1984 and was based on the same book as the award-winning movie 12 Years a Slave.

4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Film panel discussion with African Voices/Reel Sisters

Brooklyn Literary Council
Noon–12:25 p.m. Elsie Augustave, author of The RovingTree;
12:25 p.m.–12:50 p.m. Morowa Yejidé, author of Time of the Locust;
12:50 p.m. –1:15 p.m. Angel Nafis, BlackGirl Mansion

African American Literature Book Club (AALBC.com)
1:20 p.m. –1:45 p.m. Kwei Quartey, author of Murder at Cape Three Points;
1:45 p.m. –2:10 p.m. Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ, Black Star Nairobi.