LANGSTON HUGHES STAGE
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SCHOMBURG CENTER LITERARY FESTIVAL
The Virtual Edition
June 14 - 19, 2021
The Schomburg Center Literary Festival: Reading the African Diaspora expands the center's long tradition of championing authors of African descent from across the globe and publications that celebrate Black history and culture. The day-long book festival has been reconfigured as a virtual festival taking place over six days as the Schomburg Center's doors remain temporarily closed due to COVID-19. Throughout the week, our featured authors and books will help us explore concepts of freedom, culminating on June 19, also known in the United States as Juneteenth, a day in 1865 marking freedom for enslaved people in Galveston, Texas.
The Schomburg Center Literary Festival is generously sponsored by the New York Life Foundation and Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation.
Visit here frequently to find out about the books and authors joining us for the 2021 festival!
Book of Cures by Barbara Earl Thomas
Courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery and Barbara Earl Thomas
Photo by Spike Mafford Photography
WORDS LIKE
FREEDOM
2021 Lineup
We are celebrating Juneteenth with an incredible line up of authors from across the globe, including Farah Jasmine Griffin, Ben Okri, Desmond Meade, Hanif Abdurraqib, and Yaba Blay, whose works of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry celebrate and interrogate the sweet refrain of freedom’s song in our everyday lives.
FESTIVAL UPDATES!
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The Schomburg Center's new incoming director, Joy Bivins, joins the festival on Saturday, June 19 with Honorée Fanonne Jeffers!
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A fantastic panel celebrating Black boy joy has been added to Thursday's schedule
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Check out The Reading Room for more author readings and book giveaways supported by HarperCollins
