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.

“Audre Lorde: A Burst of Light Symposium” Featuring Keynote Speaker Angela Davis

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.

Here is a Video Clip of Angela Davis Keynote Address:

2014 NBWC Youth Day Program

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 and Belle, 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 and Hillary’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. 

2014 NBWC Poetry Cafe

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.

Films Celebrating Activism in Black Literature

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. M?koma wa Ng?g?, Black Star Nairobi.

Center for Black Literature
2:15 p.m.–2:40 p.m. Oonya Kempadoo, author of All Decent Animals;
2:40 p.m.–3:05 p.m. Deborah Johnson, author of The Secret of Magic;
3:05 p.m. –3:30 p.m. Kamilah Aisha Moon, author of She Has a Name;
3:30 p.m.–3:55 p.m. Kiese Laymon, author of Long Division;
3:55 p.m.–4:20 p.m. Mitchell Jackson, author of The Residue Years

10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Explorations into the Future: Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror

Speculative fiction, science fiction, fantasy and horror have always challenged readers with depictions of the future and ways to imagine a different world. Drawing from their texts, panelists will explore the ways in which science fiction and fantasy, often timeless and grounded in myth and legend, provide Black writers with ways to create worlds that forecast the possible future and address alternative representations of race, gender, and class in our contemporary culture and future society.
Moderator: Tonya Hegamin; Panelists: Tananarive Due, Nalo Hopkinson, Victor LaValle

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Race, Power, and Politics

The interrelationship between race, power, and politics is more intricate than it has ever been. While some argue that the intersections of race, power, and politics have produced social and political movements, others have argued that we live in a post-racial society where race no longer matters. They suggest that we have transcended race. The concepts of race, power, and politics are represented by one’s knowledge, ideology, norms, beliefs and practices, and interrelate and influence the way one is viewed by others and the shape of the discourse in our community. Drawing from their texts and their roles as public intellectuals and cultural critics, panelists will explore the impact and representations of race, power, and politics in our national discourse and on political and social movements.
Moderator: Wallace Ford; Panelists: Jelani Cobb, Marc Lamont Hill, Michele Wallace, Obery M. Hendricks, Jr.

2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Maintaining Cultural Legacies: The Black Arts and Umbra Movements

Our cultural memory is a part of our collective domain. Black literary texts are repositories for our cultural memory; they are thus our cultural texts that transmit our memories and reveal how the present has been shaped by the past. The ideas, themes, and subjects represented in these literary texts have been discussed, debated, and enjoyed by readers worldwide. In some cases, these texts have become part of the Black literary canon and are known as Black literary classics; they make up the intellectual arsenal read by the general public and, more specifically, students of color. The writers on this roundtable will address questions such as the following: How do we define Black literature and Black literary classics? How have the traditions of the Black Arts Movement and the Umbra Movement contributed to our definitions of the Black literary tradition?
Moderator: Tonya Foster; Panelists: Sonia Sanchez, Askia Toure, David Henderson, Ishmael Reed, Steve Cannon

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

Shifting Identities in Africa and the African Diaspora

The migration of people from Africa and throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia has impacted writers’ perceptions and definitions of themselves in a global society. These issues raise questions such as the following: How do geographical spaces, gender, race, ethnicity, and class shape the representations of the literature of writers throughout Africa and the African diaspora? How do writers address feelings of a loss of identity, traditions and cultures in their texts? How do writers manage the contradictions, paradoxes, and complexities in their lives and in the literature they produce? What kinds of texts are Black writers producing? Drawing upon their own texts, writers will explore these issues and examine the implications of these issues for Black writers in an increasingly multiracial culture and society.
Moderator: Jeffery Renard Allen; Panelists: Gillian Royes, Raquel Cepeda, Zakes Mda, Emily Raboteau

2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Reconstructing the Historical Narrative

The master narrative, which promotes a certain point of view and ideology, has omitted and marginalized the individual stories and collective memories and experiences of African-Americans and people of color. The documentation of these stories and events, through the historical narrative, allows readers to imagine and analyze stories and events from alternative perspectives. By studying the literature, diaries, letters, debates, arts, and artifacts of the past and taking into account the historical context in which events unfold, writers of historical narratives have reconstructed and expanded the master narrative through biography, creative nonfiction and fiction. Drawing from their own texts and scholarship, panelists will explore the following questions: Why are historical narratives important? What are the challenges and values of presenting historical narratives? How can historical narratives be presented in authentic and creative ways? How have historical narratives shaped, informed and expanded our understanding of the master narrative?
Moderator: Komozi Woodard; Panelists: Jeffery Renard Allen, Ayana Mathis, Leonard Pitts Jr.

4:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

The State of Publishing: A 2014 Odyssey

The publishing world is in the midst of a major transition. Writers, like musicians, are faced with seeking alternative and creative ways of publishing and promoting their books. Literary agents, publishers, writers, and editors discuss the challenges of publishing in 2014 and suggest options and strategies for publishing the literature produced by Black writers. They explore issues such as self-publishing, online publishing, blogging, distribution, marketing and e-books.
Moderator: Linda A. Duggins; Panelists: Troy Johnson, Paul Coates, Latoya Smith, Ayesha Pande