Black Literary Festival: Ink & Impact
Celebrating the Literary Labor of Black Storytellers
Prepare to be immersed in a groundbreaking celebration of Black storytelling. The 2025 Black Literary Festival at Georgetown University Qatar will ignite a literary revolution, uniting visionary academics, trailblazing media professionals, and genre-defying authors from across the globe.
In celebration of the Black History Month 2025 theme, “African Americans and Labor,” announced by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the GU-Q Black Literary Festival will spotlight the contributions and labor of Black Writers celebrating their resilience, creativity, and enduring impact while examining how their work has chronicled social justice movements and continues to challenge, inspire, and reshape the global literary landscape.
Agenda
Wednesday, February 12, 2025
Opening Remarks
Safwan Masri, Dean, Georgetown University in Qatar
Folly Bah Thibault
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Dr. Su’ad Abdul Kahbeer
1:00 – 2:00 PM
Welcome Reception
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Book Signing
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Dr. Su’ad Abdul Kahbeer
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Friday, February 14, 2025
Children’s Literary Lane
Dr. Darius Walker
Nicole Alexander
1:00 – 3:00 PM
Masterclass with Dr. Theri Pickens: Cross-Ethnic Coalition Building in Arab and Black American Literatures
3:30 – 4:30 PM
Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience: A Conversation with Dr. Maurice Jackson
Dr. Amy Walker
Michelle Hadebe
Yasmin Abdul Nasser
4:30 – 5:30 PM
Author Talk with Stephan Buoro
Moderated by Kamila Shamsie
5:30 – 6:30 PM
Dinner with Rachel Swarns: The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church
7:00 – 8:00 PM
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Masterclass: The Making of a Memoir with Michaela Angela Davis
10:00 – 11:00 AM
The Art of Storytelling Across Cultures: A Panel Discussion with Dr. Chika Unigwe and Tope Folarin
11:00 AM – 12:00PM
Lunch
12:00 – 2:00 PM
Author’s Pavilion/Book Signing
2:00 – 3:00 PM
Author Talk with Dr. Anita Gonzalez: Shipping Out: Race, Performance, and Labor at Sea
3:00 – 4:00 PM
Closing Keynote
Safwan Masri, Dean, Georgetown University in Qatar
Nikole Hannah-Jones
4:00 – 5:00 PM
Cocktail Reception
5:00 – 7:00 PM