Literary Cleveland's Free Writing Conference
September 11-12
Freedom is a community.
Literary Cleveland's Inkubator Writing Conference is the largest free writing conference in the country, providing workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, readings, and more to empower writers, celebrate literary excellence, and amplify diverse voices.
This year's free conference is part of our yearlong statewide program Beloved: Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison. Our theme, "Freedom is a community," comes from The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead and echoes Toni Morrison's call: "If you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else."
Free registration is open now through September 9.
September 9
Virtual Event
The Inkubator kicks off on Wednesday, September 9, with a free virtual Toni Morrison panel featuring six of the authors who have written introductions to the new editions of Toni Morrison’s novels: Julia Alvarez, Sasha Bonét, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, Imani Perry, Danzy Senna, and Kevin Young. Together we will explore Toni Morrison’s craft and use of aesthetic forms, how her writing reshaped American literature, and how she continues inspire writers today.
September 11–12
In-Person Conference
Attend the free in-person conference at Cleveland Public Library with 40+ workshops and craft talks, panels with authors and agents, a book fair with regional literary presses and journals, Lit Fits, a writing room, and more. Featured presenters include jessica Care moore, Wilbert L. Cooper, Danielle Evans, Lincoln Michel, Maggie Su, Rachel Jamison Webster, and Kevin Young, plus literary agents Kayla Lightner and Dana Murphy.
Unfortunately, due to venue scheduling restrictions, this year's conference conflicts with Rosh Hashanah. In consultation with our Jewish community members, we are not holding any public programs on Friday evening, September 11, to give everyone who celebrates time to spend with their families.
2026 Keynote Speaker
Colson Whitehead
Our 2026 keynote speaker, Colson Whitehead, is the author of nine novels, including The Intuitionist, The Underground Railroad, The Nickel Boys, and the three novels of his Harlem Trilogy: Harlem Shuffle, Crook Manifesto, and his latest: Cool Machine. Whitehead is a MacArthur Fellow, National Book Award Winner, and two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize. In this reading and moderated discussion with Kevin Young, Whitehead will discuss his development as a writer, his Harlem Trilogy, taking inspiration from Toni Morrison, and the place of writing today. This event is presented by the Cleveland Public Library.
Learn more about Inkubator, one of the largest free writing conferences in the country.
Workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, and more, across seven different genres.
Fiction
Community
Poetry
Genre Fiction
Beyond
Nonfiction
Publishing
We love celebrating our writing community each year.
Funders
The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is made possible by the Cleveland Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Poetry Foundation, the Robert H Reakirt Foundation Equities, and The Wolf Family Foundation, a supporting foundation of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland. Ongoing support for Literary Cleveland is made possible by the George Gund Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, and the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture. Additional support provided by the Literary Arts Fund, a project of the National Center
for Civic Innovation.
Sponsors
The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is sponsored by The Cleveland Public Library. Silver Sponsors include Loganberry Books, Mac’s Backs Books, Cuyahoga County Public Library, The Pilgrim Press, and Northeast Ohio MFA (NEOMFA). Bronze Sponsors include The Buckeye Flame, Debbie George State Farm Agent, and The Reading Room CLE.
Help keep the Inkubator free and support the literary community by becoming a conference sponsor. Email info@litcleveland.org for more information.
