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MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair to Celebrate Black Literature in North Minneapolis
MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 18, 2026) Black authors, readers, publishers and literary organizations from across the region will gather in North Minneapolis Saturday for the inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair.
The free, family-friendly event will take place from noon to 5 p.m. August 22 at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, commonly known as UROC, at 2001 Plymouth Avenue North.
Black Garnet Books is leading the initiative in partnership with a coalition of Black literary, publishing and community organizations.
The fair is intended to honor stories of resistance while elevating contemporary narratives involving Black identity, history, creativity and futurity.
Organizers scheduled the event during Black August, a month of remembrance associated with Black abolitionists, freedom fighters and political prisoners.
Visitors will find Black-owned book vendors, authors, readings, book signings, panel conversations, writing and publishing workshops, children’s activities, food vendors and raffles.
One opening session, the Reflect Black Author Panel, will bring together Junauda Petrus, Destyn Land, Rita Woods and Donyae Coles. Black Garnet Books owner Dr. Terresa Hardaway will moderate a conversation about storytelling, writing practices and navigating authorship across different literary genres.
A concurrent discussion featuring Davu Seru and Debra Stone will examine Minnesota’s Black literary history and the importance of preserving community narratives.
The Archie Givens Sr. Collection of African American Literature and Life will figure prominently in that conversation. The University of Minnesota collection contains more than 8,000 books spanning novels, poetry, plays, essays, biographies, periodicals and literary criticism.
Later sessions will explore how the Midwest has influenced Black writers and how authors can write about adversity and trauma without reducing Black characters to stereotypes or representations of suffering.
A poetry panel featuring Marlin M. Jenkins, Danez Smith, LM Brimmer and Isha Camara will consider poetry as a space for imagination, community storytelling and resistance.
Representatives from In Black Ink, Strive Publishing and Amistad HarperCollins will participate in a candid discussion about the realities of publishing.
Black Garnet Books is working with literary partners that include Strive Publishing & Bookstore, Babycake’s Book Stack, In Black Ink, Griot Arts, the Givens Collection, More Than a Single Story, Saint Paul Almanac, Planting People Growing Justice, Mind’s Eye Comics, Uhuru Bookstore, the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent and the Minnesota Black Authors Expo.
EVENT INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, August 22, 2026
Time: Noon to 5 p.m.
Location: University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center
Address: 2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411
Admission: Free, but advance registration is required
Audience: All ages and families are welcome
Venue phone: 612-626-8762
Event information: https://midwestblackbookfair.com/
Registration and accessibility questions may be directed to event organizers through the official website.
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