MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS UPDATE | Nearly 1,000 Register for Inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair in North Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (August 22, 2026) Nearly 1,000 people have registered for today, Saturday’s inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair, a free gathering created to celebrate Black authors, booksellers, publishers and the literary traditions that have shaped Minnesota and the wider Midwest.

The fair will run from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, August 22, at the University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center, commonly known as UROC, at 2001 Plymouth Avenue North in Minneapolis.

Admission is free, but attendees are asked to register in advance. Free parking will be available at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, 1313 Penn Avenue North.

Black Garnet Books is leading the event in partnership with Black literary, publishing, educational and community organizations from across Minnesota.

Event Director Dr. Terresa Hardaway said the Midwest has long possessed a significant Black literary culture, even though its influence has frequently been overlooked in broader accounts of American literature.

“The Midwest has a Black literary culture that is important to uplift and is contradicting what our federal government is doing and what is happening now with books being banned and stories being ripped from the educational system,” Hardaway said.

Hardaway is the owner of Black Garnet Books and the design studio Blackbird Revolt. She is also an associate professor of graphic design and director of design justice at the University of Minnesota College of Design, an advisory-board member of the Black Liberation Lab and a co-founder of Hatch & Flock.

Creating an accessible literary gathering

Organizers developed the Midwest Black Book Fair through conversations among Hardaway and other leaders working within Minnesota’s Black literary community, including representatives of Strive Publishing & Bookstore, In Black Ink and Babycake’s Book Stack.

The decision to make the fair free was intentional. Organizers wanted readers, writers and families to participate regardless of income, age or professional status.

“This Black Book Fair is going to be accessible at any salary range for people of any age,” Hardaway said. “Those things are really important to making sure this is an intergenerational, intereconomic affair.”

The gathering is designed to serve people at every point in their relationship with books. Readers can discover authors and purchase books. Aspiring writers can attend workshops and speak with publishing professionals. Established authors can build relationships with readers, booksellers and other writers.

“If I’m the consumer, I can engage. If I’m a writer, I can engage,” Hardaway said. “Regardless of title, you’re a community member, so engage with each other.”

Books, conversations and literary history

Visitors will find Black-owned booksellers, independent authors, literary organizations, readings, signings, panel discussions, workshops, children’s activities, raffles and retail vendors.

The official roster includes AF.FEM Press, Baby Cakes Book Stack, Baldwin’s Books & Records, Black Garnet Books, Griot Arts, In Black Ink, Mind’s Eye Comics, Minnesota BIPOC KidLit Creators, Minnesota Black Authors Expo, More Than a Single Story and Uhuru Bookstore.

Participating nonprofit and literary institutions include Amistad HarperCollins, Hennepin County Library, the Archie Givens Sr. Collection of African American Literature and Life, Great MN Schools, the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent and Saint Paul Almanac.

Authors scheduled to host individual tables include Derek Francis, Kehinde Winful, LeShay Andrewin, Marique Moss, Mercedes Yarbrough, Rosemond Owens, Salisa Grant and Tonja K. Johnson.

The programming begins at 1 p.m. with two concurrent conversations.

The Reflect Black Author Panel will bring together Junauda Petrus, Destyn Land, Rita Woods and Donyae Coles for a discussion about Black storytelling, writing practices and navigating authorship across literary genres. Hardaway will moderate.

A simultaneous session featuring Davu Seru and Debra Stone will examine Minnesota’s Black literary history and the importance of preserving community stories. The discussion will include the role of the Givens Collection, a University of Minnesota archive containing more than 8,000 books and other materials documenting African American literature and life.

At 2 p.m., members of More Than a Single Story’s Sweeter the Juice writers cohort will consider how Midwestern landscapes, history and Black literary predecessors have influenced their work.

A concurrent workshop, Writing Real Without Forfeiting Care, will examine how writers can portray adversity and trauma without reducing Black characters to caricatures, victims or representations of suffering.

The 3 p.m. program will include Black Poetry as a Site of Imagination and Possibility, featuring Marlin M. Jenkins, Danez Smith, LM Brimmer and Isha Camara. The panel will consider poetry’s role in Black life, community storytelling, imagination and resistance.

Publishing representatives from In Black Ink, Strive Publishing and Amistad HarperCollins will also participate in The Real on Publishing, a candid discussion about entering and navigating the publishing industry.

More than a traditional book fair

Saturday’s gathering will also include a DJ, photo booth, curated merchandise and swag bags, workshops, food vendors and other community activities.

Scheduled food businesses include Dippd By Riah, Diva K Festivities, Maggie’s Food for the Soul, Taste the Real Nawlins Food Truck, Cajun Sneaux Food Truck and Quiet Cat Bakery. Food and merchandise purchases are separate from the fair’s free admission.

The event takes place during Black August, an annual observance honoring Black freedom fighters, abolitionists and political prisoners. August is also recognized as National Black Business Month.

Hardaway said holding the event during this period connects literary work with remembrance, resistance and community responsibility.

“I feel like I’m honoring the ancestors and also finding community at the same time,” she said.

The broader goal is to ensure that attendees leave with a stronger understanding of the Midwest’s place in Black literary history and a renewed commitment to supporting Black writers, bookstores and cultural institutions.

“I hope that people leave the fair with a new sense of community,” Hardaway said. “I want people to leave feeling either like, ‘I really need to pour back into Black literary spaces,’ or as a Black person, ‘I really understand my place in history.’”

EVENT INFORMATION

Event: Inaugural Midwest Black Book Fair

Date: Saturday, August 22, 2026

Time: Noon to 5 p.m.

Venue: University of Minnesota Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center

Address: 2001 Plymouth Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411

Admission: Free

Registration: Advance registration requested

Audience: All ages and families are welcome

Venue telephone: 612-626-8762

Parking: Free parking is available at NorthPoint Health & Wellness Center, 1313 Penn Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411.

Food: Food vendors will be present. Individual purchases are not included with free admission.

Accessibility: Questions about accommodations should be directed to the organizers through the official event website.

Official event information: https://midwestblackbookfair.com/

Free registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/midwest-black-book-fair-tickets-1993466482913

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