Literary Cleveland’s twelfth annual Inkubator Writing Conference will take place online on Wednesday, Sept. 9, and in-person Thursday, Sept. 10 through Saturday, Sept. 12 at the Cleveland Public Library, main branch as part of Cleveland Book Fest.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author and Inkubator key note speaker Colson Whitehead.The Inkubator is the largest free writing conference in the country. Last year’s event hosted more than 4,500 attendees across all events. This year’s conference is presented as part of Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison, a yearlong statewide program led by Literary Cleveland and Ohio Humanities.

In 2026, Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator schedule includes 50 events that total 75 hours of free programs over four days. This year’s lineup features an expanded list of high-profile regional and national writers including two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning (2017 and 2020) novelist and 2026 Inkubator keynote speaker Colson Whitehead.

Free registration for all events opens Monday, Aug. 10 at 8 a.m.

2026 Inkubator events

2026 theme
This year’s conference theme, “Freedom Is a Community,” takes inspiration from the 2026 Inkubator keynote speaker, critically acclaimed, number-one “New York Times” bestselling author Colson Whitehead, who writes in his novel, “The Underground Railroad:” “Freedom was a community laboring for something lovely and rare.”

As part of the Ohio Celebrates Toni Morrison program, the conference’s theme 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.”

Literary Cleveland executive director Matt Weinkam says the timing of this year’s theme is perfect.

“In a time where belonging and freedom are contested in both familiar and emerging ways, writers are in a unique position to bring people into a more productive conversation,” he says. “Poets, novelists, and memoirists have the power to foster empathy, challenge assumptions, and imagine a more just future.”

Toni Morrison is kissed by her mother Ramah Wofford on the occasion of Toni’s visit to Lorain to accept an award from the Lorain Chamber of Commerce. January 12, 1982.Virtual panel discusses Toni Morrison
The festival kicks off with a free virtual program Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 7 p.m. A panel will discuss the life, literature, and legacy of Nobel Prize winner and Ohio native Toni Morrison.

The panel features six of the renowned contemporary authors who wrote introductions to the newly released editions of Toni Morrison’s novels. Panelists include:

• Author Julia Alvarez (“How the García Girls Lost Their Accents”)
• Sasha Bonét (“The Waterbearers: A Memoir of Mothers and Daughters”), NPR's 10 Best Memoirs of 2025 honoree
• Honorée Fanonne Jeffers (“Misbehaving at the Crossroads”), National Book Award finalist
• Dr. Imani Perry (“Black in Blues”), Harvard University professor and MacArthur Fellow
• Danzy Senna (“Colored Television”), 2025 American Book Award winner
• Kevin Young (“Night Watch”), “The New Yorker” poetry editor, and winner of the 2026 Griffin Poetry Prize.

Kickoff mixer
The Inkubator kickoff mixer is on Thursday, Sept. 10 at Zygote Press, 3907 Perkins Ave., Cleveland, 44114, from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. The mixer will be held in connection with the opening of Zygote’s art exhibition inspired by Toni Morrison. The free event is an opportunity to meet and mingle with fellow writers and enjoy light food and drink.

Inkubator attendees work on a typewriter.Cleveland Public Library conference
The two-day in-person conference at the downtown Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Ave., on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 11 and 12, will feature 42 free workshops, craft talks, panel discussions, and a book-themed fashion contest.

There will also be a book fair with regional bookstores, presses, journals, and literary arts organizations. Fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and multi-genre programs will help writers improve their craft and generate new material.

Sessions on publishing paths, a panel with literary agents, and a discussion about whether MFA programs are worth it are designed to advance writers’ careers.

For the second time, we will feature a special section of workshops about genre fiction—including dark fantasy, horror, romantasy, sci-fi that imagines hope, and more.

Featured presenters
Presenters for the in-person conference include some of the best authors in the region. Inkubator organizers have expanded the number of out-of-town presenters to 27 this year.

Special guests include Detroit poet laureate Jessica Care Moore, journalist and native Clevelander Wilbert L. Cooper, renowned short fiction writer Danielle Evans, novelist and literary commentator Lincoln Michel, National Book Foundation 5 under 35 honoree Maggie Su, nonfiction writer and native Clevelander Rachel Jamison Webster, and Kevin Young. Additionally, there will be a panel with literary agents Alia Hanna Habib, Kayla Lightner, and Dana Murphy.

Keynote speaker Colson Whitehead
On Saturday, Sept. 12 at 6 p.m., at the Cleveland Public Library Martin Luther King Jr. branch, 10601 Euclid Ave., bestselling author and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Colson Whitehead will deliver the keynote reading.

Whitehead is the author of twelve works of fiction and nonfiction; his honors include the Pulitzer Prize for “Underground Railroad” and “The Nickel Boys,” the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award for “John Henry Days,” and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Toni Morrison panelist and author Julia Alverez.In his keynote reading, Whitehead will discuss his development as a writer, his Harlem Trilogy, taking inspiration from Toni Morrison, and the place of writing today.

Cleveland Book Fest
The Inkubator is part of the recently rebranded Cleveland Book Fest, which begins with the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC, pronounced “glossy”) on Saturday, Sept. 5 and will be followed by the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards (AWBA) ceremony and subsequent events on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 18 and 19.

By partnering on Cleveland Book Fest programming, AWBA, GLAAWC, and Literary Cleveland will enhance and amplify each other’s programs.

Registration for Inkubator Writing Conference opens on Monday, Aug. 10.