Create Dangerously: Literary Cleveland’s Inkubator celebrates 10 years with packed conference

Registration opens this Thursday, Aug. 1 for Literary Cleveland’s 10th annual Inkubator Writing Conference— one of the largest free writing festivals in the country.

The conference will occur on online Sept. 16 through 18 and in-person on Sept. 20 and 21 at the Cleveland Public Library (CPL), kicking off Cleveland Book Week, which is then followed by the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards on Sept. 27 and the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC). 

Literary Cleveland extended the schedule this year to include 50 programs with 80 hours of free programs over nine days and features an expanded list of regional and national writers.

“Our tenth annual conference is especially meaningful because the Inkubator is how Literary Cleveland started,” explains Literary Cleveland executive director Matt Weinkam. “In 2015 a group of writers got together to hold free events at the Cleveland Public Library. They hoped 50 people would show up but more than 300 arrived.

Literary Cleveland - InkubatorLiterary Cleveland - Inkubator“From that first conference our organization was born,” continues Weinkam. “Almost a decade later, we're excited to be back again with 50 events over nine days featuring 80 presenters from all across the country—and it is still 100% free.”

This year’s conference theme, “Create Dangerously,” is taken from the words of 2024 Inkubator keynote speaker, MacArthur “genius” fellow, and Anisfield-Wolf Book Award winner Edwidge Danticat’s “Create Dangerously: The Immigrant Artist at Work.”

Danticat writes, “Create Dangerously for people who read dangerously…no matter how trivial your words may seem, someday, somewhere, someone may risk his or her life to read them.”

In a time of national and global conflict, Literary Cleveland will hold panels on book bans, trans writing, Black masculinity, and war. Additionally, the organization will host a panel of four writers who have fled their home countries (Algeria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Cuba) due to conflict or political persecution and are now in City of Asylum in Pittsburgh.

Inkubator Book Fair readingInkubator Book Fair readingIn-person and virtual options

The festival kicks off with three free virtual programs September 16 through 18 featuring nationally renowned authors discussing books on horror, survival, and poetry, as well as genre-defying nonfiction.

The two-day in-person at CPL will feature 40 free workshops, craft talks, and panel discussions. Additionally, there will 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, while there will also be sessions designed to advance writers’ careers —such as finding an agent, applying to residencies and fellowships, and publishing with indie and Big 5 presses. Special breakout sessions will be held by genre, where writers can meet, mingle, and share their work. 

Presenters for the in-person conference include 30 of the best authors in the region and Danticat will deliver the keynote reading.

On Friday evening, Sept. 20, Literary Cleveland will host a special dinner mixer and open mic in the outdoor reading garden at CPL from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., when writers can share samples from their work.

The conference will conclude with an in-person afterparty reading Saturday evening, Sept. 21, Details on location and schedule will be released at a later date.

Community outreach

Literary Cleveland will partner with area organizations to present special community projects that bring the Inkubator into Cleveland’s neighborhoods on Saturday, Sept. 14, Sunday, Sept. 15, and Sunday, Sept. 22.

For a complete schedule of speakers and events, and to register, beginning Thursday, Aug. 1, visit the 2024 Inkubator site.