Center for Black Literature

18th National Black Writers Conference

Black History Month

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Writers on Writing

Writers on Writing Interview
with Natalie Braszile

Donna Hill, Executive Director for the Center for Black Literature interviews author, scholar and filmmaker, Natalie Braszile. Braszile is best known for her debut novel Queen Sugar. Her passion for land ownership, legacy and justice as a means to generational wealth are just some of the topics discussed, including her major anthology We Are Each Other's Harvest, which speaks to "food justice" and "food sovereignty." Braszile's upcoming novel Good People will be released in fall 2026.

Writers on Writing Interview
with Phill Branch

Donna Hill, Executive Director of The Center for Black Literature, interviews Emmy Award winner, writer and producer, Phill Branch to discuss his debut memoir, The Double Dutch Fuss. Taking readers from Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles, Branch writes lyrically about growing up as a Black boy existing outside the usual scripts of manhood, raised by an often absent father whose rigid views on masculinity cast a long shadow. Branch charts the uneasy balance between ambition, manhood and the longing for paternal recognition. He reckons with patriarchy, tradition, exploring their weight on society and the ways they both silenced and shaped him—ultimately finding freedom in telling his story.

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The Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College presented the Tenth National Black Writers Conference: March 2010: Pictured (front row, left to right): Honoree Amiri Baraka; Dr. Brenda M. Greene, Executive Director, Center for Black Literature; poet and presenter Sonia Sanchez; Honorary Chair Toni Morrison; Dr. Cornel West; and Susan L. Taylor. (Back row, left to right) Dean Richard Jones; Dean Moses Newsome; MEC student, and Honoree Kamau Brathwaite. Photo by Andre Beckles.

About the Center for Black Literature at Medgar Evers College, CUNY

For 20 years, the programs of the Center for Black Literature (CBL) have had a dynamic impact in the literary field. The highly anticipated author readings and book signings, journals, symposia, conferences, panel discussions, and writing workshops—and the Center’s intellectual and accessible approach to programming—form an integrative approach to programming that sets CBL apart from others. CBL’s events are known for the way they ensure that Black literary scholarship and conversations are valued and sustained.

Contact Us

Center for Black Literature (CBL)
at Medgar Evers College, CUNY
1534 Bedford Avenue | 2nd Floor
Brooklyn, New York 11216
(Click HERE for the Postal Mailing Address)

Main Phone: (718) 804-8884
Main Office: info@centerforblackliterature.org

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To carry out our literary programs and special events, we depend on financial support from the public. Donations are welcome year-round. Please click HERE to donate. Thank you!

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