Get Ready to Swoon! Black Ink Book Festival Registration Open to Public for 2022 Virtual Event

Programs include panels and workshops by authors, publishing professionals, librarians, and more

CHARLESTON, SC – Dozens of authors and publishing professionals will be featured in the 2022 Black Ink: A Charleston African American Book Festival Jan. 13-15. The annual festival is virtual again this year due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but the free festival is packed with workshops, programs, and presentations, including the keynote address by award-winning and best-selling romance author Beverly Jenkins on Jan. 15.

The programs for authors and readers include panels and workshops featuring authors, publishing professionals, librarians, and more. Topics include Researching African Diasporic History and Culture for Your Literature; a panel featuring current Harlequin authors, a conversation with Monique Patterson, veteran editor at Macmillan who is the current VP, Editorial Director, Acquisitions Outreach at The St. Martin’s Publishing Group; a panel discussion on the evolution of the Black female character in fiction and in romance; a panel discussion on adapting Black stories from book to film; and a speed dating session with featured authors. There will also be an opportunity for unagented authors and authors who are not traditionally published to pitch their projects to agents and editors.

The festival will host author Beverly Jenkins, the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance as the keynote speaker. She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature, was featured both in the documentary Love Between the Covers and on CBS Sunday Morning. Since her debut publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of the Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and NPR.

For the full program list, visit https://www.blackinkcharleston.org/agenda. 

In its sixth year, the annual event will feature dozens of African American authors, most from the Lowcountry and surrounding areas. It will also host workshops for authors and programs for readers throughout the three-day virtual event, which is free for the public. 

Registration for featured authors of the festival is now open. While the event will be virtual, there are still ample opportunities for readers to connect with authors. Registered authors will be hosted on the event’s virtual platform so attendees can speak to authors, receive exposure on Black Ink Book Festival’s social media and digital platforms, have the opportunity to network with other authors, panelists, and attendees, and more. Registration is $75 per author and closes on Dec. 24, 2021. Space is limited.

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. For more information on sponsorships, visit the Black Ink Book Festival website or please contact Black Ink Book Festival Committee Chair, Djuanna Brockington at info@blackinkcharleston.org. 

For more information about Black Ink Book Festival, which is hosted by the Charleston Friends of the Library in partnership with the Charleston County Public Library and the College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture, visit www.blackinkcharleston.org or social media channels on Facebook and Instagram.