2025 Inkubator Writing Conference

The Inkubator Writing Conference is Literary Cleveland's FREE annual festival for writers and readers.

From September 8-10 we will host virtual panel discussions with national authors all leading up to the big two-day in-person conference at the Cleveland Public Library September 11-13. The conference will feature writing workshops, panel discussions, craft talks, a book fair, a party, and a keynote address. See the full schedule at inkubator.litcleveland.org.

TICKETS: Select General Admission for your free ticket to in-person and/or online events. Afterparty tickets are a separate pay-what-you-can fee. And we encourage you to add a donation! This conference is free to attend but costs over $100,000 to create. Similar conferences in the midwest cost $395 for a ticket. If you have capacity, help keep this conference free for everyone by adding a donation.

DEADLINE: Register for individual events (including the virtual panels) or the whole conference—all for free—is open until 5:00PM ET on September 10, 2025.

Altogether, the Inkubator is a public celebration of writing in Cleveland that advances writers’ individual abilities, furthers artistic dialogue, fosters a more connected literary community, and invites more people to tell their stories.

Cleveland Book Week

Literary Cleveland's Inkubator Writing Conference is just the beginning of Cleveland Book Fest. Be sure to check out the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ceremony and events September 19-20 as well as the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC) September 26-27.

Funders and Sponsors

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is made possible by the Cleveland Foundation, the Cyrus Eaton Foundation, the Nord Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, and the Wolf Family Foundation. Ongoing support for Literary Cleveland is made possible by the Andrews Foundation, the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, and the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is sponsored by The Cleveland Public Library. Our Gold Sponsor is Loganberry Books. Silver Sponsors include Mac’s Backs Books, Cuyahoga County Public Library, and Northeast Ohio MFA (NEOMFA). Bronze Sponsors include Alma College, The Buckeye Flame, The English-Speaking Union, The Pilgrim Press, Fireside Book Shop, and Margaret W. Wong and Associates.

Info: How do the stories we tell about the past influence our present? What is the danger of “seamless composition and straight-stitched stories” and how can a focus on the “loose threads and frayed patches” reveal important truths? In this virtual event, Dr. Eve L. Ewing (Original Sins) and Dr. Imani Perry (Black in Blues) will discuss the intersections of their recent books, the overlaps between education and art, and the craft of nonfiction writing. What shapes can nonfiction take? How do you “offer the truth with a heartbeat”? And how can looking more closely at history (individual and collective, personal and political) give us a greater understanding of who and where we are now?

Info: It’s easy to imagine the end of the world; what's harder is imagining how to go on after you survive the unsurvivable. In this virtual event, Franny Choi (The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On) and Danez Smith (Bluff) will discuss the intersections between their most recent books as well as how and why to write into, through, and after the apocalypse. What comes next? What comfort can we find in not knowing? What can we create with words when words are not enough and all we have?

Info: Great stories, like life, are messy. They contain uncomfortable truths, embarrassing admissions, and shameful secrets that reveal our flawed and tender humanity. In this virtual event, Deesha Philyaw (The Secret Lives of Church Ladies) and Kiese Laymon (Heavy), cohosts of the Reckon True Stories podcast, discuss the overlaps of their work and the ways both fictional stories and nonfiction essays require us to be vulnerable on the page. How do we take real risks in our writing? How do we find the courage to reveal ourselves and the world? Why is art more powerful when we get real?

Info: Celebrate the start of our 2025 in-person Inkubator Writing Conference with a free mixer at Loganberry Books from 6:00-8:00PM. Meet and mingle with fellow writers and enjoy light food and drink from 6-7pm. Then from 7-8pm stay for a writing group matchmaking event where you’ll rotate around the room meeting potential writing group partners. Whether you're a longtime writer or brand new, joining us from out of town or a lifelong Clevelander, we'll have a chance for you to connect with others writing similar work to help you find your people.

Info: Join us in person at the downtown Cleveland Public Library for free writing workshops, panel discussions, and craft talks in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, the business of writing and publishing, and more. Browse the book fair featuring regional publishers, presses, journals, bookstores, literary orgs, and more. And meet other writers in special breakout social spaces.

Info: Join us at the downtown Cleveland Public Library outdoor reading garden for a special dinner mixer and open mic after the Friday conference sessions. Enjoy the pre-paid buffet dinner from 5-6pm and share some of your writing at the open mic starting at 6pm. Limit 1 piece or excerpt per reader (500 words max).

Info: Join us in person at the downtown Cleveland Public Library for free writing workshops, panel discussions, and craft talks in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, the business of writing and publishing, and more. On Saturday we will also have writing workshops just for teens. Browse the book fair featuring regional publishers, presses, journals, bookstores, literary orgs, and more. And meet other writers in special breakout social spaces.

Info: Our 2025 keynote speaker is Celeste Ng, Cleveland native and the author of three novels, Everything I Never Told You, Little Fires Everywhere, and Our Missing Hearts. In this reading and moderated discussion, Celeste will discuss her upbringing in Shaker Heights, her development as a writer, her most recent novel, and why in a time of crisis literature is more important than ever. This event is presented by the Cleveland Public Library.

Info: Mingle with fellow writers and hear readings from Inkubator presenters at the official Inkubator Afterparty Reading, from 5-9pm. (Location to be determined) Hear a stellar lineup of readers including Dr. Taylor Byas, Nandi Comer, Jonathan Escoffery, Ashley C. Ford, Maris Kreizman, Allegra Solomon, and more. Registration is required as space is limited. Select the Afterparty Reading Ticket on eventbrite to join us.

Host or Publisher Literary Cleveland