Canadian Black Literary Festival / BlackLit Durham

Canadian Black Literary Festival / BlackLit Durham Our mission is to showcase, highlight, amplify, and celebrate Black Canadian literary voices of all genres in their full splendour and diversity.

Between U & I, we can BuiLD together!

SAVE THE DATES! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!The inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival is history. Now, the fifth season of ...
09/03/2026

SAVE THE DATES! MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

The inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival is history. Now, the fifth season of BlackLit Durham has us excited for the immediate future.

Join with us as we build on the momentum from the festival to bring you MORE incredible literary experiences in the heart of Canada’s Blackest Town.

All Ages & Backgrounds Welcome • Literary Open Mic • Incredible Featured Writers • Buy Books • Support Local Black Businesses • It’s All FREE TO ATTEND

Follow our journey and learn more about our upcoming features and community programs at www.blacklitdurham.com or through our social media accounts.

See you on October 25 at our season opener!

There are a lot of people to thank for making the inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival into an extraordinary exper...
09/03/2026

There are a lot of people to thank for making the inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival into an extraordinary experience.

Today, we want to recognize the BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair vendors who came out and helped us fill McLean Community Centre with books, ideas, creativity and conversation.

Some of you travelled to be there. Some of you brought your books and businesses into a festival for the first time. Some of you have been doing this work for years.

Every one of you made a choice to show up.

And that choice helped make the Book Fair what we hoped it could be: a place where people could discover Black writers, support Black-owned literary businesses, find their next great read, and spend some time in community.

For an inaugural festival, we couldn’t have asked for a better group of people to share that space with.

Thank you to Sarah Jessie Tucker, MJ Willock, Felix I.D. Dimaro, Michelle Richards-Graham, Sophia Jackson, Nadine Fagan, Bookie Adekanye, Esther Simera, Bee Quammie, Leland Harper, Kathleen Carless, Danica Bruno, Cameile Henry, Kid Haile Books, Channon Oyeniran, Karee Shea Walker, Miguel San Vicente, Marsha Wray, Abigail Grimes, What’s Your Story and Thalia Bennett.

You were in the room when Black writers made history.

We’re grateful you were there to help make it happen.

This is only the beginning. 🖤📚

09/01/2026

WE DID IT. And what a day it was.

The first Canadian Black Literary Festival is now part of our history.

From the opening ceremonies to the workshops, the electric Book Fair, the hallway conversations, the books changing hands, the laughter, the music and the indescribably memorable Main Event, felt alive from beginning to end.

Thank you to every writer, artist, performer, emcee, workshop leader, bookseller, publisher, and vendor who brought the festival to life.

Thank you to our sponsors, partners, supporters, organizing committee, volunteers and Town of Ajax staff who helped turn an idea into something real.

And thank you to everyone who came.

You bought the tickets. Participated in the workshops. Browsed the tables. Bought the books. Cheered the artists. Brought your children, your friends, your curiosity and your energy.

For weeks, we kept saying:

Be in the room.

You were.

And because you were, we created a new space for Black Canadian literature together.

The first one is in the books.

Now we get to see what comes next. ❤️📚

To the Festival Organizing Committee (Greg, Gary, Arkyn, Chantal, Nicole, Osagyefo, Vaughn, Judith & Maxine):You did thi...
09/01/2026

To the Festival Organizing Committee (Greg, Gary, Arkyn, Chantal, Nicole, Osagyefo, Vaughn, Judith & Maxine):
You did this. You made this happen. We pulled together and created something that History will talk to his friend Posterity about for a long time, and it’ll made them smile big goofy grins. Be proud. Be gladdened by the way the community responded. Be grateful for the journey. And be prepared for the next one!

The inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival is now history. If you were in the room, you know that we had excellent w...
08/30/2026

The inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival is now history.

If you were in the room, you know that we had excellent workshops, an incredible BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair, and two of the best literary showcases you will see anywhere in Canada.

If you were in the room, you know that the volunteers, town staff, partners, sponsors, in-kind supporters, service providers, and Festival Organizing Committee came through to provide you with an extraordinary experience.

As a festival, we want to thank each and every person who participated, attended, supported, donated, promoted, and shared their art, their souls, their energy, and their words.

We are so excited about the future and thrilled to see people resonate with the Black Canadian literary voices that our events amplify.

THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU VERY MUCH for and be ready for the second annual festival on August 27-28, 2027.

But that’s next year. It’s still 2026. We aren’t done yet.

Our fifth season kicks off on Sunday, October 25. Every other month, we present BlackLit Durham at the Ajax Centre for the Arts.

Save the dates so you can BE IN THE ROOM:

October 25, December 6, February 21, April 11 & June 13

We have a fantastic line-up of featured writers coming your way that you simply don’t want to miss.

Watch our socials and blacklitdurham.com for more information about the shows coming up soon.

And did we mention our BlackLit Durham shows all have a literary open mic AND that the shows are FREE???!?

We will see you on OCTOBER 25 for the season opener!

08/29/2026

Tickets are available at the door for our main event showcase — see you soon!

08/28/2026

ONE. MORE. DAY. 🔥📚

Tomorrow, becomes real.

The Opening Showcase starts the day.
The workshops put you in the work.
The BlackLit Book Fair is FREE.
The Main Event closes the night.

If you’ve been waiting to decide, this is the moment.

🎟️ Get your showcase tickets.
✍🏾 Register for your workshop.
📚 Bring the family to the FREE Book Fair.

Tomorrow, Black Canadian writers, readers, artists and community gather in Ajax for the first Canadian Black Literary Festival.

You can hear about it afterwards.

Or you can be in the room.

🎟️ blacklitcanada.culturetix.ca
ℹ️ blacklitdurham.com/festival

08/28/2026

BE IN THE ROOM. IN TWO DAYS. 🔥

On Saturday, August 29, Black Canadian writers, readers, artists and book lovers gather in Ajax for live performance, workshops, books, music, community — and history in the making.

The first Canadian Black Literary Festival only happens once.

You can hear about it afterwards.

Or you can be there.

🎟️ Buy your tickets TODAY.
Get Tickets on CultureTix or thru link in bio.

Address

78 Church Street S
Ajax, ON

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