canadian black literary festival

Watch the lineup reveal

As broadcast live on Juneteenth 2026

#CBLF2026 Festival schedule
At-A-Glance

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#CBLF2026 Full Festival Schedule

McLean Community Centre (98 Magill Drive) • St. Francis Centre for Community, Arts & Culture (78 Church St. S.) • Ajax, Ontario

Find featured artists online:

Kevin Carrington
Spoken Soul Collective
Randell Adjei
Paulina O’Kieffe
Dwayne Morgan

Ramon Carty
Kesha Christie
Lalaa Comrie
Elle de Lyon
DJ Love Jones

Antonio Michael Downing
Dr. Afua Cooper
Testament
dr.d’bi.young anitafrika

10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies & Showcase

McLean Community Centre • Community Room #3 • $15 admission

After giving thanks to our ancestors, Indigenous hosts, and elders, we move into the first-ever showcase at our Festival.

Hosted by “The Voice”Kevin Carrington: Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin is a CBC news reporter and a regular face in the community. A prominent figure in Toronto's cultural scene, he is renowned for hosting a myriad of community events. Kevin brings an unmatched vibrancy to live events, seamlessly blending entertainment, culture, and community engagement.

Featuring the Spoken Soul Collective:

Paulina O’Kieffe is an award-winning Toronto writer, performer, producer, arts educator and community advocate. Paulina is the recipient of the Toronto Community Foundation’s Vital People Award and was recognized as one of 150 Black Women Making Herstory (as featured on CBC).

Dwayne Morgan is a 2023 Order of Ontario appointee and a two-time Canadian national poetry slam champion. Dwayne has published 16 collections, including two children’s books and an inspirational memoir, and produced 11 albums of his work. In 2013, he was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame.

Randell Adjei is an entrepreneur, speaker and spoken word practitioner who, in April 2021, was appointed Ontario’s first Poet Laureate. He is the founder of Reaching Intelligent Souls Everywhere (R.I.S.E Edutainment). In September 2022, Randell was inducted into the Scarborough Walk of Fame.

12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair

McLean Community Centre • Community Hall • Free admission

The Emancipation Book Fair spotlights Black Canadian authors, bookstores, and publishers to create a vibrant marketplace where readers can discover new titles, meet creators, and support Black voices in writing and publishing.

This curated event highlights Black literature and connects readers directly with books and the people who create and publish them.

Emceed by Elle de Lyon • Music provided by DJ Love Jones

Attendance is free for all • Food & refreshments available for purchase

Are you a Black Canadian writer? A bookseller? A publisher? Do you lead a literary focused organization? Do you want to participate in the BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair as a vendor?

Apply here to claim a spot in the BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair. More information on the flyer.

12:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
LIterary Workshops

McLean Community Centre • Community Room #3 • $25 per session

Three interactive sessions led by Durham Region based professional artists. Attendance requires pre-registration. Everyone is invited to participate, no matter your level of writing experience or your ethnocultural background.

12:30 - 1:45 p.m.
The Heart’s Eye: Drafting Freedom
with Ramon Carty

This 75-minute session is designed to support the Canadian Black Literary Festival' s mission of helping our community change the world one word at a time. Based on the philosophy from Carty’s collection, This Heart Has Eyes, the workshop explores the idea that the heart sees what the mind cannot. He will guide participants through a technique he calls “Metaphorical Architecture," which helps writers build poems that connect their personal truths with our collective journey toward liberation. By focusing on the "Voices of Freedom" theme, we will work together to create imagery that honours individual stories while adding to the diverse power of Black Canadian literature.

2:00 - 3:15 p.m.
Finding Your Voice: Using Storytelling to Write, Speak, and Connect
with Kesha Christie

Storytelling is one of humanity's oldest art forms and remains one of the most powerful ways to preserve culture, build confidence, and foster meaningful connections. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore the essential elements of effective storytelling and learn practical techniques for crafting and sharing stories that engage audiences. Through discussion, live storytelling, reflection, and guided activities, participants will discover how storytelling can enhance writing, public speaking, and everyday communication.

3:30 - 4:45 p.m.
Books Built Me: Designing the Life You Want Through Reading
with Lalaa Comrie

Books have the power to do more than entertain or inform, they can help shape who we become. In this interactive workshop, participants will explore how reading can be used as a tool for personal growth, healing, creativity, and purpose. Together, we will reflect on the stories that have shaped us, identify the life we want to build, and create an intentional reading plan that aligns with our goals and aspirations. Rooted in Black literary traditions and the belief that reading can be an act of joy, healing, and resistance, this workshop invites participants to see books not just as stories, but as mentors for every season of life.

7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Main Event Showcase

St. Francis Centre for Community, Arts & Culture • $25 early bird // $35 regular

The festival culminates with its main event showcase, featuring four of Canada’s most-recognized and accomplished Black writers at the national and international levels. Each has shown the nation, in their own ways throughout their careers, what Voices of Freedom look like in the Canadian context.

Hosted by Antonio Michael Downing, an award-winning author, musician, and speaker. Last year, he became the permanent host for CBC Radio’s national literary program The Next Chapter. Performing musically as John Orpheus, he blends Afro-Caribbean rhythms, soul, and narrative expression. Born in Trinidad and based in Canada, Antonio uses creativity as a bridge between culture, resilience, and personal growth.

Featuring Afua Cooper, Testament and d’bi.young anitafrika:

Dr. Afua Cooper is a celebrated poet, spoken word icon, author, scholar, and historian. Her many books range across several genres: poetry, history, fiction, and children’s literature. She served as Poet Laureate of Halifax Regional Municipality in 2018-2020. She is a founder of the Canadian dub poetry movement and the recipient of numerous prizes and awards. In February 2025, Afua was inducted into the Order of Nova Scotia.

Mississauga, Ontario native Matthew-Ray Jones, also known as Testament, has been using his natural speaking abilities to inspire audiences for over 20 years. He has recorded three albums and shared the stage with several high-profile hip-hop artists. He co-founded an artist collective called P.E.A.C.E. (People Everywhere Actually Co-existing Equally). In November 2024, Testament was appointed as the Province of Ontario’s second Poet Laureate.

dr.d’bi.young anitafrika is an internationally celebrated dub poet, biomythicist, theatre-maker, and liberatory pedagogue whose work spans performance, scholarship, and arts leadership across four continents. Recipient of multiple prestigious arts and culture awards, include three Dora Awards, they continue to shape contemporary theatre and performance training through their pioneering Anitafrika Dub Praxis.

origins of the Festival

The foundation for the Canadian Black Literary Festival (CBLF) was built through BlackLit Durham, a bimonthly literary reading series held in Ajax’s historic Pickering Village.

Presented by AfriCANthology Canada in partnership with What’s Your Story Author Services, St. Francis Centre, and Ajax Public Library, BlackLit Durham has showcased, highlighted, amplified, and celebrated Black Canadian literary voices of all genres in their full splendour and diversity since June 2022.

Four years later, it is the only recurring literary series of its kind in the eastern GTA, drawing hundreds of audience members from the Region and neighbouring communities each year.

Building upon the success of BlackLit Durham, the inaugural Canadian Black Literary Festival launches on Saturday, August 29, 2026.

#cdnblacklitfest #CBLF2026

CBLF

CBLF is a uniquely conceived celebration of African-Canadian literature of all genres that takes place in Ajax on the last weekend in August before Labour Day weekend every year.

This timing closely aligns with commemorations for Emancipation Day on August 1 and the International Day for People of African Descent on August 31 each year. August is also Emancipation Month in Ontario.

#CBLF2026

The Canadian Black Literary Festival 2026 is a one-day exposition of Black literary artistry, creativity, and performance hosted in partnership at two of Ajax’s most important public facilities: the McLean Community Centre and the St. Francis Centre for Community, Arts, & Culture. The theme of the festival is Voices of Freedom.

Future festivals will be multi-day events, beginning with the two-day #CBLF2027 on August 27-28, 2027.

CBLF is historic: it’s the first-ever Black-led, Black-serving, literature-only, multi-genre, annual festival amplifying Afrodescendent literary voices in Canadian history.

Festival news & updates

Become a Book Fair Vendor!

Vendor registration is now open for the 2026 BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair! There are a LIMITED NUMBER of booths available for writers, booksellers, publishers, and other businesses and groups in the literary arts field who would like to be part of this historic event.

To find out more, download the flyer, scan this QR code or click here to access the registration form. Please note that registrations must first be vetted and approved before a payment is required to secure your spot in the first annual BlackLit Emancipation Book Fair.

Questions? Ask #CBLF2026 Book Fair Director & Vendor Liaison, Maxine Wray. Contact info is on the flyer.

#CBLF2026 Tickets NOW on Sale!

EXCITEMENT KEEPS ON BUILDING for the Canadian Black Literary Festival 2026 now that the lineup has been announced. Now it’s July, and ticket sales are ON!

Tickets are AVAILABLE HERE — be one of the first to purchase tickets for the festival’s opening showcase and literary workshops at McLean Community Centre, and the Main Event Showcase at St. Francis Centre. There are a limited number of VIP passes that get you full access to all the events for one discounted price.

Don’t sleep on them — tickets are limited and are expected to sell out well in advance of August 29.

Follow #CBLF2026 online:
instagram.com/cdnblacklitfest
facebook.com/cdnblacklitfest

Buy Tickets NOW on CultureTix.ca!

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be part of the team.

Want to volunteer on August 29? To find out more about how you can sign up to help out with the festival, send us a message:

Volunteer @ CBLF 2026