canadian black literary festival

Poster for the Canadian Black Literary Festival held August 29, 2026, in Ajax, Ontario. Features a black circle with white text and a website URL, including a QR code for ticket purchase.
Digital flyer for the Canadian Black Literary Festival 2026 featuring event schedule, speakers, and location details.
Graphic displaying sponsors and partners for #CBLF2026, categorized as silver sponsors (IFARADA, Ajax Town of Ajax by the Lake, Ajax Partnership Fund), bronze sponsors (Durham Region, Ajax Library, AFRO Caribbean Business Network, Hachette Book Group Canada), media partner (byblack.com, What's Your Story author services, St. Francis Centre for Community, Arts & Culture), and founding partners (Africanthology, Voice Share).

#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.

A smiling man in a teal suit and black shirt, wearing glasses, standing in an office.
Three professionally dressed people, two men and a woman, posing together in front of a blue and purple abstract background.

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.

A woman with long dark wavy hair wearing a leopard print hat, matching leopard print turtleneck, beige vest, pearl earrings, and a necklace with a large gemstone pendant. She is standing outdoors at night with blurred city lights in the background.
Young Black woman with braided hair, wearing a varsity jacket, a watch, and a necklace, resting her chin on her hand, against a plain white background.

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.

A man reciting poetry passionately into a microphone, eyes closed, wearing a striped short-sleeve shirt and a smartwatch.
Woman smiling with arms crossed, wearing a patterned headwrap and a black shirt, against a bright yellow background.
A woman with dreadlocks sitting in front of a bookshelf, wearing a black T-shirt that says "This Black Girl Reads," resting her head on her hand and looking at the camera.

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.

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A woman with short blonde hair and gold earrings, wearing a colorful patterned blouse, smiling against a plain white wall background.
A man with a beard wearing a black beret and black coat, looking at the camera against a plain gray background.
A woman in traditional Maasai attire, adorned with shell jewelry, standing outdoors among green foliage with her arms raised and smiling.

origins of the Festival

A smiling man wearing glasses, a black hoodie with white lettering, and jeans standing outside a brick building near glass doors with signage, during daylight.
A smiling man wearing glasses, a black hoodie with white lettering, and jeans standing outside a brick building near glass doors with signage, during daylight.

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 (now Ajax Centre for the Arts), 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.

Over 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 launched on Saturday, August 29, 2026.

Black and white logo for the Canadian Black Literary Festival, featuring bold text and a stylized film strip or book design.

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 was 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 was Voices of Freedom.

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

CBLF holds significance as the only Black-led, Black-serving, literature-only, multi-genre, annual festival amplifying Afrodescendent literary voices found anywhere in Canada.

Festival news & updates

#cblf2026 was a huge success!

On Saturday, August 29, 2026, we took over and showed out.

The first-ever Canadian Black Literary Festival brought the community together to celebrate, amplify, spotlight, and showcase some of the most impressive and impactful literary artists to be found anywhere in the country.

Whether they were equipped with microphones, surrounded by eager workshop participants, in discussions with book fair visitors, or engaged in casual conversation in the hallways and foyers, the talented people who brought their art to share with festival attendees generously provided their distinctiveness, energy and creativity in an environment built specifically for this purpose.

The Festival Organizing Committee is eternally grateful to the artists, vendors, volunteers, service providers, municipal staff, and attendees who came together to make #CBLF2026 into an incredible occasion in the evolution of the literary arts in Canada.

Extra special thanks go out to our sponsors and partners for their support and funding to make this event happen.

Please join us for the fifth season of BlackLit Durham over the coming months, and mark your calendars for the second annual Canadian Black Literary Festival on August 27-28, 2027.

Follow us online:
instagram.com/cdnblacklitfest
facebook.com/cdnblacklitfest

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