SUPPORT GRIOT AND GREY OWL BLK SOUTHERN WRITERS
Rooted in Durham, NC, the Griot and Grey Owl Black Southern Writers Conference was formed from a need. Far too often Black stories are pushed to the margins leaving diasporic writers without access or opportunity. Griot and Grey Owl seeks to answer that call. G&G is a 3-day writing conference for Black Southern writers packed with world-class workshops, panels, and historical tours that cover culture, career, and community.
November 1st-3rd, 2024, writers will gather to connect with renown Southern workshop facilitators stationed at historical locations, panels with renowned southern authors, field trips tethered to the thriving Black Wall Street scene, and more! Our goal is that after a weekend of writing in Durham, attendees will leave our conference energized, empowered, and inspired to take the seeds learned at Griot & Grey Owl back to their own communities. We're inviting 100 Black writers to come to Durham for the chance to hone their creative writing skills under the tutilege of some of the best Black authors, speakers, teachers, and creators in the South.
We write alone, but we grow together.
The pandemic disjointed many writing communities. After polling over thousands Black writers we learned that 90% of them did not feel like they had a true community, and that writing for them was a solo/isolated practice. We believe that writing and creation is synonymous with community. We do not create in a vacuum.
Continuing the Afro-Carolina Oral Tradition
Far too often Black Southern voices are overlooked and undervalued. Not to mention that Southern narratives are often deemed "outside the canon" in academic spaces. We aim to amplify Southern Black narratives and show the brillance and legacy that the southern Black griot exists in. We aim to grow a thriving Black writing community that spans the Southern region and provides healing and resources for generations to come.
Black Wallstreet. Pauli Murray. American Tobacco. Hayti Heritage Center. NC Mutual. Bennett Place. NCCU. Durham is the perfect place to study Black stories.
Help us reach our goal by giving to the next generation of Blk Southern voices.
Give a stage to some of the best spoken word artists in the country.
Allow those without access to traditional education an opportunity to hone their craft in a safe, affordable space.
