Griot & Grey Owl Conference – Black Southern Writer's Conference

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In downtown durham

Arts Council | 21c Museum Hotel Durham

Our Story

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 10th-12th 2023, writers will gather to connect with renowned 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.

The Triangle’s first writing conference dedicated to bringing together Black writers.

We write alone, but we grow together.

The pandemic disjointed many writing communities. After polling over 1k BLK Southern 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 are synonymous with community. We do not create in a vacuum. We are inviting 100 Blk writers to downtown Durham for the chance to grow artistically and be immersed in the rich heritage of the Bull City through cultural tours, immersive workshops, engaging panel discussions, and electrifying performances. The hope is that a community and strong connection is built that will last writers a lifetime.

Our Mission:

Our conference seeks to create a sense of unity among writers throughout the South by creating a space for unity, skill sharing, gate-breaking, access and comradery.