Black Ink Festival is an African American Book Festival held in Charleston, SC. The festival is approaching its sixth year of existance. Admission is free.
My first Black Ink experience was in 2018. Prominent author, Terry McMillan was the guest speaker. I didn’t know about the event until the day of. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect either. I felt that I could see Ms. McMillan and promote my blog since it was just released. Well, there were several people at the Charleston County Library event. I saw two people that I knew and gave out my business card in an effort to promote the blog. Unfortunately I didn’t register in advance, so I was not able to see Ms. McMillan. I made sure that I’d have my registration completed early for the 2019 event! That’s exactly what I did.
At the festival pre-Covid, you’d primarily see African American authors showcasing their published books available for purchase. It was a great opportunity to mingle with the authors. There were few young millennial aged authors present. At the festival, you could also buy books that were once on the shelves at the library for very reduced prices! Under $5. I purchased hardback books by Iyanla Vanzant, Charlamagne tha God, and more. CDs and DVDs were available too. Although the event was physically located in Charleston, there were authors from other parts of South Carolina like Greenville and Columbia. Even authors from North Carolina too.
Black Ink Festival 2019
The last in-person festival was in 2019 at the Memminger Auditorium, where the Charleston Winter Wine Festival was held. The highlight for me was seeing and hearing legendary author and poet, Nikki Giovanni speak. I had VIP seating thanks to my Aunt Cassie. She’s on one of the boards affiliated with the festival.
I met with some publishers to prepare myself for my own book release. I bought children’s books from two Black women authors. We had a great rapport. Both encouraged me to write and publish my book. Little did I know that my church family was going to be there. I purchased their books too. It was fun linking up with them. Plus, the founder of the book club I joined was out there too. It was great seeing her since we hadn’t met in a while.
Overall, it was just a great fun-filled day. It felt like a Black family reunion. I met Columbia, South Carolina’s own amazing young entrepreneur Gabby Goodwin of Gabby Bows. I shared info about her with the young ladies of my SMART Girls Academy. She and her mother are so kind! Nikki Giovanni dropped a bunch of gems. She told us future writers to go ahead and write. After all, we are the only ones who can tell our stories. I was even more determined to complete my book. My hope is that my friend Keshia and I will be able to sell our books in the future. It’s going to happen!
Black Ink Festival 2021
During the pandemic, things changed. January 14th-16th, 2021 is when the Black Ink Festival became a virtual 3-day event. There were several opportunities to learn about writing, promoting, and publishing your book. You could even get direct feedback from the speakers in the virtual lounge. I even spoke to other attendees while waiting for the next presentation. I spoke to a Christian romance author from St. Louis, a book publicist from Washington DC, and another author from New York. Featured authors had segments where they read snippets of their books. The keynote speaker this year was Kwame Mbalia. He’s a New York Times best-selling author of “Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky” and “Tristan Strong Destroys the World”.
Black Ink Photos- 2019
Black Ink Festival 2022
Black Ink Festival 2022 will be virtual as well. It will take place on January 13th-15th. The keynote speaker this time will be romance author, Beverly Jenkins. I’m definitely excited about attending the festival again. This time I plan to attend as a published author and a reader. Please look out for my book to hit the stores soon! If you attend the festival, don’t be shy. Let me know if you see me. I’d love to hear from you. See ya soon!
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