Linda A. Duggins , Senior Publicity Director at Grand Central Publishing, will lead and moderate our insightful and enlightening discussion on how the literary world reflects the world in which we live.

From Linda: "Much like Octavia E. Butler had the audacity, skill and knowledge to imagine and write us into the future (2024) when Parable of the Sower was published in 1993, Black folks in publishing have been writing their/our way into and out of many issues like – climate change, love of self and family, water scarcity, food production and shortages, healthcare – lack of and the inequities, social justice, politics, religious freedom, spiritual reclamation, education disparities, gender equity, etc.
 
"This panel will be a look at and a conversation about the state of Black people as it relates to what is presented in literature/via the written word. It’s a look at why we must continue to create and tell our stories and how we keep our story-telling legacy moving forward. It’s looking at the publishing industry and how to make it work with and for us." Panelists include Walter Mosley, Brandon Massey, Kwame Alexander and Joan Vassar.

Click on Linda's photo to read about her dynamic work over the years via Publishers' Weekly.