Celebrating the one-year anniversary of Black Writers Read. On Friday, June 19, 2020, Valley Society hosted an over 3-hour virtual event, convening 16 Black writers from across the country to share their work. Seeing the need to sustain this platform, we launched the series, Black Writers Read.

Over the past year, we've hosted 29 writers representing various genres include poetry, fiction, memoir, essay, creative nonfiction, young adult, and children's picture books. This special episode features a retrospective conversation between founding members of Valley Society and some of our past guests to reflect on the year in Black culture, literary arts, and existence.

Produced and hosted by performance poet, playwright, pop culture critic, and philanthropy professional, Nicole M. Young, Valley Society's Black Writers Read showcases, celebrates, and honors the words, work, and traditions of Black writers from across the country, across genres, across experiences, and across the African Diaspora.

This special was funded in part by Northampton Open Media.