2025 Inkubator Writing Conference

The Inkubator Writing Conference is Literary Cleveland's FREE annual festival for writers and readers.

From September 8-10 we will host virtual panel discussions with national authors all leading up to the big two-day in-person conference at the Cleveland Public Library September 11-13. The conference will feature writing workshops, panel discussions, craft talks, a book fair, a party, and a keynote address. See the full schedule at inkubator.litcleveland.org.

TICKETS: Select General Admission for your free ticket to in-person and/or online events. Afterparty tickets are a separate pay-what-you-can fee. And we encourage you to add a donation! This conference is free to attend but costs over $100,000 to create. Similar conferences in the midwest cost $395 for a ticket. If you have capacity, help keep this conference free for everyone by adding a donation.

DEADLINE: Register for individual events (including the virtual panels) or the whole conference—all for free—is open until 5:00PM ET on September 10, 2025.

Altogether, the Inkubator is a public celebration of writing in Cleveland that advances writers’ individual abilities, furthers artistic dialogue, fosters a more connected literary community, and invites more people to tell their stories.

Cleveland Book Week

Literary Cleveland's Inkubator Writing Conference is just the beginning of Cleveland Book Fest. Be sure to check out the Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards ceremony and events September 19-20 as well as the Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (GLAAWC) September 26-27.

Funders and Sponsors

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is made possible by the Cleveland Foundation, the Cyrus Eaton Foundation, the Nord Foundation, the Poetry Foundation, and the Wolf Family Foundation. Ongoing support for Literary Cleveland is made possible by the Andrews Foundation, the Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, the Ohio Arts Council, and the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

The Literary Cleveland Inkubator Writing Conference is sponsored by The Cleveland Public Library. Our Gold Sponsor is Loganberry Books. Silver Sponsors include Mac’s Backs Books, Cuyahoga County Public Library, and Northeast Ohio MFA (NEOMFA). Bronze Sponsors include Alma College, The Buckeye Flame, The English-Speaking Union, The Pilgrim Press, Fireside Book Shop, and Margaret W. Wong and Associates.