Inprint is proud to be a partner of the annual BIPOC Book Fest, celebrating underrepresented voices through a showcase of literary works that feature Black, Indigenous, People of Color and other creatives of marginalized communities. Featured Readers include Jasmine Guillory, Fady Joudah, and Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. Reyes Ramirez will lead an Inprint Writing Workout and the Bilingual Inprint Poetry Buskers will also be in attendance.
Festival Schedule
Inprint Writing Workout with Reyes Ramirez
- 10:15–11 a.m. in the Allen Education Center (Second Floor)
A writing workout with author and poet Reyes Ramirez (he/him) a Houstonian, writer, educator, curator, and organizer of Mexican and Salvadoran descent. He authored the short story collection The Book of Wanderers (2022), a 2023 Young Lions Fiction Award Finalist, from University of Arizona Press’ Camino del Sol series and the poetry collection El Rey of Gold Teeth (2023) from Hub City Press, a finalist for the 2024 Texas Institute of Letters Award for Best First Book of Poetry. His latest curatorial project, The Houston Artist Speaks Through Grids, explores the use of grids in contemporary Houston art, literature, history, and politics. Reyes has been honored as a 2020 CantoMundo Fellow, 2021 Interchange Artist Grant Fellow, 2022 Crosstown Arts Writer in Residence, 2023 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow, 2023 Dobie Paisano Fellow, 2024 Speculative Play and Just Futurities Fellow and awarded grants from the Houston Arts Alliance, Poets & Writers, and The Warhol Foundation’s Idea Fund.
Learn more here.
Dollars and Sense
- 10:30–11:10 a.m. in the Green Garden (Second Floor)
- Featuring Jamaul Pride
A financial literacy workshop with Jamaul Pride, COO of Dawson Private Wealth, Financial Services.
A Taste of Houston
- 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. in the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater (First Floor)
- Kayla Stewart, Chris Williams, Ope Amosu, David Skinner, and Victoria Elizondo in conversation with Erica Cheng
Food writer Kayla Stewart and Lucille’s chef and philanthropist Chris Williams discuss their newest book Black Texas, a cookbook that highlights the recipes and stories of the many contributions Black people have made to Texas cuisine. Chef and James Beard semifinalist Ope Amosu, whose brainchild ChopnBlok has quickly gained popularity in Houston and attention around the country, will discuss Houston’s affinity for West African food and his journey to creating ChopnBlok. David Skinner, who showcases his Indigenous heritage through his tasting menu at Kemah’s eculent, and Victoria Elizaondo, who serves Mexican food made with fresh and local ingredients at the successful restaurant Cochinita & Co., also join.
Storytelling in Sequence
- 11:15 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. in the Green Garden (Second Floor)
- Yu Pei-Yun and Zhou Jian-Xin, with translator Lin King
A showcase with author Yu Pei-Yun and graphic artist Zhou Jian-Xin, the minds behind the graphic novel The Boy From Clearwater, which tells the tortured and triumphant story of Taiwan through the life story of a man who lived through its most turbulent times.
Inprint Bilingual Poetry Buskers 
- 12 – 3 p.m.
The Inprint Poetry Buskers spread the joy of poetry by writing poems on demand at festivals and events throughout the city. These talented poets, using typewriters and their quick wit, write personalized poems for people based on the themes they request. The buskers write in both English and Spanish and the poems are given away free of charge and people love taking home a poem written just for them.
Learn more here.
Teen Summit
- 12:15–1:15 p.m. in the Allen Education Center (Second Floor)
- Featuring Tyrone Void
Frustrated by rules and banes that just don’t seem to make sense? Feeling like your voice isn’t heard in a world that’s just too loud with divisiveness? Here’s a chance to learn what you can do to push for change.
A Conversation With Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- 1:20–2:20 p.m. in the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater (First Floor)
- Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in conversation with Pritha Bhattacharyya
New York Times bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni discusses her novel Independence, which brings to life the sweeping story of three sisters caught up in events beyond their control, their unbreakable bond, and their struggle against powerful odds.
Writing About Us
- 1:30–2:30 p.m. in the Allen Education Center (Second Floor)
- KB Brookins, Neesha Powell-Ingabire, Leslie Contreras Schwartz, and Elba Iris Pérez in conversation with Deborah “D.E.E.P.” Mouton
A diverse range of authors discusses how their novels and memoirs inform their identities, cultures, and sense of place. KB Brookins, a Black, queer, and trans writer and cultural worker from Texas, reads from their memoir Pretty while Neesha Powell-Ingabire, a millennial journalist, essayist, and organizer shares Come By Here: A Memoir in Essays From Georgia’s Geechee Coast, which traces the genealogy of systemic racial violence while paying homage to the area’s long history of Black resistance and culture-keeping. Leslie Contreras Schwartz‘s memoir From the Womb of Sky and Earth recounts a poet’s coming-of-age through a maze of abusive relationships and mental illness, woven with grlimmers of fierce love, and Elba Iris Pérez‘s lyrical, cross-cultural coming-of-age debut novel The Things We Didn’t Know explores a young girl’s childhood between 1950s Puerto Rico and a small Massachusetts factory town.
Reading and Q&A With Fady Joudah 
- 2:30–3:30 p.m. in the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater (First Floor)
- Fady Joudah in conversation with Hosam Aboul-Ela
Internationally renowned Houston poet Fady Joudah has published six collections of poems including The Earth in the Attic, Alight, and Textu, a book-long sequence of short poems whose meter is based on cellphone character count. Fady has also translated from Arabic the works of several leading Palestinian poets including Mahmoud Darwish, Ghassan Zaqtan, and Maya Abu Al-Hayyat. Fady is the recent recipient of the Jackson Poetry Prize.
Curtain Call: A Conversation With Houston Playwrights
- 3–4:15 p.m. in the Allen Education Center (Second Floor)
- Tazeen Zahida, Marissa Castillo, and ShaWanna Renee Rivon in conversation with Errol Anthony Wilks
One of the world’s oldest art forms, playwriting has been historically and culturally important in diasporic communities of color. Join Tazeen Zahida, Marissa Castillo, and ShaWanna Renee Rivon as they talk about plays and performance as a tool of history, representation, teaching, and healing.
Lit Lounge
- 3–6 p.m. in the Green Garden (Second Floor)
Unwind with fellow bookish folk, mingle with the authors and speakers in between panels, and enjoy literature-themed cocktails in BIPOC Book Fest’s adults-only lounge.
A Conversation with Jasmine Guillory 
- 4–5 p.m. in the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater
- Jasmine Guillory in conversation with Reggie of Books Are Pop Culture Podcast
Chat with Jasmine Guillory about romance, joy, Black love, and her journey to becoming one of the most celebrated romance authors right now. A book-signing will follow the conversation.
Poetry Showcase
- 5:15–6 p.m. in the Allen Education Center
- Featuring Outspoken Bean
The festival will close out with the annual poetry showcase led by award-winning poet and Houston poet laureate emeritus Outspoken Bean, joined by other Houston poets.
Publishers, Partner Organizations, and Bookstores
Arte Público Press | Abode Press | Basket Books & Art | Brazos Bookstore | CLASS Bookstore | Harris County Public Library | Houston Public Library | LiFong Woo | Nuestra Palabra | Tram Editions | Writers in the School
Art, Gifts, and Goods Vendors
Blue Moth Co | LH Candle Studio | Mama Leticia Handcrafted Items | Nochew | Zen Art Calligraphy
Food and Drink
Dumpling Haus | Magic Cup | Visit Java Lava Cafe, located on Asia Society Texas’ first floor, to enjoy coffee, breakfast, lunch, and snacks!
About BIPOC Book Fest
BIPOC Book Fest was co-founded by Jaundréa Clay, Brittany Britto Garley, and Brooke Lewis. Brittany Britto Garley is an award-winning journalist and editor of Eater Houston, where she loves digging into culture, food, and community. Jaundréa Clay is a senior copy editor and newsletter editor of HouWeAre at the Houston Chronicle, which examines the intersection of identity, race, and culture in one of the nation’s most diverse cities. Brooke Lewis is an award-winning journalist, aspiring author, and newsletter editor of Hey Houston.
