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DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T163000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T173000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250911T195927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250924T121244Z
UID:10001834-1760200200-1760203800@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:Conversation with Danez Smith
DESCRIPTION:About the Author\nDanez Smith is the author of four collections including Don’t Call Us Dead\, Homie\, and most recently Bluff\, a finalist for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry. They are also the curator of Blues In Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes. For their work\, Danez won the Forward Prize for Best Collection\, the Minnesota Book Award in Poetry (twice)\, the Lambda Literary Award for Gay Poetry\, the Kate Tufts Discovery Award\, and has been a finalist for the NAACP Image Award\, the National Book Critics Circle Award\, and the National Book Award. Danez is proud Black\, Queer\, HIV-Positive poet who writes from those intersections about love\, community\, pleasure\, politics\, mental health\, our responsibility to the future\, and all the shimmering\, complex things that make us human. Danez lives in the Twin Cities with their people and teaches at the Randolph College MFA program and the Black Youth Healing Arts Center in St. Paul\, MN. 
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/conversation-with-danez-smith/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
CATEGORIES:Indiana Humanities Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Danez.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T150000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T160000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250911T194833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T170330Z
UID:10001833-1760194800-1760198400@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:How We Show Up: Building Literary Communities
DESCRIPTION:How can we build and sustain communities that honor the art of storytelling? Whether through art\, activism\, mutual aid\, or shared space\, people find ways to connect\, resist isolation\, and create belonging. This panel dives into what it means to build community today—and how we can do it with intention\, resilience\, and care. \nAbout the Panelists\nCorey Ewing is a native of Indianapolis who pursued a love of poetry across the country on a whim. He would return home to support various poetic projects\, including Word As Bond\, Fighting Words Poetry\, and Cafe Creative\, and he currently curates VOCAB. His poetry and photography have led him to work with National Geographic Photo Camp\, BUTTER Art Fair\, Indy Arts Council\, Central Indiana Community Foundation\, and the Herbert Simon Family Foundation. He is a former Artist at Work with Kheprw Institute and continues to teach\, coach\, and create as a multidisciplinary artist. \nMuraled as a “Keeper of Culture” in downtown Indianapolis\, Mariah Ivey is a writer\, poet\, musician\, and curator deeply rooted in the city’s vibrant arts scene. A 2016 Art & Soul alumna\, Ivey founded the genre-bending hip-hop/soul collective We Are TribeSouL in 2017 while continuing her work as a spoken word artist. She has performed at iconic venues such as the Vogue\, the Jazz Kitchen\, and the Madam Walker Theatre and has been featured at signature events such as TEDx Indianapolis\, Chreece Hip-Hop Festival\, REV Indy\, BUTTER Fine Art Fair\, and more. Ivey has opened for artists such as Arrested Development\, Anthony Hamilton\, and Beverly Bond\, founder of Black Girls Rock. Beyond the stage\, she is passionate about creating accessible\, community-centered arts experiences. She has curated numerous exhibitions and events\, including The Re-Up: An Art and Wellness Festival\, and the long-running That Peace Open Mic. In 2025 she partnered with the Indy Arts Council to reexhibit her latest body of work\, Nourishing Well: Black Women and the Poetics of Sacred Space\, at Gallery 924—highlighting nine local artists across disciplines to explore poetry and visual art as a practical response to harm and a pathway to connection. Ivey holds a BA in Africana studies and philosophy and an MA in English creative writing from Indiana University Indianapolis\, and she was a 2023/24 Intercultural Leadership Institute Fellow. \nTatjana Rebelle (they/she) is a mother\, activist\, organizer\, writer\, performer and promoter. They have lived in Indianapolis most of their life\, which is where they learned to use their writing to deal with growing up in the Midwest as a nonbinary\, first-generation Afro-German and Queer. They founded VOCAB Indy\, a monthly cultural arts event centering QTBIPOC communities in 1997 and stepped away from curating the event in 2020 to pursue writing and traveling. \nTheir work gives them the chance to follow in the footsteps of their idol\, Bayard Rustin\, in speaking truth to power and taking a stance against global and local oppression. Their goal is to bring art and activism to the people who need to hear it the most\, with every action they take. \nThey are proud to be an alum of Asante’s Art Institute of Indianapolis\, a 2020 recipient of the Indy Arts Council’s Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship\, and a speaker at Tedx Indiana University’s 2021 event “When a Tree Falls.” Their published work includes essays in the Indianapolis Recorder\, a contribution to best-selling author Tamara Winfrey Harris’s book Dear Black Girl: Letters from Your Sisters about Stepping into Your Power\, and pieces in several anthologies.
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/how-we-show-up-building-literary-communities-proof-2025/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Community.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T133000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T143000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250911T194513Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250919T140104Z
UID:10001832-1760189400-1760193000@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:Censorship: A Conversation on Voice\, Artistic Risk and Imagination
DESCRIPTION:Artists have always pushed boundaries—only to face backlash\, bans\, or erasure. From books and films to music and visual art\, censorship continues to shape what stories get told and who gets to tell them. This panel explores how creative expression collides with cultural norms\, political power\, and the evolving lines of public acceptability. \nAbout the panelists\nEbony Chappel is an award-winning multimedia journalist\, business owner\, certified community health worker\, and nonprofit leader. She’s known for making high-level decisions\, appropriately allocating resources\, and delegating responsibilities to maximize productivity and achieve strategic business goals. \nChappel currently serves as director of brand and community strategy for Free Press Indiana\, a nonprofit on a mission to ensure that residents of Indiana have local news that is anchored in and reflective of the needs of the communities they serve. She also works as a freelance writer and media personality with several media outlets\, including Indy Maven\, Pattern magazine\, and Urban One. During the 2020 pandemic she launched a podcast\, What’s Good? with Ebony Chappel\, to shed light on people in the community doing good things to positively impact the world around them. For nearly a decade she’s used her skills to support many small businesses and community-based organizations \nChappel’s work has garnered recognition from the Society of Professional Journalists\, the Hoosier State Press Association\, the National Newspaper Publishers Association\, and the Association for Multicultural Affairs in Transplantation among other honors. In 2022 she was named to the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty under 40\, and in 2025 she joined the ranks of the Stanley K. Lacy Executive Leadership Series as a member of Class XLIVIII. \nOutside of her professional endeavors\, Chappel volunteers with various community groups and serves on committees/boards for causes she cares about— arts and culture\, literacy\, and education. She recently served as president of the Indianapolis Press Club Foundation Board and executive director of the Friends of Belmont Beach. \nChappel has collaborated with other young Black social entrepreneurs to do projects that speak to her personal desire to bring experiences to life that are fueled by curiosity\, love\, and radical transformation. These efforts include the Testimony Service (a welcoming community that seeks to bring people together—regardless of faith affiliation—to fellowship\, hold space for one another\, and celebrate the good news about what’s going on in their lives and communities)\, the Black Women’s Writing Society (a monthly gathering of sisters who share a love for the written word)\, and the Free People Party (an affirming and inclusive dance-centric experience hosted in Indianapolis). \nNichelle M. Hayes\, MPA\, MLS\, is a dynamic leader\, scholar\, and advocate for Black literary excellence and cultural preservation. She currently serves as the executive director of the Hurston/Wright Foundation\, where she champions the legacy and future of Black writers through programming\, mentorship\, and advocacy. Hayes is the coeditor of The Black Librarian in America: Reflections\, Resistance\, and Reawakening\, a seminal work amplifying the voices and experiences of Black library professionals. As the immediate past president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association\, she has led national efforts to promote equity\, access\, and representation in the information sciences. Her work is deeply rooted in community engagement\, literacy\, and historical awareness\, reflected in her active membership in the Association for the Study of African American Life and History and her thought-provoking blog\, https://thetiesthatbind.blog. \nA proud graduate of Indiana University\, Hayes also holds a master of library science degree from Indiana and a master of public administration degree from Valdosta State University. Her leadership and impact have been recognized with numerous accolades\, including the 2022 Breakthrough Women Award from the National Coalition of 100 Black Women\, the 2020 Movers and Shakers Award from School Library Journal\, and her participation in the 2024 Executive Women of Color Leadership Cohort. With a career spanning libraries\, nonprofits\, and cultural institutions\, Hayes brings a visionary approach to change management and a steadfast commitment to uplifting Black voices in literature and beyond. \nLisa Lintner was appointed the Johnson County Public Library director in 2015. Working in libraries for nearly 30 years\, she has dedicated her career to providing outstanding library services for patrons from the cradle through retirement. Lintner graduated from Indiana University’s master of library science program and holds a bachelor of science degree in English and theatre from Ball State University. She is the chair of the Indiana FREADOM to Read task force and a member of the Advocacy Committee for the Indiana Library Federation.
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/censorship-a-conversation-on-voice-artistic-risk-and-imagination-proof-2025/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
CATEGORIES:Indiana Humanities Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Censorship.jpg
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T120000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T130000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250911T193919Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251008T170408Z
UID:10001831-1760184000-1760187600@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:The Craft of Crime Writing
DESCRIPTION:Join a stellar panel of award-winning Midwestern crime writers for a conversation on the craft of writing a good mystery\, moderated by Shamus Award-winning author James D.F. Hannah. \nAbout the panelists\nValerie (V. M.) Burns is an Agatha\, Anthony\, Edgar\, and Next Generation Award Finalist. She is the author of the Mystery Bookshop\, Dog Club\, RJ Franklin\, Baker Street Mystery\, and Bailey the Bloodhound mystery series. Valerie is a member of Crime Writers of Color\, Sisters in Crime\, Mystery Writers of America\, Dog Writers of America\, Thriller Writers International\, and the Crime Writers Association. Valerie has a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University\, a master’s degree in business from the University of Notre Dame\, and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Seton Hill University. In addition to writing\, Valerie works as a manager at a call center and is also a mentor in the Writing Popular Fiction MFA Program at Seton Hill University in Greensburg\, Pennsylvania. Born and raised in northwest Indiana\, Valerie now lives in northern Georgia with her two poodles. \nLori Rader-Day is the Edgar Award–nominated and Agatha\, Anthony\, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author of Wreck Your Heart (forthcoming January 2026)\, The Death of Us\, Death at Greenway\, The Lucky One\, Under a Dark Sky\, and others. Lori earned a master of arts degree in creative nonfiction and a master of fine arts degree in creative writing. She lives in Chicago\, where she cochairs the crime fiction readers’ event Midwest Mystery Conference and teaches creative writing at Northwestern University. Visit her at www.LoriRaderDay.com. \nErin Flanagan is the author of two short-story collections and three novels\, including Deer Season\, winner of the 2022 Edgar for Best First Novel\, and the most recent Come with Me. She has held fellowships at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference\, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference\, Yaddo\, the MacDowell Colony\, and the Ucross Foundation and has been awarded two Individual Excellence Grants from the Ohio Arts Council. She is a board member of the Mystery Writers of America Midwest chapter\, a regular book reviewer for Publishers Weekly\, and an English professor at Wright State University. For more information about her and her writing\, visit www.erinflanagan.net. \nJames D.F. Hannah is the Shamus Award–winning author of the Henry Malone series\, including the novels Because the Night and Behind the Wall of Sleep. His short fiction has twice been selected for Best American Mysteries and Suspense by series editor Steph Cha and guest editors Jess Walter in 2022 and Don Winslow in 2025. His work has received multiple Anthony Award nominations and appeared in publications including Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine and Vautrin\, as well as anthologies edited by Tod Goldberg\, S.A. Cosby\, and Lawrence Block. He lives in Louisville\, Kentucky\, where all the bourbon is. \nLarry D. Sweazy is the author of 19 novels\, one short-story collection\, and 40 short stories. He is a two-time recipient of the WWA (Western Writers of America) Spur Award and a four-time recipient of the Will Rogers Medallion Award. His writing has also been recognized with awards from the Best Books of Indiana literary competition\, the Elmer Kelton Book Award\, the Willa Literary Award\, and the Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Award. He has been shortlisted for the Indiana Authors Award two times and has been a finalist for several national writing awards. His short stories have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine\, The Adventure of the Missing Detective\, Hoosier Noir\, Boys’ Life\, Hardboiled\, and several other publications and anthologies. Larry lives in Noblesville\, Indiana\, with his wife\, Rose\, where he is hard at work on his next story.
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/the-craft-of-crime-writing/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Crime-writing.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T103000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251011T113000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250911T193217Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251003T162450Z
UID:10001830-1760178600-1760182200@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:Midwestern Memoir
DESCRIPTION:Jill Christman is the author of If This Were Fiction: A Love Story in Essays\, two memoirs (Darkroom: A Family Exposure and Borrowed Babies: Apprenticing for Motherhood)\, and essays in magazines such as Brevity\, Creative Nonfiction\, Fourth Genre\, and Iron Horse Literary Review. A 2020 NEA Fellow and senior editor for River Teeth: A Journal of Nonfiction Narrative\, she teaches at Ball State University.  \nAcamea Deadwiler is the author of the memoir Daddy’s Little Stranger\, which has been featured by Literary Hub\, The Creative Nonfiction Podcast\, and deemed “arresting” by The BookLife Prize. Her writing has appeared in Bellevue Literary Review\, North American Review\, Beyond Words Literary Magazine\, and elsewhere. She holds an MFA from Randolph College—where she was awarded a Blackburn Fellowship. Acamea’s books have also been lauded by Publishers Weekly and Cosmopolitan\, among other media outlets. She is a native of Gary\, Indiana.  \nMelissa Fraterrigo is the author of the memoir in essays\, The Perils of Girlhood (University of Nebraska Press\, 2025) and also the novel Glory Days (University of Nebraska Press\, 2017) and the short story collection The Longest Pregnancy (Livingston Press\, 2006). Her fiction and nonfiction works have appeared in numerous literary journals and anthologies from Shenandoah and The Massachusetts Review to storySouth and Notre Dame Review. She has been a finalist for awards from Glimmer Train on multiple occasions\, twice nominated for Pushcart Awards\, and was the winner of the Sam Adams/Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction Contest. She teaches creative writing at Purdue University and in the MFA Program in creative writing at Butler University in Indianapolis. She also offers instruction on the art and craft of writing at the Lafayette Writers’ Studio in Lafayette\, Indiana. 
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/midwest-memoir-proof-2025/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
CATEGORIES:Indiana Humanities Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Midwestern-Memoir.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251010T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Indiana/Indianapolis:20251010T180000
DTSTAMP:20261020T204611
CREATED:20250925T160640Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251006T175011Z
UID:10001870-1760115600-1760119200@indianahumanities.org
SUMMARY:To Be a Bookfluencer: Building Online Literary Communities
DESCRIPTION:Join two Indianapolis-based social media influencers whose reach extends far beyond the Midwest for a conversation about online literary communities. Nathan Shuherk (@schizophrenicreads) and Sydney Adams (@sydsydbookworrom_) have built followings of avid readers online and will share insights into these virtual literary communities during this conversation moderated by Julia Breakey of Tomorrow Bookstore.   \nAbout the panelists\nSydney Adams is a Neuro ICU trauma nurse in downtown Indianapolis and bookish content creator online under “Syd BookWorrom”. She loves reading\, gaming\, writing\, and over caffeinating. When she finds free time\, she’s usually with her husband and their three rescues.  \nNathan Shuherk is a nonfiction book reviewer on social media under the username @schizophrenicreads. He’s currently an MFA student at Butler University and working on his first book. He lives in Broad Ripple.  \nJulia Breakey is the co-owner and Head Buyer at Tomorrow Bookstore\, an independent bookstore in downtown Indianapolis. Prior to running a bookstore\, Julia was a filmmaker and video editor – and helped build the video studio and team at Young & Laramore. She has also worked as a digital media writer for Memeburn and production assistant at Farm Films. Julia holds a degree in Film & Media Studies with a specialization in screen production from the University of Cape Town.  
URL:https://indianahumanities.org/event/to-be-a-bookfluencer-building-online-literary-communities/
LOCATION:Speck Gallery\, 1505 N. Delaware St.\, Indianapolis\, IN\, 46202\, United States
CATEGORIES:Indiana Humanities Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://indianahumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Book-influencer.jpg
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