Support Khalisa Rae's Speaking Tour

Good news: I was invited to sit on the "Building Community in the Virtual World" Panel at the AWP Writing Conference in Seattle March 8-12, to sign books at the Red Hen Press signing table, and to read at three different poetry readings.

Bad News: The cost for me to attend the conference including airfaire, hotel, registration fee, buying & shipping my books to Seattle for book signings, ubers, and food will be upwards of $2,500!! ( Yes, panelists have to pay for registration. Why? I have no idea.)

Here is the breakdown:

Air travel: $500 roundtrip

Hotel/Airbnb: $500

Conference Registration: $250

Book Buying & Shipping Costs: $1,000

Food/Uber/Incidentals: $250

The Why: Hi, I'm Khalisa Rae. I'm an author, poet, educator, community organizer, and former journalist. For the last 15 years, I've devoted my life to community building and uplifting BIPOC narratives through literary and performing arts programming in the South. I have seen firsthand the impact and power poetry and performance have on the mental, physical, emotional, and social well-being of all people. During those years, I founded organizations that served underrepresented populations or acted in leadership positions at nonprofit organizations with missions to use arts and engagement as a tool for social justice. After seeing how soul-sucking and othering corporate media spaces and 9-5 business environments can be, in 2023, I decided to focus solely on my art, writing and curating community programming that centers Black writers and creators. I currently run the Think in Ink BIPOC Literary Collective and Zine and am planning the first annual Griot and Grey Owl Blk Southern Writers Conference here in Durham, North Carolina, as well as finishing my YA novel in verse.

At the end of December, my work contract ended, and I am currently self-employed as a full-time author and small nonprofit business owner. I make a living solely from art creation, event curation, speaking engagements, workshops, and book sales. I am currently grant writing, but of course, grants take months, if not, a whole year to receive the funds. Currently, I am preparing for a spring speaking tour, but sadly, one of the biggest tour stops is also the most expensive. I will be speaking and signing books at the 2023 AWP Writers Conference in Seattle, and as a speaker and author, I am not being compensated at all! Right now, there is no way I can afford to attend without your support.

Right after AWP, I am headed to the Oxford Conference for the Book in Mississippi, and as I'm sure you've guessed, travel is not included for that either, and will cost over $500 for travel. The overall message is that we really must pay artists, activists, and writers more for their art, gifts, and time, especially artists of color.

I'm asking for friends, family, colleagues, and associates to pull together what they can, and help me get to AWP at least! This year of all years, I have to be there and need assistance. If you feel so inclined and have the means, I would appreciate an extra few dollars added to help get me to Mississippi as well! Support Black authors and help me make this tour a reality!

Thank you in advance for all your support and love. Anyone who can give over $50 will receive a signed copy of my book! ( Contact me if interested)

*Disclaimer* ( I recently won an artist grant, however, those funds are specifically for the literary program that I proposed, and cannot be used for speaking engagements and travel)

Abbreviated Tour Scheduled: