Cleveland Book Week 2021

Monday, Sept. 27

A conversation with Mira Jacob

7 p.m., Cuyahoga County Public Library (virtual conversation)

Presented as part of the “Beyond the Book Jacket” series, Jacob is the author of “Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations” and the critically acclaimed novel “The Sleepwalker’s Guide to Dancing.”

For more information: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_J0qMJJOSSDCrhxWWkBz5nQ?fbclid=IwAR0glCTZJR8nchN71_rOxAB4bsZdQFqcBF8NIuxsEAzONFJ5TB_72C07Okg

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “End of the Line: The Women of Standing Rock” (virtual viewing)

A group of indigenous women risk their lives to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline construction that desecrated their ancient burial and prayer sites and threatens their land, water, and very existence.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/end-of-the-line-the-women-of-standing-rock-online-film-screening-registration-169904072655

Tuesday, Sept. 28

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “Down a Dark Stairwell” (virtual viewing)

A Chinese American cop shoots and kills an innocent Black man; suddenly two marginalized communities must navigate an uneven criminal justice system together.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/down-a-dark-stairwell-online-film-screening-tickets-170082911567

Wednesday, Sept. 29

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “Voodoo Macbeth” (virtual viewing)

In 1936 Harlem, the first all-Black cast production of “Macbeth” struggles to make it to opening night amid the downward spiral of their young and untested director – Orson Welles. Feature film.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/voodoo-macbeth-online-film-screening-tickets-170086959675

Ayana Gray presented by the Cleveland Public Library

6:30 p.m., Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (39000 Wildlife Way, Cleveland, OH 44109; virtual option also available)

Gray, the author of highly acclaimed Young Adult novel “Beasts of Prey,” discusses her work in the breathtaking Rainforest at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo. “Beasts of Prey” is the much-anticipated series opener revealing the fate which binds two Black teenagers as they strike a dangerous alliance to hunt down the ancient creature menacing their home—and discover much more than they bargained for.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ayana-gray-presented-by-the-cleveland-public-library-tickets-168148399389

Richard Powers: The William N. Skirball Writers Center Stage Series

7:30 p.m., Maltz Performing Arts Center (1855 Ansel Rd., Cleveland, OH 44106, virtual option also available)

The Writers Center Stage Series is presented by the Cuyahoga County Public Library Foundation and Case Western Reserve University. Richard Powers, the prolific writer and award-winning author of 12 novels, is known for his exploration of modern science and technology. Power’s “The Overstory” won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. His new novel is “Bewildered.” For more information: https://case.edu/maltzcenter/WCS1

Thursday, Sept. 30

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “The 86^th Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards” (virtual viewing)

The 86^th Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards is a crisp, beautiful documentary hosted by AWBA Chair Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. It features the recipients of the only national juried prize for literature that confronts racism and explores human diversity. Sample the insights, and exquisite writing, of the five 2021 winners, delivered in their own voices.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-86th-annual-anisfield-wolf-book-awards-online-film-screening-tickets-170094034837

Friday, Oct. 1

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “Apart” (virtual viewing)

In the Midwest, against the backdrop of the opioid epidemic and rising incarceration rates, three women face the challenges of mothering their children from prison and preparing to reunite with their families and rebuild after years of separation.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/apart-online-film-screening-tickets-170178936781

CIFF Streams + AWBA Shorts Program 1

11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Eight different shorts (virtual viewing)

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ciff-streams-awba-shorts-program-1-online-film-screening-tickets-170202944589

CIFF Streams + AWBA Shorts Program 2

11 a.m.-11 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 3, Eight different shorts (virtual viewing)

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ciff-streams-awba-shorts-program-2-online-film-screening-tickets-170203572467

Saturday, Oct. 2

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “Best Summer Ever” (virtual viewing)

A fresh and exhilarating take on the beloved teen musical genre featuring eight original songs and a fully integrated cast and crew of people with and without disabilities. Feature film.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/best-summer-ever-online-film-screening-tickets-170201389939

For a version of “Best Summer Ever” that contains an audio description for the visually impaired: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/best-summer-ever-online-film-screening-with-audio-description-tickets-170201779103

Deesha Philyaw Langston Hughes Literary Keynote

11 a.m., Great Lakes African American Writers Conference (virtual conversation)

Philyaw’s debut short story collection, “The Secret Lives of Church Ladies,” won the 2021 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 2020/2021 Story Prize, and a 2020 LA Times Book Prize: The Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction; the collection was also a finalist for the 2020 National Book Award for Fiction. Join the three-day GLAAW conference, where literary creatives from throughout the Great Lakes region will gather virtually to learn from and network with influential publishing industry professionals from hubs including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.

For more information: https://www.glaawc.us/glaawc2021-home/

Sunday, Oct. 3

CIFF Streams + AWBA

11 a.m.-11 p.m., “Landfall” (virtual viewing)

After the landfall of Hurricane María in 2017, Puerto Rico grapples with a devastated infrastructure and multi-billion-dollar debt as outside investors descend—not to bail out communities, but to cash in. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the US colony’s governor in 2019, “Landfall” shares kaleidoscopic glimpses of collective trauma and resistance.

For more information: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/landfall-online-film-screening-tickets-170202429047