Shantasha Naomi Laing, who appears at Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association Community Center in Tampa, Florida on Sept. 28, 2024. Credit: Photo via Shantasha Naomi Laing Poetry/Facebook

Banned Books Week wraps Saturday, and discussion about those works is just part of the agenda this weekend for this expo in its third year.

“Our theme for this year’s event is ‘Bringing Black Books Beyond,’” organizers wrote about their desire to push melanted authors past obstacles like censorship, social media, and AI. “We want to celebrate, support, uplift, and educate our modern day griots!”

Nearly two dozen authors (including Shantasha Naomi Laing, pictured) are on the agenda, alongside workshops about making a living as a writer, self-publishing, and more.

There’s no cover for the 3rd Annual Tampa Bay Black Authors Expo happening Saturday, Sept. 28 at Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association Community Center in Tampa.

Readers are invited to submit their own events to Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s things to do calendar.

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This article appears in Best of The Bay 2024.