Detroit Book City is ecstatic to host its 10th Annual African-American Family Book Expo & Read-in 2026 to promote, preserve and sustain literacy in Metro Detroit while celebrating the heritage of Black History.
We are celebrating our '10-Year Milestone' Sat. February 21, 2026 from 12 Noon - 5pm at Developing K.I.D.S. - Village Hall, 24230 W. McNichols Rd Detroit 48219. RSVP FREE tickets!!
"10-Year Anniversary Guest"
DR. TONESA WELCH
First Lady of BMF
We are thrilled to announce that Detroit's own Tonesa Welch, the real-life inspiration behind the acclaimed BET+ biographical drama First Lady of BMF: The Tonesa Welch Story, will appear as our Featured Guest Author. Pre-order the book & pickup your autographed copy on event day!
Get ready to meet & buy autographed books from over 40 talented independent authors of adult & children books from across all genres! Fill your bookshelves up with incredible stories and knowledge written through the lens of local and national Black Americans. We encourage you to bring your kids to share this experience so that they can 'gain a love' of reading at an early age and retain the books collected to share with future generations to come.
**2026 BOOK AUTHOR LINE-UP**
Tanya King, Yvette Daniels, David Watkins, Kenya Amora, LaJuana Jackson, Janai R. Shell, Jessica Mayfield-Ashwood, September Faison, Dr. Kelli Felder, Stephen Bynum, Maurice Jones, Little Swahili Balozis LLC, Dr. Keena Day, Andre Batts, Rated-M Wrote it, Tika McCoy, Donald E. Thomas, Jacqueline Lawson, Terrye Anne Stallings-Blevins, Alex Jon, Ursula McCray, Jeffrey Ford, Ramona Lyons, DAndre Herron, D. Leon Stokes, Autumn Finklea and more!!
Who we are...
Founded in 2017, Detroit Book City Annual A-A Family Book Expo event is Michigan's largest independent Black book fair. We attracts hundreds of authors across the country and an extraordinary crowd of book attendees during the third week of February in Detroit.
It's an exciting one-day event that showcases over 40-65 Black Independent Authors with the mission to help empower and preserve literacy in Metro Detroit -- at the family level.
Why are we here...
We give the Detroit audience access to some of the country's best African-American books (children/adult), in a lively and culturally rich atmosphere allowing them to connect, dialogue and buy autographed books.
What are our goals...
*Combat 54% adult illiteracy rate in Detroit
*Help young readers gain a love for reading
*Help A-A families build up their libraries
*Connect readers to Black authors
*Offer relevant books for entire family!
What to Expect...
*Meet our featured guest author and shop over 40 Author/Exhibitors of adult and children's books
*KID'S Zone...Free Black history coloring sheets, crayons, silicone wrist, pledge to read' posters and bookmark giveaways!
National African-American Read-In Host...
Come through to READ your excerpt from stories, poems & songs written by legendary African American authors every 1/2 hour starting at 1:00pm.
{The National African American Read-In is a groundbreaking effort to encourage communities to read together, centering African American books and authors. It was established in 1990 by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English to make literacy a significant part of Black History Month. This initiative has reached more than 6 million participants around the world.}
With respect to ANY post Covid-19 & variants, please be prepared to practice the latest CDC's guidelines to protect all. This event venue is handicap accessible.