Origin stories aren't just for superheroes. This reading by members of the St. Francis College MFA community features an exciting lineup of writers reflecting on their own origin stories as writers, as well as the origin stories in their writing. Writers, authors and poets Clarence A. Haynes, Jive Poetic, Keyshawn Griffith, Marielena Gomez, Caroline Hagood, Theo Gangi and Felice Belle ponder possible superpowers, as well as muse on how they got here and what it is that they fight for.

Clarence A. Haynes is the co-author of the Afrofuturist YA fantasy series Nubia with actor and producer Omar Epps, as well as the author of the non-fiction work The Legacy of Jim Crow, a Children's Book Council pick. He has also worked as an editor for a variety of publishers, including Penguin Random House, Amazon Publishing and Legacy Lit, an imprint of Hachette Book Group. He has edited top-selling fiction releases such as The Hundredth Queen, Scarlet Odyssey and the Washington Post bestseller The Vine Witch, among other titles.

Felice Belle’s debut collection, Viscera (Etruscan Press, 2023), is poetry for people who think they hate poetry — quirky, accessible and pop-culture obsessed…for fans of 90-Day Fiancé and Ntozake Shange — an urban (self-) love story for anyone who has ever felt like an other. As a poet and playwright, she has performed at the Apollo Theater, Joe's Pub, TEDWomen and TEDCity2.0. Belle is a lecturer in the low-residency MFA program at St. Francis College and Artists Network Director for the global non-profit Narrative 4. She spends her free time solving fictional crimes.

2023 Brooklyn Book Festival Dates

• Virtual Festival Day: Sunday, September 24
• Children's Day: Saturday, September 30
• Festival Day & Literary Marketplace: Sunday, October 1
• Bookend Events: September 24 - October 2

Learn about the only low-residency MFA program in New York City and how to pursue a career as a writer! For more information, visit brooklynbookfestival.org and follow the hashtag #BKBF.