Calling all parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5: Tonya Abari will be reading from Let’s Celebrate Juneteenth and having a mini parade at the annual TN State Museum Juneteenth celebration. FREE and open to the public!

FREE REGISTRATION HERE

Let’s be honest. We writers dream that the books that live inside us will find their way into bookstores, libraries, and homes, will come to life in the hands of avid readers under shady hammocks or in favorite chairs. These books will have splendid covers and rave reviews that honor the love we put into the process. But for many aspiring writers, the journey between finishing a manuscript and launching a book is veiled in mystery. The cogs and wheels of publishing are strangely opaque to the authors themselves. This Birthing the Book Series will both illuminate the process, and more importantly celebrate authors who have recently “birthed” their books.

The Loneliness Files by Athena Dixon is a groundbreaking memoir in essays that asks: what does it mean to be a body behind a screen, lost in the hustle of an online world? In our age of digital hyper-connection, Athena Dixon invites us to consider this question with depth, heart, and ferocity, investigating the gaps that technology cannot fill and confronting a lifetime of loneliness.

This Birthing the Book session will be moderated by Tonya Abari, Porch instructor and facilitator of the Nashville Black Storytellers.

Hosted by Nashville-based BirthManifesta, Tonya is a guest speaker on the inaugural doula training intensive Birthing Mamas Panel. Abari will discuss the importance of personal narratives in doula training.

Join the Nashville Black Storytellers for our spring meetup at PorchTN HQ. This event will be a submission party. Come for a bite to eat and bring your best work to submit.

Calling all local birth workers: Join the Nashville Black Storytellers and BirthManifesta for an immersive storytelling workshop. Hosted by Tonya Abari (Storyteller and NBSHost) and Tanzye Hill (Founder) followed by a restorative sound bath. FREE with lunch provided. Register here.

Host Tonya Abari will be in conversation with author/professor Janaka Bowman Lewis to discuss her latest work, LIGHT AND LEGACIES: Stories of Black Girlhood and Liberation.

Join hosts Tonya Abari and Trenise Ferriera as they talk with debut author Margarett McBride (Dear Dad, Love Nelson) and filmmaker/director Monique Wilholt (Jahleel and Star) about their latest work in bringing the topic of parental incarceration to mixed media formats. *This event will not be recorded.

In partnership with Soul’D and PorchTN — and hosted by PorchTN teaching artist Tonya Abari — the CBA workshop is a 4-hour intensive for creatives who are looking to scale their brands and businesses. Register here.

Attention Nashville Black Storytellers (NBS): After a year-long hiatus, we’re back, baby! Join me for the 2023-2024 virtual kickoff. We’ll discuss goals, future events, and upcoming collaborations. For additional information and to register, click here.

It’s a book birthday! Join author Tonya Abari and illustrator Chasity Hampton to celebrate the launch of Locs, Not Dreads. This is an online fiesta hosted by award-winning storytellers Ambreia Meadows-Fernandez and Yolande Clark-Jackson. Giveaways galore! Register by 9/3/23.

In community partnership with The Black Book Project and Juneteenth615, stop by the annual Fort Negley Juneteenth Celebration and Fireworks Spectacular. We will be giving away 350+ FREE books from 5:00pm–7:00pm! Chat with author Tonya Abari and get a signed copy of Let’s Celebrate Juneteenth for your little reader.

Join me for a reading of Let’s Celebrate Juneteenth at the TN State Museum’s Juneteenth celebration. This event is for children ages 0-10.

SCBWI Midsouth regional meetup at Bellevue Library. Bring a manuscript to critique!

Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators quarterly Mid-South regional meetup. Icebreaker, writing activity, and critiques for writers local to Nashville and its surrounding areas.

Location: Nashville, TN

First 2019 Permission to Write Quarterly Write-Up. This meeting's theme is Goals in Writing. Permission to Write is a magazine and community committed to showcasing and amplifying writers of color. RSVP here. 

Location: Nashville, TN (TBD)

The PorchTN Writer's Collective Writing in the Real World workshop. Discussing how to write through life's daily challenges as well as strategies to minimize distractions while amplifying creativity. 

Location: Nashville, TN

I'll be hosting the first local Permission to Write Quarterly Write-Up. This meeting's theme is Activism in Writing. Permission to Write is a magazine and community committed to showcasing and amplifying writers of color. RSVP here. 

Location: Nashville, TN

Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast featuring "Have Fun. Be Silly. Dance Crazy," Be sure to tune in!

Location: Remote

On-location filming for an upcoming documentary. Details to be released at a later date. 

Location: Mi casa

Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Empowered Woman releases today. Featured in the collection of essays is my piece, "Have Fun. Be Silly. Dance Crazy." Join us on Twitter for a special conversation and hear from the writers behind the empowering stories.

Location: Remote