2025 and other years in review.
Living in Brooklyn in my early twenties was some of the most fun, challenging, introspective, and inspirational years of my life. I made friends at parties in Harlem, attended jazz concerts at the Lincoln Center, fell in love with soco in Prospect Park, and witnessed the greatest collection of literary events across the boroughs. One of the highlights of my life was meeting Toni Morisson, trying to talk to her as she signed my books, and asking a question that resulted in “I gotta work, dear.” I think it was about posing for a photo.
Before moving to Brooklyn, growing up in Atlanta, with Black history taught both at school and at home, ownership of one's own story became particularly important to me. Journaling and creating stories based on the events in my life was and is like taking a breath: The amount of time I spent and spend collecting new journals and notebooks ensures that I’d always have a place to record my history.
I was always an avid reader, poet, and journaler, and briefly considered writing for a newspaper but realized I didn’t and don’t like reporting the news. Short stories, mostly narrative Non-Fiction, became my focus, and I freelanced editorial services while building a career in sales management. For more than a decade, additionally, intermittently, hosting workshops, planning retreats, and posting a very short blog, Mellanation, I honed my skills in identifying and developing talent, business operations, and project management.
As a result of my experiences in these two cities, I learned to create space, especially in places where others spent effort to shut me out. I say yes to my intuition when growth opportunities are revealed, even when I can neither see the path nor anticipate the outcome. I became an agent of change in my own life and no longer wait for permission to pursue my ideas.
Looking through the events in 2025, I live the reality of this dream to engage with Black women writers with empathy and intention.
Last year, CMe engaged with three organizations: Criado during Black Maternal Health Week at CreateATL to facilitate a reflective journaling session, Soulcial Therapy for the RESET at Remerge on soulful storytelling, self-reflection, and the healing power of writing by hand, and participated in the AKA Inc, Nu Lambda Omega Chapter’s Women in Business Expo for promotion and connection with other Black women entrepreneurs.
We continued our writing workshops at Cafe Bartique and two new locations: A Small Place Bookshop on the Eastside and Plywood Place on the Westside!
And among the conferences, cohorts, and community meetings, we appreciate you sharing your goals, your journeys, and your stories with us.
Thank you for being part of our community! We look forward to additional partnerships, workshops, and unimagined events to support more Black women writers in 2026!
