Notable authors participating have included Cornel West, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Walter Mosley, Terry McMillan, Touré, Farai Chideya, Stanley Crouch, Nelson George, Mark Anthony Neal.
[5] Outgrowing this space, HBF moved to Harlem’s 135th Street, and at its peak covered three city blocks, stretching from 5th Avenue to Frederick Douglass Boulevard.
HBF is an indoor and outdoor event, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Countee Cullen Library, and the Thurgood Marshall Academy have served as venues.
[6] With its growing popularity, the Harlem Book Fair has been hosted in other cities including Atlanta, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Boston, Hempstead, Newark, and Buffalo,[5] Caribbean authors have also been promoted at the book fair,[7] with the inclusion of such Caribbean initiatives as the Bocas Lit Fest.
[8][9] The Harlem Book Fair has given the Phillis Wheatley Awards to black authors including Maya Angelou, Gordon Parks, and Terry McMillan for their body of work.