Joy Bivins, director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York, will give the opening keynote at the 2025 U.S. Book Show on June 3 at the New York Academy of Medicine in Harlem. Bivins will be in conversation with Randy Winston, creative director for fiction at the Black List, a discovery platform for unproduced screenplays and manuscripts. The multimedia keynote will mark the centennial of the Schomburg Center, a New York Public Library outpost and renowned cultural institution dedicated to preserving and promoting Black history and culture.
Bivins has led the Schomburg Center—named for Arturo Schomburg, a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance whose vast collection formed the original core of the library—since 2021. Prior to coming to the Schomburg Center in 2020 as associate director of Collections and Research Services, Bivins spent nearly two decades in the cultural sector. She previously served as the chief curator of the International African American Museum, in Charleston, S.C., and as the director of curatorial affairs at the Chicago History Museum.
Other panels at this year’s U.S. Book Show include “CEOs in Conversation,” featuring Simon & Schuster’s Jonathan Karp and Hachette’s David Shelley, moderated by Publishers Weekly editorial director Jonathan Segura; “Publishing in Turbulent Times: Why Translated Voices Matter More Than Ever”; an audiobook panel; “Passing the Torch,” about the next generation of publishing prodigies; and “Page to Screen,” about adapting books into films. The daylong event will also feature an AI Lunch & Learn, offering an opportunity to network and delve into AI technology that can serve publishing professionals, as well as a closing cocktail reception.
See the event schedule and detailed panel descriptions here. Tickets are available through the U.S. Book Show website.
