Each year, we ask our Next Chapter Committee—a group of vibrant young professionals focused on reimagining literary events and showcasing under-illuminated authors and genres—to curate an event during gritLIT 2026. This year, they’re asking the question: What is community? Readers, writers, and their books move through many communities, including cultural, geographic, and chosen ones. In this thoughtful panel, authors Tamara Jong (Wordly Girls), Saad Omar Khan (Drinking the Ocean), and Stephanie Sinclair (A Steady Brightness of Being) will explore what it means to belong, how we find connection, and how stories can help us better understand and inform the communities we’re part of. 

This event is presented by our Next Chapter Committee.

Hosted by Alicia Cox Thomson | $12 | Included in Weekend Pass