Each year, gritLIT asks their 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) and Saad Omar Khan (Drinking the Ocean) 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.