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SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Chet’la Sebree
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Chet’la Sebree for a discussion of her new essay collection\, Turn (W)here. Chet’la is in conversation with Zach Powers\, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from Bookshop.org » \n\nAn essayist and poet from the Mid-Atlantic\, Chet’la Sebree is the author of the debut essay collection TURN (W)HERE: A Geography of Home as well the poetry collections Blue Opening\, longlisted for PEN/Voelcker Award for Poetry and a finalist for both the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and the Lambda Literary Award for Bisexual Poetry; Field Study\, winner of the 2020 James Laughlin Award from the Academy of American Poets; and Mistress\, nominated for an NAACP Image Award. She’s an assistant professor at the George Washington University and serves as a faculty mentor in Randolph College’s MFA in Creative Writing program.\n \n\nAbout Turn (W)here\nA probing essay collection that chronicles one woman’s complicated quest to find home in a fractured America\, from the award-winning author of Field Study\n\nAt eighteen\, Chet’la Sebree began\, as she writes\, “perfecting the art of leaving.” After moving out of her parents’ house in Delaware for college\, the lauded poet\, essayist\, and academic rarely kept the same address for more than two years—bouncing from city to city\, country to country\, perpetually in search of her next adventure. \nFor Sebree\, traveling has been a life-long passion\, forged during family road trips and vacations with friends; college study abroad programs in Europe; and far-flung writing residencies and job opportunities. She dreamed of one day taking her own Great American Road Trip\, Jack Kerouac–style—except refashioned as a millennial Black woman who had also begun considering her next chapter: settling down and starting a solo fertility journey. \nDuring the pandemic\, Sebree thought she might finally get her chance to hit the road. But then\, George Floyd was murdered\, following the killings of Breonna Taylor\, Ahmaud Aubrey\, and so many others. As America continued to reveal its most violent self\, Sebree started to wrestle with the very idea of home: Where do I belong in a country not meant for people like me to survive? What does this mean for a child I might bring into it? \nIn Turn (W)here\, Sebree turns to the page for answers\, seamlessly weaving memoir with history and cultural criticism in a collection of inventive essays bound by themes of movement\, home\, inheritance\, and belonging. Spanning continents\, geographies\, and states of mind\, Sebree lights a pathway for the wanderer\, the seeker—anyone propelled into the unknown by the desire for a place to truly belong. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/turn-where/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260530T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260530T130000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T212239Z
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SUMMARY:Recent Grad Writers Mixer
DESCRIPTION:Are you a writer who recently graduated? Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center to hang out and talk writing! Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend\, too. \nFREE & open to all DMV writers who have recently graduated. RSVP required below. \nAttending? We encourage you to become a member of The Writer’s Center for only $65/year »
URL:https://writer.org/event/recent-grad-writers-mixer-may26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260531T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260531T170000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
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SUMMARY:Reimagining America: Toward a Poetry of the Demos
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes Writers for Democratic Action for a special forum on the democratic imagination\, featuring DC-area poets\, scholars\, and journalists. \nRSVP here>> \n\nAbout the event\nJoin us for an inspiring in-person gathering as DC-area poets and scholars reflect on the past\, present\, and future of the democratic imagination\, in American life and beyond. \nPresenters include: \n\nHayes Davis\nTerri Cross Davis\nGregory Luce\nRoman Kostovski\nOsita Nwanevu\nEna Selimovic\nJonathan Sinnreich\n\n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/reimagining-america/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260604T190000
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SUMMARY:Claire Fuller Virtual Book Launch w/ Melissa Faliveno
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual book launch! We’re joined by writer Claire Fuller to discuss her latest publication\, Hunger and Thirst. Claire is in conversation with writer Melissa Faliveno. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online » \n\nClaire Fuller is the author of Our Endless Numbered Days\, which won the Desmond Elliott Prize; Swimming Lessons; Bitter Orange; Unsettled Ground\, which won the Costa Novel Award and was a finalist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction; and The Memory of Animals. She has an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from the University of Winchester and lives in Hampshire with her husband. \n\nMelissa Faliveno is the author of the novel Hemlock (Little\, Brown\, 2026) and the essay collection Tomboyland\, named a Best Book of 2020 by NPR\, New York Public Library\, Oprah Magazine\, Electric Literature\, and Debutiful\, and recipient of a 2021 Award for Outstanding Literary Achievement from the Wisconsin Library Association. Her work\, which has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and received notable selection in Best American Essays\, has appeared in Esquire\, Paris Review\, Kenyon Review\, Literary Hub\, Prairie Schooner\, Brevity\, and Brooklyn Rail\, among others\, and in the anthologies Sex and the Single Woman and Hit Repeat Until I Hate Music. She is an assistant professor of creative writing at the University of North Carolina and lives in the woods outside Chapel Hill. \n\nAbout Hunger and Thirst\nA dark\, intoxicating story about a young girl desperate to belong\, a reckless dare\, and a choice that will haunt her for a lifetime\, from the critically acclaimed author of Bitter Orange and Swimming Lessons\n\n1987: After a childhood trauma and years in and out of the care system\, sixteen-year-old Ursula finds herself with a new job delivering mail at a local art school\, a bed in a halfway house\, and some new friends\, including wild-child Sue. When Ursula is invited to join a squat at the Underwood\, a mysterious house whose owners met a terrible end\, she can’t resist this hodgepodge family. But as Sue’s behavior and demands become more extreme\, Ursula\, who has always been hungry—for food\, but more importantly for love and acceptance—carries out her friend’s terrible dare. And\, for this\, Ursula finds herself literally haunted. \nThirty-six years later\, Ursula is a renowned but reclusive sculptor living under a pseudonym in London when her identity is exposed by a true-crime documentarian researching an unsolved disappearance. But the filmmaker is not the only one who has discovered Ursula’s whereabouts\, and as her past catches up with her present\, Ursula must work out whether the monsters are within her or without—and if they will finally make her pay for her past mistakes. \nPart gothic horror\, part coming-of-age\, and a with contemporary twist on the haunted-house story\, Hunger and Thirst is a chilling tale of loneliness\, of the dangerous line between wanting and needing\, and of how far a person will go to truly belong. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/fuller-faliveno/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T153000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
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LAST-MODIFIED:20260518T193558Z
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SUMMARY:Teen Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:A special Open Mic to uplift the voices and work of the teenagers in our community.\nProse\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 1:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 2pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/teen-open-mic-may2026/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T180000
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SUMMARY:Caroline Bock Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes novelist Caroline Bock for a reading and a wide-ranging discussion of the writing life and publishing journeys\, as she celebrates the publication of her first novel for adults\, The Other Beautiful People. Caroline is in conversation with Writer’s Center Executive & Artistic Director Zach Powers\, who will also share from his new novel\, The Migraine Diaries. A wine and cheese reception will follow for all\, along with book signings. \nFree and open to all. RSVP below. \n\nCaroline Bock is the author of The Other Beautiful People\, a workplace love story\, inspired by her two-decade career at AMC\, Bravo\, IFC\, and IFC Films. She is also the author of the young adult novels LIE and Before My Eyes from St. Martin’s Press\, as well as the award-winning short story collection Carry Her Home from the Washington Writers’ Publishing House. She is the co-president/prose editor at the Washington Writers’ Publishing House. She lives in Maryland with her family\, but when she first moved to the area fourteen years ago\, she found her writing community at The Writer’s Center. More at carolinebockofficialauthor.site \n\nAbout The Other Beautiful People\n\nIn the entertainment world\, the spotlight shines on the beautiful—but behind the scenes are those who make the magic happen. Amy Greene is one of them. As head of marketing and public relations at the Cinema Channel\, a beloved yet struggling cable network\, Amy is at the height of her career\, and torn between work\, family\, and the secrets she’s kept locked away. A dazzling cinematic novel about love\, loss\, and the search for meaning in work\, family\, and the spaces in between. \n“Aaron Sorkin\, move over. Caroline Bock’s beautiful people are fast-talking\, witty\, and driven. Old-movie references pepper the prose and fuel both the humor and the warmth of this gorgeous novel. No-nonsense New Yorker Amy Greene tries to keep her balance in a time of societal and personal tumult as she navigates a choice of three loves and two crucial voices from her past. The book is an unstoppable ride\, a thrilling read.”–Virginia Hartman\, author of The Marsh Queen \n“With a traumatized and ailing husband in the Washington DC suburbs\, and a beloved job working for a classic film network in midtown Manhattan\, Amy Greene spends her days traversing the Northeast corridor trying to make sense of her complicated family life. Set against the backdrop of a forever changed post-9/11 landscape\, Caroline Bock’s The Other Beautiful People is an ode to New York City in all its manic grittiness. It is also an ode to work families and nuclear families as well as a testament to the power of a single aching\, forbidden\, cinematic kiss.” —Susan Coll\, author of eight novels\, most recently\, The Literati\, Bookish People and Real Life and Other Fictions \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/caroline-bock/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
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SUMMARY:Poetry Book Club w/ Brittany Rogers!
DESCRIPTION:Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Brittany Rogers to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of her collection\, Good Dress. Brittany is joined by Book Club Host\, Hannah Grieco. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online » \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nBrittany Rogers is a poet\, educator\, and lifelong Detroiter. She has work published or forthcoming in Prairie Schooner\, Indiana Review\, Four Way Review\, underbelly\, Mississippi Review\, Lambda Literary\, and Oprah Daily. Brittany is a fellow of VONA\, The Watering Hole\, Poetry Incubator\, and Pink Door Writing Retreat. She is editor-in-chief of Muzzle magazine and co-host of VS Podcast. \n\nAbout Good Dress\nFollowing the tradition of Nikky Finney\, Krista Franklin\, and Morgan Parker\, Brittany Rogers’s Good Dress documents the extravagant beauty and audacity of Black Detroit\, Black womanhood\, community\, class\, luxury\, materialism\, and matrilineage. A nontraditional coming of age\, this collection witnesses a speaker coming into her own autonomy and selfhood as a young adult\, reflecting on formative experiences. With care and incandescent energy\, the poems engage with memory\, time\, interiority\, and community. They also nudge tenderly toward curiosity: What does it mean to belong to a person\, to a city? Can intimacy and romance be found outside the heteronormative confines of partnership? And in what ways can the pursuit of pleasure be an anchor that returns us to ourselves? \n\nAbout Book Club\nThis is no run-of-the-mill book club. Visiting writers will read excerpts\, join the discussion\, and answer your questions about craft\, process\, the publishing industry\, and getting advice for our own writing! We’ll hang and eat snacks with the authors and escape your doomscrolling. \nPoetry Book Club will meet on Zoom every second Wednesday of the month with a new poet. \nFiction Book Club will meet every third Sunday of the month in person at The Writer’s Center with a new author. \nCome build community and read amazing books that the Big 5 didn’t have the sense to publish! \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/brittany-rogers/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260610T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T165313Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T165313Z
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SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2026-1/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
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SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Novelist Paige Lewis
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by novelist and poet Paige Lewis for a discussion of their debut novel\, Canon. Paige is in conversation with Zach Powers\, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from Bookshop.org » \n\nPaige Lewis is the author of the poetry collection Space Struck and coeditor of Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance. Lewis teaches at the University of Iowa; Canon is their first novel. \n\n“A scorchingly brilliant\, wildly funny\, and deeply moving epic.” —John Green\, #1 globally bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars \nTwo unlikely heroes embark on quests to win God’s favor in this outrageously entertaining\, profoundly heartfelt novel that announces an ingenious new voice in the tradition of Chain-Gang All-Stars\, No One Is Talking About This\, and Martyr! \nYara can’t comprehend why God has chosen them to slay Dominic\, the ruthless leader of the army of Bad Guys. Cast out by their family and reeling from a destructive relationship\, Yara has never felt weaker—but with nothing left to lose\, they strike a deal. Abandoning their solitary days of embroidery and obsessive cleaning\, Yara reluctantly embarks on a perilous odyssey designed to prepare them for the daunting mission ahead. \nMeanwhile\, Adrena\, a disillusioned prophet with a terrifying secret power\, is determined to become the hero of this story. Desperately seeking the glory of God’s approval and the promise of heaven\, where she hopes to reunite with her beloved mother\, Adrena must first persuade Harpo\, the leader of the Good Guys\, that her plan is God’s will. \nAs their journeys unfold in a series of unforgettable adventures\, Yara and Adrena are propelled toward each other and transformative revelations about life\, death\, and destiny in this intensely captivating\, irreverent epic from a singularly brilliant new voice in fiction. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/paige-lewis/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260611T203000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260330T144142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260330T144142Z
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SUMMARY:Book Launch for Handbook of Foams / Manual de espumas
DESCRIPTION:Join Francisco Aragón and a constellation of DC-area poets to celebrate Handbook of Foams/Manual de espumas by Gerardo Diego\, translated by Francisco Aragón. \nGerardo Diego was arguably the least known of Spain’s “generation of 27\,” which included Federico Garcia Lorca. \nWritten in 1922 when the poet was 26\, Handbook of Foams was one of the most important eruptions in the early phase of the 20th century Spanish avant-garde. Aragón’s rendering is the first English translation. \nFREE & open to the public\, RSVP required below. \n\nAbout the Readers\nFrancisco Aragón is the son of Nicaraguan immigrants. His books include\, After Rubén (2020)\, Glow of Our Sweat (2010)\, and Puerta de Sol (2005).  Handbook of Foams by Gerardo Diego is his latest book of translations from the Spanish. His poetry has appeared in over twenty anthologies. A native of San Francisco\, CA\, he directs Letras Latinas\, the literary initiative at the University of Notre Dame’s Institute for Latino Studies. For more information\, visit: franciscoaragon.net \nJosé Ballesteros’s poetry appears in journals and the anthology Al Pie de La Casa Blanca. His book of poetry Lovedust/Polvo enamorado was published in 2014 (Izote Press). He co-edited the anthology Voces de España and is a translator of poetry\, including The Word of the Dead by Marcial Molina Richter. From 2014-2025 he was a poetry publisher in the DC-based  Zozobra Publishing. He is currently a professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. \nTeri Ellen Cross Davis is the author of a more perfect Union\, 2019 winner of The Journal/Charles B. Wheeler Poetry Prize and Haint\, winner of the 2017 Ohioana Book Award for Poetry. She is the 2022 recipient of the Maryland State Arts Council Award and the 2020 Poetry Society of America’s Robert H. Winner Prize. She lives in Maryland with her husband\, poet Hayes Davis and their two teens. \nAdrian Gaston Garcia (AGG) is a queer Latine storyteller from Chicago\, rooted in Washington\, D.C. His work spans across poetry\, performance\, and theater and centers community\, softness\, and joy as resistance. He has performed widely across DC and beyond\, and his work has been published in Latino Book Review and Split This Rock. Adrian co-hosts Los Bookis Podcast and founded Tintas DC\, a writing collective uplifting Latine voices and stories across the DMV. \nYvette Neisser is an award-winning poet\, Spanish translator\, and founder of the DC-Area Literary Translators Network (DC-ALT). Her co-translation of Venezuelan poet Maria Teresa Ogliastri’s From the Diary of Madame Mao won the 2025 Carnegie Mellon University Press Translation Prize and will be published in 2026. Her poems\, translations\, and essays have appeared in Foreign Policy in Focus\, Tikkun\, Virginia Quarterly Review\, and Split This Rock’s The Quarry. She lives in Silver Spring\, MD. \nKim Roberts Meikle is the author of seven books of poems\, most recently Q&A for the End of the World\, a collaboration with Michael Gushue (WordTech Editions\, 2025)\, and two guidebooks\, including The District’s Departed: Walking Tours of DC-Area Cemeteries (Rivanna Books\, 2026). Meikle co-curates DC Pride Poem-a-Day each June\, and co-directs the Pride Poetry Fellowship at the Arts Club of Washington. \nDan Vera is a writer\, editor\, and literary historian. He co-edited Imaniman: Poets Writing In The Anzaldúan Borderlands and authored three books of poetry\, most recently\, Celestial Fire: Songs For A Love That Dares. His work has been featured by the Poetry Foundation\, the NEA\, the Poetry Out Loud project; and appears in textbooks\, university curricula\, and various journals and anthologies. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/handbook-of-foams/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260613T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260613T160000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260421T163009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T165417Z
UID:10005206-1781359200-1781366400@writer.org
SUMMARY:Book Launch for Writer Abby Reid
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes writer Abby Reid for a reading from her new book\, How to Write Like a Human: Writing for Work\, School\, and Life—Without AI.  \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nA keen editor and digital storyteller\, Abby Reid derives a great deal of joy (probably too much!) from turning complex content into easily digestible information for a wide range of audiences. Abby has over 15 years of experience as a communicator with the federal government\, and has earned a B.A. in English Literature from Ithaca College\, as well as an M.A. in Communication from Johns Hopkins University. How to Write Like a Human: Writing for Work\, School\, and Life—Without AI is her first published book. \n\nAbout How to Write Like a Human: Writing for Work\, School\, and Life—Without AI\nFrom texting friends to creating status reports at work\, writing is part of our daily lives. It can be tempting to do all that writing with AI\, but AI can never capture your voice\, your thoughts\, and your personality. Only you can do that. Learning to write well on your own is a superpower in today’s society. It will help you gain confidence\, succeed at work and at school\, and express yourself clearly and effectively. \nPractical\, approachable\, and refreshingly real\, How to Write Like a Human: Writing for Work\, School\, and Life—Without AI teaches you the basics of writing anything\, from business emails to slam poetry. It’s designed for real people\, not grammar experts. \nWhether you’re a young adult\, student\, early-career professional—or simply someone who’s interested in becoming a stronger writer—this book will help you gain a clear understanding of different types of writing\, how to adjust your writing to different audiences\, and which rules to follow (and which you can happily break). \nAbby Reid draws on extensive experience in writing and editing to break writing down into easy concepts\, provide examples\, and help you improve your writing—without AI. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/abby-reid/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260616T173000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260616T193000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260106T211615Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260106T211615Z
UID:10005150-1781631000-1781638200@writer.org
SUMMARY:LGBTQ+ Writers Mixer
DESCRIPTION:Are you a writer who identifies as LGBTQ+? Let’s hang out and talk writing! Come join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six. You’re welcome to bring a friend\, too. \nFREE & open to all DMV writers who identify as LGBTQ+. RSVP required below. \nAttending? We encourage you to become a member of The Writer’s Center for only $65/year »
URL:https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-jun26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260618T180000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260618T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260429T135922Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260429T135922Z
UID:10005288-1781805600-1781812800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Writerly Happy Hour
DESCRIPTION:Join us for cocktails and writerly conversation at metrobar! \nCome connect with the local writing community! Hang with staff\, board\, and friends of The Inner Loop\, The Writer’s Center\, DC Writer’s Room\, and PEN/Faulkner\, and tell us how your writing is going! \nRegister here »
URL:https://writer.org/event/writerly-happy-hour-5/
LOCATION:metrobar\, 640 Rhode Island Avenue NE\, Washington\, 20002\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260621T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260621T150000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260421T195333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T195333Z
UID:10005212-1782050400-1782054000@writer.org
SUMMARY:Fiction Book Club w/ Lauren D. Woods!
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes author Lauren D. Woods\, to our monthly Fiction Book Club for a discussion of her most recent novel\, The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe\, at The Writer’s Center! Zach is joined by Book Club Host\, Hannah Grieco. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online directly from the publisher» \n***The above link will give you a 22% discount and free shipping*** \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nLauren D. Woods\, originally from the Dallas area\, now lives and writes in Washington\, DC\, where she was a 2024-25 Washington\, DC Arts and Humanities Fellow for Fiction. Her writing has appeared as a spotlighted story in The Best Small Fictions\, as well as in The Antioch Review\, The Normal School\, Passages North\, Hayden’s Ferry Review\, Red Rock Review\, Southern Humanities Review\, and Lunch Ticket\, among others. Lauren works in consulting and lives with her husband\, four children\, two cats\, and a guinea pig. The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe is her debut collection. \n\nAbout The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe\nWinner of the 2024 Autumn House Fiction Prize\, these lyrical\, haunting stories invite us to question the stories we tell ourselves and to imagine other paths—joyful\, whimsical\, even absurd—through the world. \nA wife finds herself literally shrinking in her house\, day by day; a mother recalls the surreal day when her infant daughter survives a close encounter with a bear; and\, inside her lover’s heart\, a woman discovers a secret nightclub populated by all the women he’s loved and left. \nIn the worlds Woods conjures\, childhood memories ripple through adult lives\, and characters test the limits of their self-created realities. The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe urges us to contemplate how we can escape loneliness and heartbreak and live on our own terms. \n\nAbout Book Club\nThis is no run-of-the-mill book club. Visiting writers will read excerpts\, join the discussion\, and answer your questions about craft\, process\, the publishing industry\, and getting advice for our own writing! We’ll hang and eat snacks with the authors and escape your doomscrolling. \nPoetry Book Club will meet on Zoom every second Wednesday of the month with a new poet. \nFiction Book Club will meet every third Sunday of the month in person at The Writer’s Center with a new author. \nCome build community and read amazing books that the Big 5 didn’t have the sense to publish! \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/lauren-woods/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260624T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260624T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T165448Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T165448Z
UID:10005126-1782327600-1782334800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-jun2026-2/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=The Writer’s Center 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda MD 20815 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=4508 Walsh Street:geo:-77.090791,38.97949
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260421T181418Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T181418Z
UID:10005209-1782414000-1782417600@writer.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Kay E. Bancroft
DESCRIPTION:Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Kay E. Bancroft to discuss their debut collection\, Bloodroom. Kay is in conversation with Emily Holland\, poet and editor of Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry journal. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from the publisher » \n\nKay E. Bancroft (they/them) is a queer nonbinary writer\, poet\, editor\, educator\, and artist based in Cincinnati\, OH. They hold an MFA in Poetry from Randolph College\, and a BA from the University of Cincinnati. You can find their writing in Poet Lore\, Pleiades Journal\, RHINO Poetry\, Passengers Journal\, The Rumpus\, & more. Explore more at kayebancroftpoet.com. \n\nAbout Bloodroom\n“Do you identify with any of the above terminology? Occasionally. Some days they feel appropriate. Others\, I resent these tools of our language. I reject and embrace\, synchronously.” \nBloodroom is a howling\, scorching debut collection of deftly formatted poetry—circling\, and delicately probing\, themes of familial debt\, legacy\, obligation\, and the matriline. Through an index of past wounds and inherited scars\, the speaker bleeds their histories together with the slow erosion of nostalgia. These poems offer an incisive and scalding interrogation of gender\, yet are often unbearably tender—a swirling emulsion of grief and anger poured into an intricately technical and beautifully challenging mold. Each piece draws out a tragic\, cyclical song of love and loss\, resentment and admiration\, as though drawing poison from a wound. Bancroft’s writing is meditative\, cleansing\, and compulsively readable: recounting a feminine childhood transformed into something monstrous until seen through a new lens. Bloodroom is a plea to identity\, to the process of searching for purpose and of seeking certainty in a broken world. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/kay-bancroft/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260627T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260627T153000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260114T202050Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260114T202050Z
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SUMMARY:Melanie McCabe & Brad Barkley Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes writers Melanie McCabe and Brad Barkley for a reading from their respective novels\, Road Longer Than Memory and The Reel Life of Zara Kegg. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP below. \n\nMelanie McCabe is a writer of poems\, essays\, memoir\, and most recently\, fiction. She is a lifelong Virginian and was a high school English and creative writing teacher in Arlington for twenty-two years. Her debut novel\, Road Longer Than Memory\, will be published by Oceanview Publishing on June 2\, 2026. Her forthcoming book of poems\, All The Signs Were There\, won the Longleaf Poetry Prize and will be out in the winter of 2026. Her memoir\, His Other Life: Searching For My Father\, His First Wife\, and Tennessee Williams\, won the 2016 University of New Orleans Publishing Lab Prize and was published in the fall of 2017. Previous books of poems include: The Night Divers (Terrapin Books)\, What The Neighbors Know (FutureCycle Press) and History of the Body (David Robert Books.) Her essays have appeared in The Washington Post\, Reader’s Digest\, Shenandoah\, Cumberland River Review\, Sweet\, Forge Literary Magazine and elsewhere. \nBrad Barkley is the author of the novels Money\, Love and Alison’s Automotive Repair Manual\, two collections of short stories\, and three YA novels with Penguin (including Scrambled Eggs at Midnight).  His work has been translated into five languages. His short stories have appeared in 40+ magazines\, including Fractured Lit\, The Southern Review\, The Virginia Quarterly Review\, Glimmer Train\, and USA Today.  He’s won numerous awards\, including Four Individual Artist Awards from the State of Maryland\, and a Creative Writing Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. \n\n\nAbout Road Longer Than Memory\nSometimes the road home runs through everything you tried to forget \nAfter  a failed relationship and an unsettled teaching career\, Sara Barlow  returns to her childhood home in Arlington\, Virginia\, hoping for a fresh  start. But when she applies for a job at her old high school\, a chance  glimpse into the gymnasium shakes her to the core—she spots the man she  suspects was involved in a classmate’s violent death a decade earlier. \n\nHaunted  by the past\, Sara confronts the memories she’s spent years trying to  suppress: her sister Suzanne’s fatal car crash\, her secret summer with  the reckless Devlin Barrie\, and the anonymous 911 call she made after  witnessing what she believes was a murder. As the construction of  Interstate 66 physically fractures her community\, Sara grapples with  emotional fault lines of her own—guilt\, silence\, and buried truth. \nSet against the backdrop of suburban upheaval in the 1970s and ’80s\, Road Longer Than Memory is a compelling story of memory\, reckoning\, and the cost of what we leave unsaid. \n\n\nAbout The Reel Life of Zara Kegg\nLove\, grief\, Godzilla\, and one very weird winter at the beach… \nThree years after her mother’s death\, 16-year-old Zara is still settling into life in Carolina Beach\, N.C.\, where she knows almost no one. Working as the lone projectionist at the Palace Theatre—a rundown movie house that shows only vintage ’50s sci-fi and horror flicks—Zara spends her nights in a dusty booth\, fueled by coffee\, pushups\, and the occasional existential crisis (with popcorn). \nThen she meets Zachary\, whose “Z” name feels like fate. His clothes don’t match\, his stories don’t always add up\, and he might be the most interesting person she’s ever met. As their friendship deepens into something more\, Zara learns about the struggles Zachary hides beneath his charm—and wonders if trust is possible. \nWhen her boss tasks her with organizing a Valentine’s Day Godzilla marathon—complete with 150 inflatable Godzillas on the roof—Zara must confront the chaos in her own life. Like any good Godzilla movie\, the big question remains: who will survive\, and who will be crushed? \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/mccabe-barkley/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260628T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260628T180000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260416T135710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T100458Z
UID:10005204-1782640800-1782669600@writer.org
SUMMARY:Washington Writers' Publishing House Capital Love LitFest
DESCRIPTION:Join us at The Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s Capital Love LitFest!\n\nThe Capital Love LitFest is an 8-hour literary salon of writing workshops\, deep-dive literary discussions\, and poetry and prose readings from the new WWPH pocket-sized anthology\, Capital Love. The Capital Love LitFest\, and our anthology\, are dedicated to all those who believe love is the antidote to hate\, and that love is action\, intent\, healing\, and hope. \nThis event is a pay-as-you-can literary event designed to inspire and generate your writing\, deepen your craft\, introduce you to your Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s community\, and raise up our collective voices in literary solidarity. Attendance will be limited to 120 people\, which is the capacity for the theater at The Writer’s Center\, so reserve your seat now. \nWriters scheduled to appear include co-presidents Caroline Bock and Jona Colson along with legendary Grace Cavalieri and E. Ethelbert Miller\, plus\, Kim Roberts\, Bernardine ‘Dine’ Watson\, Samantha Neugebauer\, Jason Gebhardt\, Emily Holland\, and over 25 more! A dozen literary presses from across the DMV will also be there. A reception for all will culminate the day. A complete schedule of the day’s events can be found here »  \nAll monies from this pay-as-you-can donation will be shared between your WWPH and the Writer’s Center of Bethesda\, two nonprofit literary organizations dedicated to supporting the DMV literary community. The Washington Writers’ Publishing House is grateful to The Writer’s Center for their partnership and support with the Capital Love LitFest. \nThe Capital Love LitFest is made possible by generous grants from the Maryland State Arts Council and the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities.
URL:https://writer.org/event/capital-love/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260706T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260706T203000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260105T201559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260105T201559Z
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SUMMARY:Cafe Muse Literary Salon
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers Greg Luce and Burgi Zenhaeusern. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP on the Cafe Muse Website. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-july-26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
GEO:38.97949;-77.090791
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=The Writer’s Center 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda MD 20815 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=4508 Walsh Street:geo:-77.090791,38.97949
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T165631Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T165631Z
UID:10005127-1783537200-1783544400@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2026-1/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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GEO:38.97949;-77.090791
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=The Writer’s Center 4508 Walsh Street Bethesda MD 20815 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=4508 Walsh Street:geo:-77.090791,38.97949
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260709T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260709T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260421T180554Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260421T180554Z
UID:10005208-1783623600-1783627200@writer.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Jake Rose
DESCRIPTION:Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Jake Rose to discuss their debut collection\, JOAN. Jake is in conversation with Emily Holland\, poet and editor of Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry journal. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from the publisher » \n\nJake Rose is the author of JOAN\, winner of the 2026 Phoenix Emerging Poets Book Prize\, published by the University of Chicago Press in March 2026. A poet\, artist\, and educator living in California’s Central Valley\, Rose teaches at the University of California\, Davis\, and has work published in West Branch\, The Atlantic\, The Academy of American Poets\, Foglifter\, Coach House Books\, and elsewhere. Other literary works include The Art of the Death\, a book-length erasure poem; Spectropoetics\, a location-based series of interspecies writing; and The Month Books\, a collection of handmade chapbooks exploring chronic illness and hybrid form. \n\nAbout JOAN\nA narrative sequence of lyric poems reimagining Joan of Arc as a framework for queer identity\, transformation\, and poetic voice. \nCollapsing biography and autobiography\, the poetry of Jake Rose’s debut explores queer identity\, grief\, and desire through the historical framework of Joan of Arc’s life. Moving through rural landscapes of the speaker’s youth\, contradictions of faith\, consequences of desire\, and fragmentations of trauma\, JOAN is structured as an excavation of the speaker’s most intimate moments\, combining poetry with historical quotations\, visual collage\, and a sequence of film stills. Through vivid lyric moments\, the poems construct a speaker and world both intimate and charged­—“I have to touch my farthest feeling\,” “the sapphire dusk draping its lace arias”—with clarity and vibrant intensity. Refusing resolution\, these poems dwell in rupture\, reinvention\, and fluid forms of gender that come to life outside of inherited boundaries. This collection speaks from the margins\, searching for a body the self might inhabit and asking what it means to transform through language\, gender\, and desire. \nJOAN is the winner of the Phoenix Emerging Poet Book Prize. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/jake-rose/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://writer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Jake-Rose-Event-Header-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260722T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260722T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T165816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T165816Z
UID:10005128-1784746800-1784754000@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-july2026-2/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260723T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260723T200000
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SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Arielle Hebert
DESCRIPTION:Poet Lore and The Writer’s Center present a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by Arielle Hebert to discuss her debut poetry collection\, Bottom Feeders. Arielle is in conversation with Emily Holland\, poet and editor of Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry journal. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern. \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from the publisher » \n\nArielle Hebert is a queer poet based in North Carolina with roots in Florida and Louisiana. Her debut poetry collection\, Bottom Feeders\, was a finalist for the St. Lawrence Book Award and is forthcoming from Black Lawrence Press in June 2026. She holds an MFA in poetry from North Carolina State University. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net and have appeared in Southern Humanities Review\, Poetry Daily\, Best New Poets\, Grist\, Great River Review\, Nimrod\, and Redivider\, among others. Arielle believes in ghosts and magic. \n\nAbout Bottom Feeders\nA vibrant and gritty debut from poet Arielle Hebert\, Bottom Feeders is a queer coming-of-age collection set in late 2000s Florida\, during the height of the opioid epidemic. Here\, overdoses\, red tide blooms\, and hurricanes are as much a part of growing up as fleeting teenage desires\, beach parties\, and prom. \nThis is a landscape of glitter and grime\, where young queer love is tested by the tides of addiction and recovery. The collection thrums with a sense of spectacle and surreality\, accented by Sarasota’s history as a circus town and Florida’s deadly wildlife—alligators\, needlefish\, invasive snakes. The heat\, humidity\, and salt air of the Gulf become characters in their own right\, as haunting as the love\, grief\, and loss found here. Despite the long shadows cast over these poems\, there is beauty\, friendship\, chosen family\, and hope in Bottom Feeders. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/arielle-hebert/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260730T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260730T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260428T161345Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T161345Z
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SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Author Haili Blassingame
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by author Haili Blassingame for a discussion of her new publication\, They All Fall in Love at the End. Haili is in conversation with Amy Freeman\, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from Bookshop.org » \n\nHaili Blassingame is a producer for the NPR program 1A. She has written for publications like The New Republic and The New York Times\, in which she published the essay “My Choice Isn’t Marriage or Loneliness” for “Modern Love”. She was one of twelve essayists selected to write a follow-up piece for the column’s 20th anniversary in October 2024. Her debut novel is THEY ALL FALL IN LOVE AT THE END. She lives in Washington\, DC. \n\nAbout THEY ALL FALL IN LOVE AT THE END\nCat St. Clair is ready for her messy love triangle era now that she’s in an open relationship. But she didn’t foresee a forbidden love triangle with the only two people who are off-limits: her boyfriend’s best friend and his girlfriend. Being a twenty-something writer who lives for plot\, she falls for them anyway\, with deliciously disastrous consequences\, in this electric literary debut for fans of Xochitl Gonzalez\, Coco Mellors\, Lily King\, and Raven Leilani. \nIt’s the fall of 2024\, and twenty-four-year-old Cat isn’t asking for too much: all she wants is three boyfriends\, to write her little novels\, and to survive another chaotic presidential election. She’s in an open relationship with her college sweetheart Jay\, but nonmonogamy isn’t just a hot trend she’s trying. It’s her sliver of freedom in a world eager to wrestle it from her for being a Black woman going after what she wants with reckless abandon. \nWhile political tensions roil the campus where Cat is slowly earning her creative writing degree\, she finds herself drawn to Jay’s best friend\, Tristan\, who’s smart\, super hot\, and…in a monogamous relationship. And then she meets Tristan’s girlfriend\, Nia\, a captivating art student with her own gravitational pull. \nFriends and family urge her to just be happy with Jay\, but Cat is determined to have it all—or blow up her life trying. As she falls for all the wrong people\, racking up lies\, betrayals\, and terrible drafts of her novel\, she tries to write her way to a happy ending. But in art\, politics\, and love\, true liberation may take more than rewriting the old scripts. It may mean inventing something entirely new. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/haili-blassingame/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://writer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Haili-Blassingame-Event-Header-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260812T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260812T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T170026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T170026Z
UID:10005129-1786561200-1786568400@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2026-1/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260826T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T170216Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T170216Z
UID:10005130-1787770800-1787778000@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-aug2026-2/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://writer.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Open-Mic-1400.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260903T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260903T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260331T164936Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260331T164936Z
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SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat w/ Poet Diana Cao
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of poetry! We’re joined by author Diana Cao for a discussion of her debut poetry collection\, Slipstream. Diana is in conversation with Brandon Johnson\, poet and Events Director at The Writer’s Center. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or directly from the publisher \n\nDiana Cao is the author of the chapbook Relational. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares\, The Kenyon Review\, The Yale Review\, The Threepenny Review\, and elsewhere. She has received support from MacDowell\, the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference\, and the Just Buffalo Literary Center. \n\nAbout Slipstream\nThe poems in Slipstream deal with the slippery concept of home\, with robots and the internet and other human inventions\, and with what we can learn from the natural world around us.  \nWinner of the Berkshire Prize\, Slipstream is a bracing\, intimate\, and formally adventurous debut that moves with equal grace through personal memory\, inherited history\, myth\, and the ambient technologies of contemporary life. Diana Cao’s poems braid ancient Chinese legend\, family migration\, illness\, love\, and grief with moon landers\, algorithms\, privacy policies\, and online ritual\, creating a lyric field where the ancestral and the digital speak fluently to one another. The book is formally restless and assured. Sonnets\, sestinas\, villanelles\, fables\, and linked sequences feel conversational rather than ornate\, their intelligence worn lightly\, their music precise and unforced. Throughout\, Cao writes with a clarity that never flattens complexity: humor and vulnerability coexist with philosophical rigor. Tenderness is sharpened\, not softened\, by attention to politics\, history\, and care. \nWhat emerges is a voice attuned to relational life in all its registers—daughterhood\, friendship\, desire\, citizenship\, species—asking how to live\, love\, and remain lucid inside systems that both sustain and estrange us. Slipstream is a book of uncommon range and emotional intelligence\, one that feels fully of this moment while remaining in deep\, living conversation with the past. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/diana-cao/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://writer.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Diana-Cao-Event-Header-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260909T210000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20251216T170517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251216T170517Z
UID:10005131-1788980400-1788987600@writer.org
SUMMARY:Open Mic @ The Writer's Center
DESCRIPTION:Prose\, poetry\, and spoken word Open Mic @ The Writer’s Center! All writers are welcome to come and share 4-5 minutes of their latest work. \n\nSign-up starts at 6:45pm\, and readings begin promptly at 7pm.\nLimited to 20 readers\, so arrive early if you plan to read.\n\nSponsored by Poet Lore\, America’s oldest poetry magazine. \nFREE and open to the public. Please note that we no longer offer advance sign-up. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/open-mic-sep2026-1/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://writer.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Open-Mic-1400.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260914T203000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260105T201822Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260105T201822Z
UID:10005144-1789412400-1789417800@writer.org
SUMMARY:Cafe Muse Literary Salon
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center welcomes the Café Muse Literary Salon for a reading featuring writers  Luther Jett and Julia Kolchinsky. The evening begins at 7 PM with Michael Davis live on classical guitar. The readings begin at 7:30 PM with opening remarks by a Café Muse co-host. \nFREE & open to the public. RSVP on the Cafe Muse Website. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/cafe-muse-literary-salon-sep-26/
LOCATION:The Writer’s Center\, 4508 Walsh Street\, Bethesda\, MD\, 20815\, United States
CATEGORIES:Event
GEO:38.97949;-77.090791
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260917T200000
DTSTAMP:20260528T141539
CREATED:20260319T145131Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260319T145131Z
UID:10005188-1789671600-1789675200@writer.org
SUMMARY:Virtual Craft Chat on Fiction w/ Bret Anthony Johnston
DESCRIPTION:The Writer’s Center presents a FREE virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Bret Anthony Johnston for a discussion of his new collection\, Encounters with Unexpected Animals. Bret is in conversation with Varun​ Gauri\, novelist and Board member at The Writer’s Center. \nRSVP below to receive login information (our virtual events are held via Zoom). FREE and open to the public\, all times Eastern \nWe encourage you to order a copy of the book from your local\, independent bookseller or online from Bookshop.org » \n\nBret Anthony Johnston is the author of the bestselling novels We Burn Daylight and Remember Me Like This\, the award-winning Corpus Christi: Stories\, and the editor of Naming the World: And Other Exercises for the Creative Writer. His work has appeared in The New Yorker\, Esquire\, The Paris Review\, Thrasher Magazine\, The Best American Short Stories\, and elsewhere. A recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Literature Fellowship and the Sunday Times Short Story Award\, he was born and raised in Texas and is the director of the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas at Austin. \n\nAbout Encounters with Unexpected Animals\nAn imaginative\, moving collection of stories infused with the magic and enigma of the human condition and drenched in Texas heat\, from the best-selling author of We Burn Daylight. \nEncounters with Unexpected Animals takes readers deep into the heart of bestselling author Bret Anthony Johnston’s home state of Texas\, where teenagers search for love\, parents grasp at connections with their children\, and animals—real or imagined\, familiar or unexpected—are reminders of the mystery\, danger\, and beauty of being alive. \nIn “Caiman\,” a father buys a baby alligator in hopes of keeping his family safe. In “Soldier of Fortune\,” a teenage boy dog-sits for his neighbors after tragedy strikes\, and his innocent snooping uncovers the family’s most guarded secret. And in the luminous “Half of What Atlee Rouse Knows About Horses\,” an elderly man’s heart is laid bare with the raw and breathtaking power of wild horses. \nJohnston’s humor\, empathy\, and mastery of prose ring out through each story\, bringing every finely-drawn character to radiant life. Individually\, the stories are by turns suspenseful\, poignant and exhilarating. Taken together\, they reveal the abiding connections that lead us from sorrow and impermanence back to ourselves and\, ultimately\, to each other. \n\nIf you need an accommodation for this event\, please contact us at access@writer.org. We will attempt to fulfill all requests\, but advance notice is necessary to arrange for some accessibility services. \n\nEnjoying our free events? Help us offer more programs to support writers with a $10 donation »
URL:https://writer.org/event/bret-anthony-johnston/
LOCATION:Zoom
CATEGORIES:Event
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END:VCALENDAR