October & November 2025
Literary Events in the Washington, D.C. Area
Please note: while most events are free, many require an RSVP and some do charge. See links for details. If you have an event to add, or a correction, email us at Washington.Unbound@gmail.com.
Ongoing
Busboys & Poets hosts open mics weekly at various locations. For information, visit their website: https://www.busboysandpoets.com/poetry
10/22
Kramers
7 - 8 pm
1517 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036
Join Lauren Woods as she discusses her book The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe. Drawing on the absurd, Woods urges us to contemplate how we can escape loneliness and heartbreak and live on our own terms.
https://www.kramers.com/events/3283020251022
Lost City Books
7pm
2467 18th Street Northwest, Washington, DC, 20009
An event for WHAT GOD IN THE KINGDOM OF BASTARDS, the debut poetry collection from award-winning writer, and DC local, Brian Gyamfi. His work explores grief, memory, Blackness, and the haunting legacy of familial trauma by way of colonialism.
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
7pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Beth Macy presents her book Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America, joined by Andrea Pitzer. Paper Girl is a gift of courage, empathy, and insight. Beth Macy has turned to face the darkness in her family and community, people she loves wholeheartedly, even the ones she sometimes struggles to like.
https://politics-prose.com/beth-macy
10/23
Bard’s Alley
6-7pm
110 Church St. NW, Vienna, VA 22810
Robert Wilson will discuss his book The Love You Take, with Sudip Bose. The Love You Take follows Andy and a small circle of clever, idiosyncratic, and highly engaging friends as they journey from youth to adulthood against the unsettling social and political landscape of the 1970s.
The Writer’s Center
7 to 8pm
Online
The Writer’s Center presents a free virtual chat about the craft of horror. We’re joined by Tracy Cross to discuss her new novel, A Gathering of Weapons. Tracy is in conversation with her sister, poet Teri Ellen Cross Davis.
https://writer.org/event/tracy-cross/
Dolly Madison Library
4 – 5:30 pm
1244 Oak Ridge Ave, McLean, VA 22101
Join us as we listen to The Year of Fear author, Joe Urschel, explain his research of a gripping true-crime account of the 1933 kidnapping of oil tycoon Charles Urschel by gangster George "Machine Gun" Kelly and his wife, Kathryn, during the lawless days of Depression-era America.
https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/14644648
10/25
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
5 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Joe McGiniss will discuss his book Damaged People: A Memoir of Fathers and Sons with Molly McCloskey. Damaged People dives deep into the heartbreak of unfulfilled expectations and the beauty of second chances, offering an unflinching look at what it means to grow into a more compassionate and present parent.
https://politics-prose.com/joe-mcginniss-jr-102525
10/26
The Potter’s House
11 am – 12:30pm
1658 Columbia Road NW, Washington, DC, 20009
Join writer and teaching artist Kristen Zory King at The Potter's House for Write On! a dedicated time and space each month to sit in the company of other writers and write.
https://pottershousedc.org/events-calendar/2025/10/26/write-on
10/28
Little District Books
7pm
737 8th St SE, Washington, DC 20005
Join Little District Books for a conversation of Man Made: Searching for Dads, Daddies, Father Figures, and Fatherhood with author Steve Majors in conversation with author Jeffrey Dale Lofton.
10/29
East City Bookshop, KBird DC
7 - 8pm
1333 P St NW, Washington, DC 20005
East City Bookshop partners with KBird DC to host Hannah Rosenberg for her book: Same: Poems, in conversation with Kait Hanson.
https://www.eastcitybookshop.com/events/3403620251029
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library
7 – 8 pm
901 G Street NW, Washington, DC 20001
As part of our ongoing series La Comunidad Reads, join the Library, Loyalty Bookstores, and Lupita Aquino for a conversation with Jaquira Díaz, author of the new novel This is the Only Kingdom, an epic novel of a mother and daughter wrestling with the aftermath of a murder, set against the backdrop of a tightknit, working-class barrio in Puerto Rico.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14561159
10/30
The Writer’s Center
7 to 8pm
Online
A free virtual chat about the craft of writing gothic and horror-adjacent fiction. Gothic fiction frequently blends realism with the otherworldly through the presence of doppelgangers, ghosts, the uncanny, and atmospheric prose that elicits dread and unease. We’re joined by authors Lacey N. Dunham and Laura Venita Green for a discussion of their genre-blending debut novels.
https://writer.org/event/dunham-green/
IA&A With Hillyer Gallery
9 Hillyer Court, NW, Washington, D.C. 20009
The Inner Loop Ekphrastic Reading collaboration event with IA&A at Hillyer featuring writers in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry who will read original works in response to three exhibitions curated by Dr. Jung-Sil Lee and Dr. Koh Dong-Yeo, Laila Abdul-Hadi Jadallah, and Elizabeth Coffey. Tickets are free.
November 2025
11/1
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
5 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Margaret Hutton discusses her novel If You Leave, is an intimate, immersive story set during World War II that explores motherhood, love, and art, as three women carve a wayward path toward reconciliation. In conversation with Alexandra Zapruder.
https://politics-prose.com/margaret-hutton
11/2
Solid State Books
2-5pm
600 H St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20020
Washington Writers’ Publishing House Presents America’s Future: A Literary Salon. Writing workshop led by Hannah Grieco and Melanie Hatter, followed by readings by six local writers (including Washington Unbound’s Gregory Luce).
https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com/events/2025/11/2wwph
11/3
Martin Luther King Jr. Library
7:30 – 9 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Join us for an illuminating conversation with CNN anchor and acclaimed journalist Abby Phillip, in conversation with Jake Tapper, as she discusses her groundbreaking book on civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14719317
11/4
East City Bookshop
7-8pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Washington, DC 20003
Celebrate Jane Austen’s classic novels with Ladies in Waiting, a short story anthology starring forgotten characters as they experience their own happy endings.
https://www.eastcitybookshop.com/events/3805520251104
11/5
Busboys and Poets 450 K
6pm
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Join Busboys and Poets to dive into Soda Lake, an existential suspense mystery mixed with autobiography and imaginary portraits with author John Hampsey.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-52070189/
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
The Writer’s Center welcomes writer and long time instructor, GG Renee Hill for a reading from her new publication, Story Work: Field Notes on Self-Discovery and Reclaiming Your Narrative. Through essays and prompting questions, Hill invites readers to breathe new life into the stories we carry.
https://writer.org/event/gg-renee-hill/
Wonderland Books
7 – 8 pm
7920B Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD
Nina Willner discusses her narrative nonfiction book, The Boys in the Light, that follows the parallel journeys of Company D and Eddie Willner, the author's father, as they are caught up on two sides of World War II.
https://www.wonderlandbooks.com/events/3552220251105
Martin Luther King Jr. Library & Loyalty Bookstores
7 – 8 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Join us for an evening with Angela Flournoy for her new novel The Wilderness, long-listed for the National Book Award. In conversation with Gene Demby of NPR's Code Switch, Flournoy will discuss this new masterful and kaleidoscopic follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut The Turner House.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14744405
Politics and Prose at The Wharf
7 pm
610 Water St SW, Washington DC, DC 20024
Pulitzer-Prize winning author Mirta Ojito discusses Deeper Than the Ocean, a moving multigenerational novel about the enduring power of a mother’s love, the ripple effect of secrets, and the strength of family bonds.
https://politics-prose.com/mirta-ojito
11/6
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Virtual
Free virtual chat about the craft of writing! We’re joined by author Sara Kehaulani Goo for a discussion of her new memoir, Kuleana. Sara is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center.
https://writer.org/event/sara-goo/
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
The Hour: Poetry Open Mic. Sign up on-site to share your work aloud at our newest open mic series curated by award-winning poet María Fernanda. She believes that poetry, like us, exists in many forms—spoken word, blues, performance/theatre, hip-hop, and more. Bring poems, songs, raps, monologues, positive affirmations and more!
https://politics-prose.com/the-hour-110625
11/8
Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library
1 – 3 pm
4450 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, DC 20016
MidnightRose: A Reading Series of Poetry and Prose, a showcase of the multigenerational, multicultural writers in the Washington Metropolitan Region and beyond. Featuring Michele Evan (purl, reviewed in Washington Unbound) and Samuel “Sami” Miranda (Protection from Erasure).
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14881201
The Writer’s Center
2 – 3 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
The Writer’s Center welcomes author Robert W. Fieseler for a reading from his new publication, American Scare, Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives. Robert is joined by author Ronald Collins.
https://writer.org/event/robert-w-fieseler/
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
3 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Carson Faust discusses If the Dead Belong Here, his chilling literary debut that confronts the specter of colonization and the generational scars it leaves on Native American families. In conversation with Morowa Yejidé.
https://politics-prose.com/carson-faust-11825
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
5 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Mark Z. Danielewski discusses his new book, Tom's Crossing. From the bestselling author of House of Leaves comes a magisterial novel about two friends determined to rescue a pair of horses set for slaughter.
https://politics-prose.com/mark-z-danielewski-11825
The Writer’s Center
6 – 7 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
The Writer’s Center welcomes poet jason b. crawford for a reading from their new, award winning collection, YEET! jason is joined by poet Abi Pollokoff reading from her debut collection night myths • • before the body.
https://writer.org/event/jason-b-crawford-abi-pollokoff/
People’s Book
6 pm
7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912
Sharon Sliwinski discusses her new book An Alphabet for Dreamers, a captivating and trailblazing look at how dreams serve as one of our most powerful ways to understand—and radically change—our world.
https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/dreamer-alphabet/
11/9
Old Town Books
7pm
130 S Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314
Join us for an evening with Virginia Evans for a discussion about her book, THE CORRESPONDENT. Virginia will share details about her book and her writing process before taking audience questions.
https://www.oldtownbooks.com/events/3612120251109
People’s Book
2 pm
7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912
Emily Lieb discusses her new book, Road to Nowhere: How a Highway Map Wrecked Baltimore, which traces the birth, plunder, and scavenging of Rosemont, a Black middle-class neighborhood in Baltimore.
https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/road-to-nowhere/
Martin Luther King, Jr. Library & The Swedish Embassy
3 pm - 4:30 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Pippi Longstocking, The Icon You Are! Educators, Parents, and Pippi lovers, join us for a panel discussion to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Pippi Longstocking in partnership with the Swedish Embassy. [Advertised as an event for adults.]
People’s Book
5 pm
7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912
Richard Bell discusses his new book, The American Revolution and the Fate of the World. Repositioning the Revolution at the center of an international web, Bell’s narrative ranges as far afield as India, Africa, Central America, and Australia. As his lens widens, the “War of Independence” manifests itself as a sprawling struggle that upended the lives of millions of people on every continent and fundamentally transformed the way the world works.
https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/fate-of-the-world/
11/10
People’s Book
6:30 pm
7014-A Westmoreland Ave., Takoma Park, MD 20912
Join guest author Ebony LaDelle (Bright Before Us, Like a Flame) and a selection of the youth authors of The Light Looks Like Me for a conversation about queer youth and love.
https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/young-authors/
Martin Luther King Jr. Library & Mahogany Books
7 – 9 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Award-winning travel journalist and author Lolá Ákínmádé Åkerström discusses her debut novel, Bitter Honey, which delves deep into the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters, and delivers a story of love, forgiveness, and women finding their voices.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14878409
The Inner Loop
7 - 10 pm
Shaw’s Tavern, 520 Florida Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20001
Group reading from contributors to the anthology America’s Future: Poetry & Prose in Response to Tomorrow, published by Washington Writers’ Publishing House.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/wwph-anthology-reading-tickets-1849702482919?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
11/11
Lost City Books
7-8pm
2467 18th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20009
Miranda Melli, in conversation with poet Brian Teare, presents her novel Crocosmia. A philosophical fable, Crocosmia centers on Maya as she recollects the “great turning”—a moment of radical social and ecological change effected in part by the art of her mother.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/crocosmia-by-miranda-mellis-tickets-1554345060919?aff=oddtdtcreator
11/12
Folger Shakespeare Library
4:30 pm
201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Folger Salon with Virginia Burnett, Dorothy Kim, and Mary Beth Long. Caribbean Shakespeares. Chaucer’s Black London. Martyrdom. Interested? Join us for the next Folger Salon. Free.
https://www.folger.edu/whats-on/folger-salon-november-2025/
Busboys and Poets 450 K
6pm
450 K St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20001
Join Busboys and Poets to celebrate This Unruly Witness, a collection of bold and tender writing on June Jordan’s multidimensional legacy as a poet, healer, and activist.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-52036873/
Wonderland Books and The Cordell
7 – 8 pm (ticketed event. Please RSVP)
4865 Cordell Avenue, Bethesda, MD
Catherine Newman, bestselling author of Sandwich, will discuss her new sequel novel Wreck, which picks up with Rocky and her family at home two years later, and explores family, uncertainty, and the difficult fact that people are not always who you want them to be.
https://www.wonderlandbooks.com/events/3506520251112
Martin Luther King Jr. Library & Solid State Books
7 – 8 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Matthew Davis, author of A Biography of a Mountain: The Making and Meaning of Mount Rushmore, is in conversation with poet and writer Clint Smith. They will discuss Davis's new comprehensive narrative history of Mt. Rushmore.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/14691068
11/13
East City Bookshop
7-8pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Washington, DC 20003
Eliana Ramage discusses her book, To The Moon and Back. In this dazzlingly powerful story of family, ambition and belonging, one young woman’s obsessive quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut irrevocably alters the fates of the people she loves most.
https://www.eastcitybookshop.com/events/3804720251113
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
Carving Out a Literary Life: Four Authors on Their Nontraditional Journeys to Publication. The Writer’s Center welcomes four recently-published DC-area authors to discuss the inspirations, obstacles, and lessons gleaned on their writing journeys. Featuring Elizabeth Bruce (Universally Adored & Other One Dollar Stories, reviewed in Washington Unbound), Tom Navratil (Dog’s Breakfast, interviewed by Washington Unbound), Dine Watson (Transplant), and Lauren Woods (reviewed in Washington Unbound).
https://writer.org/event/carving-out-a-literary-life/
Wonderland Books
7 – 8 pm
7920B Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
Join us for an evening with bestselling author Ann Packer, who will discuss her new novel, Some Bright Nowhere, which explores a long marriage and the profound emotional complexities of love, caregiving, and facing the end of life. In conversation with author, editor, and podcaster Dan Kois.
https://www.wonderlandbooks.com/events/3760720251113
One More Page Bookstore
6:30 pm
2200 N. Westmoreland St, Arlington, VA 22213
After hours ticketed event. Libations will be served. Featuring authors Louis Bayard (THE WILDES, THE PALE BLUE EYE), Olivia Blacke (DEATH AT THE DOOR), Christina Kovac (THE CUTAWAY), Delia Pitts (DEATH OF AN EX: A VANDY MYRICK MYSTERY), L.S. Stratton (IN DEADLY COMPANY).
https://onemorepagebooks.com/event/2025-11-13/holiday-noir-bookstoire
11/14
Folger Shakespeare Library
6 pm (Tickets $30-35)
201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Why are libraries the site of so many great murder mystery stories? We invite aspirational detectives to find out during Death Between the Pages, a murder mystery inspired by the Folger collection that takes place in the Reading Room. Work in teams to examine clues, uncover additional historical artifacts, and solve the mystery. Academia- or detective-inspired costumes are highly encouraged!
https://www.folger.edu/whats-on/death-between-the-pages/
Kramers
7 - 9:30 pm
1517 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20036
Join us in the Kramers lounge for a fireside chat with The Bottomless Cup author and James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Kevin Boehm, alongside Dan Simons, co-founder of Founding Farmers Restaurant Group. You can expect an eye-opening, entertaining, and unflinchingly honest memoir that reads like The Tender Bar meets The Bear.
https://www.kramers.com/events/3794720251114
Potter’s House
7pm
1658 Columbia Rd NW, Washington, DC 20009
Linguist Amelia Tseng discusses her new release Empanadas, Pupusas, and Greens on the Side: Language and Latinidad in the Nation's Capital.
https://pottershousedc.org/events-calendar/2025/11/14/empanadas-pupusas-and-greens-on-the-side
11/15
Old Town Books
9am-5pm
130 S Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314
Come out and celebrate our 7th birthday with a day full of fun - and a new book stack!
https://oldtownbooks.com/events/3856120251115
11/16
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Avenue
3 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Brian Shaefer discusses Town and Country, his debut novel set in a small rural town amid a congressional race that forces the candidates, their families, and a clique of gay second homeowners to confront lies, betrayals and shifting allegiances.
https://politics-prose.com/brian-schaefer-111625
Old Town Books
7-8pm
130 S Royal St, Alexandria, VA 22314
Join us for an evening with Jane Harrington for a discussion about her book, WOMEN OF THE FAIRY TALE RESISTANCE. Jane will share details about her book, fairy tales of all kinds and her writing process before taking audience questions.
https://www.oldtownbooks.com/events/3763020251116
11/17
Brown Bag Lit and The Inner Loop (Virtual)
Charlotte Taylor Fryar will be in conversation with E. Ethelbert Miller, both DMV authors, to discuss her new essay collection, Potomac Fever (Bellevue Literary Press.) The book reflects on the natural history and racial history of D.C.'s waterways. The focus of the discussion will be on the historical research and environmental observation that Fryar used to write the book.
https://www.brownbaglit.com/events
11/18
The Writer’s Center
5:30 – 7:30 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
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.
https://writer.org/event/lgbtq-writers-mixer-nov2025/
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Virtual
Free virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author James R. Gapinski for a discussion of their award-winning debut story collection, The Museum of Future Mistakes. James is in conversation with Zach Powers, novelist and Executive & Artistic Director at The Writer’s Center.
https://writer.org/event/james-gapinski/
Lost City Books
7-8pm
2467 18th Street Northwest Washington, DC 20009
A reading & signing with Sangamithra Iyer, the author of Governing Bodies, a memoir of family, legacy, conservation, the natural world & its inhabitants.
Inner Loop
7 pm
Sonny’s Pizza, 3120 Georgia Avenue Northwest Washington, DC 20010
The Inner Loop November Reading features Chet'la Sebree (Blue Opening) reading alongside nine local writers of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry including Author's Corner Spotlights Tamar Shapiro (Restitution) and Charlotte Taylor Fryar (Potomac Fever: Reflections on the Nation’s River)!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-inner-loop-november-reading-tickets-1486878637029?aff=oddtdtcreator
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Lily King discusses her new novel, Heart the Lover, a deeply moving love story that celebrates literature, forgiveness, and the transformative bonds that shape our lives. In conversation with Bethanne Patrick.
https://politics-prose.com/lily-king-11825
11/20
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Join Makshya Tolbert in discussing her poetry collection Shade is a Place. Shade is a Place meanders east-west along Charlottesville's Downtown Mall, seeking "a Black sense of place" at the pace of stressed shade and street trees, the mall's architectural history, and the speaker's ongoing questions and reflections.
https://politics-prose.com/makshya-tolbert-112025
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Virtual
Free virtual chat about the craft of fiction! We’re joined by author Eman Quotah for a discussion of her new novel, The Night Is Not for You. Eman is in conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center.
https://writer.org/event/eman-quotah/
Wonderland Books
7 – 8 pm
7920B Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
Local author Thomas Dann discusses his new debut novel, Midnight in Memphis, a Southern noir crime thriller set in Memphis in the 1950s in which two detectives forge an unlikely alliance as they strive to bridge the racial divide and catch a killer hell bent on revenge.
https://www.wonderlandbooks.com/events/3866820251120
Martin Luther King Jr. Library
7 – 9 pm
901 G St NW, Washington, DC 20001
Join us for a discussion with S.L. Price (author of The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse), in conversation with Haudenosaunee Nationals Board Chairman Leo Nolan, on lacrosse's journey from Indigenous origins to America's fastest growing sport.