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
July and August 2026
7/22
Scrawl Books
4 pm
11911 Freedom Dr., Reston, VA 20190
Beka Wuest is back to talk about her latest novel, Human of the Year, a contemporary family drama set in Montgomery County, Maryland.
https://www.scrawlbooks.com/events/5615720260712
7/23
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Online
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.
https://writer.org/event/arielle-hebert/
Lost City Books
7 – 8 pm
2467 18th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
Nick Martino visits Lost City Books to discuss his heartrending debut poetry collection, SCRAP BOOK. Moderated by poet Victoria Newton Ford.
https://lostcitybookstore.com/event/2026-07-23/scrap-book-nick-martino
Politics & Prose (at Conn Ave)
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C, 20008
Amy Chozik presents her novel, With Friends like You.
https://politics-prose.com/amy-chozick-072326
Solid State Books
7-8 pm
600 H Street NE, Washington, D.C 20002
Emeline Atwood discusses her new novel, A Real Animal.
https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com/events/2025/4/atwood26
7/25
Politics & Prose (at Conn Ave)
5 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C, 20008
Ryan Effgen discusses his novel, Make Nice.
https://politics-prose.com/ryan-effgen72526
7/27
Politics & Prose (at 6th & I)
7/27
5 pm
600 I St. NW, Washington, D.C, 20008
Colson Whitehead presents his novel, Cool Machine.
https://politics-prose.com/colson-whitehead
7/30
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Online
Free virtual chat about the craft of nonfiction! We’re joined by authorHaili Blassingame for a discussion of her new publication, They All Fall in Love at the End. In conversation with Amy Freeman, author and Development Director at The Writer’s Center.
https://writer.org/event/haili-blassingame/
Lost City Books & Vida Swimming Pool
5 – 8 pm
1612 U St. NW, Washington, DC 20009
THE FAT SWIM POOL PARTY with author of Fat Swim, Emma Copley Eisenberg. An author talk combined with an actual pool party. Eat, drink, take a dip, and enjoy great conversations about literature with fellow book lovers. (Tickets required)
https://lostcitybookstore.com/event/2026-07-30/fat-swim-pool-party
Politics & Prose (at Union Market)
7-8 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Books Are Magic presents Samantha Paige Rosen, Hannah Grieco, and Rhaina Cohen discussing Living, Together, 21 writers and organizers on chosen family, hacking adulthood, and other lessons communal living can teach us about the future of housing in America.
https://politics-prose.com/samantha-paige-rosen73026
7/31
Politics & Prose (at Conn Ave)
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, D.C, 20008
Donica Merhazion discusses her novel, Born at the End of the World.
https://politics-prose.com/donica-merhazion
8/1
Mahogany Books
11 am – 4 pm
Join us for our third annual Black Books Matter Fest, celebrating black books! Including the following: A few Author signings, Library card sign-up, Kids storytime and craft activity, and Opportunity to shop local creators/entrepreneurs.
8/2
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
3 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Since 2011 P&P has been proud to offer authors self-publishing services. From memoirs to novels to family histories to children’s books, our Opus Self-Publishing Program has produced a wide range of genres in an equally diverse range of formats, all meeting the same publishing industry standards as any books on P&P’s shelves. Please join us for a reading by some of the our Opus authors.
https://politics-prose.com/opus-author-event-2026
8/3
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Charles O’Malley and Scott Stern discuss their book Shakespeare’s Margaret: The Dramatic Life of a Warrior Queen. Margaret is Shakespeare's most powerful female character, her historical inspiration, and her reinventions in performance through the centuries.
https://politics-prose.com/charles-omalley-scott-w-stern-0803
8/4
Lost City Books at the Line
7 – 9 pm
1770 Euclid St. NW, Washington, DC 20009Translation Salon. Chloe Garcia Roberts, Nancy Naomi Carlson, and Alex Brostoff,will discuss the challenges and nuances of translating fiction, as well as the specificities of the source languages they translate from (including Spanish, Mandarin, French, and Portuguese).
https://lostcitybookstore.com/event/2026-08-04/lost-city-books-translation-salon
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
7 pm5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
George Pelecanos discusses his new novel, The Blue Flame. Private investigator Derek Strange returns in a riveting drama about revenge, greed, and redemption—from bestselling author and Emmy-nominated writer for HBO’s The Wire and Treme, George Pelecanos
https://politics-prose.com/george-pelecanos-0804
8/5
Kramers
7 – 8 pm
1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
Kramers Poetry Reading: Summer Edition. Featuring Chet'la Sebree, Lauren Russell, and Mario Melo.
https://www.kramers.com/events/5676320260805
8/6
East City Bookshop7 pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Occupied Washington, DC 20003
Micki McElya discusses her book Liberation Summer, a sweeping, definitive work of history exploring the road to the September 1968 protests of the Miss American Pageant—one led by women’s liberationists and the other organized by the emergent Miss Black America Pageant—and the birth of a new politics of beauty. Hybrid: in-store and online.
https://withfriends.co/event/28736154/hybrid_event_liberation_summer_micki_mcelya
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Dave Zirin discusses his book, The People’s Historian. A biography of iconic radical historian Howard Zinn, examining his life and work as a progressive icon and thought leader through the story of the times that shaped him as well as the United States of America
https://politics-prose.com/david-zirin-080626
Wonderland Books
7 – 8 pm
7920B Norfolk Ave, Bethesda, MD 20814
We are thrilled to welcome back bestselling author Sarah Pekkanen for a book launch celebration and discussion of The Women in White, her new novel of the seen and unseen that combines a decades-old mystery with chilling paranormal elements.
https://www.wonderlandbooks.com/events/5716020260806
8/7
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 2000
Lynda Schuster discusses her book, A Burning Hunger. Reissued for the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, A Burning Hunger reveals how one family’s courage ignited resistance and forever changed South Africa.
https://politics-prose.com/lynda-schuster8726
8/9
The Writer’s Center
4 – 5:30 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
Women writers of the DMV! Join us for an informal gathering at The Writer’s Center! It’ll be a chance to talk shop, network, and hang out with other writers. Please bring a drink or an appetizer that serves six, and bring a friend, too.
https://writer.org/event/women-writers-mixer-aug26/
Busboys and Poets Hyattsville
5 pm
5331 Baltimore Ave, Hyattsville, Maryland, 20781
Join us to celebrate books that make us believe in love with local authors bringing unforgettable characters and romance to life! Featuring Dr. Punita Rice, Varun Gauri, Shanti Edwards, and Nikki Payne.
8/10
Loyalty Bookstores
7 – 8 pm
Online
Please join us at Loyalty Books for a virtual event with authors Alexander Chee and Joseph Trinidad to celebrate Trinidad's award winning essay collection, Lucky Creatures, out now from favorite Independent Press Saraband Books.
https://loyaltybookstores.com/luckycreatures
8/11
Busboys and Poets 14th & V
6 pm
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Join us to trace the politics of migration from Ottoman Syria through US Empire. A conversation with Author Randa Tawil about her book, Race in Transit.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/race-in-transit-a-busboys-and-poets-books-presentation/
East City Bookshop
7 pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Occupied Washington, DC 20003
Siera London discusses A HARD HABIT TO BREAK, about a small town wedding brings firefighter Noah and architect Rachel together for the first time since their tragic break up, forcing them to learn to work together to save their town. Hybrid: in-store and online.
https://withfriends.co/event/28570074/hybrid_event_a_hard_habit_to_break_siera_london
Politics and Prose Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Aaron Mahnke discusses Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire. From critically acclaimed podcaster and bestselling author Aaron Mahnke comes this engrossing and macabre exploration of the folklore and early medical practices that led to the New England Vampire Panic in the 1890s.
https://politics-prose.com/aaron-mahnke-081326
8/12
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Online
Poet Lore, America’s oldest poetry journal and The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Adam Gianforcaro to our monthly Virtual Poetry Book Club for a discussion of his collection, Poems to Stage Dive to. Adam is joined by Book Club Host, Hannah Grieco.
https://writer.org/event/poetry-book-club-w-adam-gianforcaro/
Kramers
7 – 8 pm
1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
Come celebrate Women in Translation Month with Katie King, Nancy Naomi Carlson, and Mojdeh Bahar, three of the DMV's finest translators who bring you the voices of three international women writers who like to make waves: Marta Sanz (Spanish); Sylvie Kandé (French); Jila Mossaed (Persian).
https://www.kramers.com/events/5827520260812
8/13
Busboys and Poets 14th & V
6 pm
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Dave Zirin discusses The People's Historian, his deeply researched biography of Howard Zinn, the beloved author of the classic national bestseller with more than four million copies sold, A People's History of the United States. In conversation with Jessica A. Rucker.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-56903331/
The Writer’s Center
7 – 8 pm
Online
The Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner spotlight. Stephanie Dupai in conversation with Emily Mitchell about Dupai’s book, The Kindness of Terrible People and Other Stories. Author’s Corner supports local authors’ independently published books by spotlighting them in community programming and collaborations.
https://writer.org/event/inner-loop-stephanie-dupal/
East City Bookshop
7 pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Occupied Washington, DC 20003
Tarah Dewitt discusses LOST AND FOUND, a stunning novel of romance and redemption set in the Spunes, OR world, filled with heartbreak and hope. In conversation with Kate Clayborn. Hybrid: in-store and online.
https://withfriends.co/event/28570082/hybrid_event_lost_and_found_tarah_dewitt
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Haili Blassingame discusses They All Fall in Love at the End, in conversation with Jenn White. Cat 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.
https://politics-prose.com/haili-blassingame-062026
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Chang-rae Lee discusses A Tender Age, in conversation with Kat Chow. From the Pulitzer Prize finalist, a story of guilt, innocence, and a boy on the cusp of adolescence. A spellbinding exploration of American masculinity and family dynamics as seen through the confused eyes of a prepubescent child of immigrants,’
https://politics-prose.com/chang-rae-lee-081326
8/14
Busboys and Poets 14th & V
6 pm
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
9th Hour Poetry Slam. Hosted by Charity Blackwell.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-55726962/
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Shasta Grant discusses When We Were Feral, in conversation with Chloe Yelena Miller. Thirteen-year-old Maggie lives in a trailer on the edge of a rural New Hampshire town, where her brother barely speaks, her father works double shifts at the gun factory, and her mother disappeared without a trace.
https://politics-prose.com/shasta-grant
8/15
Old Town Books7 – 8 pm130 S. Royal Street, Alexandria, VA 22314
Leslie René discusses her book Maggie and Arthur's Magic Moment. A dangerous spell gone wrong forces the passionate professor of incantations to share tight quarters with her magical college’s leading—and most brooding—alchemist.
https://www.oldtownbooks.com/events/5772320260815
8/17
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Historian Talitha L. LeFlouria discusses Searching for Jane Crow: Black Women and Mass Incarceration in America from the Auction Block to the Cell Block, in conversationwith Marcus Board Jr. The book gives voice to the Black women whose lives were devastated by the carceral system and sheds powerful light on its slavery-based roots.
https://politics-prose.com/talitha-l-leflouria-081726
8/18
The Inner Loop
7 – 10 pm
Shaw’s Tavern, 520 Florida Avenue Northwest, Washington, DC 20001
The Inner Loop's August Reading features Caroline Bock alongside nine readers in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, including our Author's Corner Spotlight, Stephanie Dupal!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-inner-loops-august-reading-tickets-1990119331493?aff=oddtdtcreator
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Kurt Andersen discusses The Breakup, in conversation with Sean Rameswaram. A marriage cracks apart as a near-future United States redraws its borders in this penetrating and moving novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Fantasyland.
https://politics-prose.com/kurt-andersen-081826
8/19
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Nicholas Reynolds discusses Ortiz’s War: The Allies' Secret Weapon Against the Nazis in France, in conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Rogg. Peter J. Ortiz’s path to becoming the most battle-decorated member of America’s first spy agency—and one of the most decorated Marines of World War II—was unlike any other.
https://politics-prose.com/nick-reynolds-081926
8/20
East City Bookshop
7 pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Occupied Washington, DC 20003
Jason Prokowiew discusses his book, War Boys: A Father and Son Memoir, winner of the 2025 Aurora Polaris Award for creative nonfiction, telling two parallel stories of survival. in conversation with Stevie Billow. Hybrid: in-store and online.
https://withfriends.co/event/28570089/hybrid_event_war_boys_jason_prokowiew
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn discusses I Have This Thing for Flowers: Essays on the Roots of Relationships, in conversation with Gabrielle Lucille Fuentes. A story of love, marriage, and flowers from the beloved writer and gardening enthusiast.
https://politics-prose.com/alysia-li-ying-sawchyn-082026
8/21
Folger Shakespeare Library
3 pm
201 East Capitol Street, SE, Washington, DC 20003
Join award-winning poet María Fernanda for an afternoon workshop and an evening reading. Originally from Northeast DC, María Fernanda has read her work to international audiences in Nikiti, Moscow, and Hamburg. In Learning Lab and Theatre.
https://www.folger.edu/whats-on/poetry-kickoff-2026/
Politics and Prose at The Wharf
7 pm
610 Water St SW, Washington DC, DC 20024
Nina Simon discusses My Sister Is Going to Kill Me, in conversation with SA Cosby. A fun, family-centered whodunnit about two sisters who work together to find a killer as they raft down the rapids of the Grand Canyon.
https://politics-prose.com/nina-simon-082126
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Timothy Schraeder Rodriguez discusses Conversion Therapy Dropout: A Queer Story of Faith and Belonging, in conversation with Andrew Marin. A gay Christian's behind-the-scenes account of evangelical megachurches and eight years in conversion therapy before finding wholeness and authenticity.
https://politics-prose.com/timothy-schraeder-082126
8/22
Elaine’s Literary Salon
12 – 3 pm
208 Queen Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Brunch and author talk with Beka Wueste, author of the novel Human of the Year, about a man released from a Maryland prison after nearly 20 years. Join us to learn more about this story of family dynamics, emotional survival, and second chances.
https://elainesliterarysalon.com/beka-wueste/
8/23
The Writer’s Center
2 – 3:30 pm
4508 Walsh St, Bethesda MD 20815
The Writer’s Center welcomes poet Robert Tobias for a reading from his newest collection, What Lives in Me.
https://writer.org/event/robert-tobia
The Ivy Bookshop
7 – 9 pm
5928 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21209
Join us for a Literary Salon hosted by The Washington Writers’ Publishing House, in celebration of their new anthology: Capital Love! Featuring a free creative writing workshop with Tonee Mae Moll (author of You Cannot Save Here), reading by contributors, and open mic.
8/24
Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library
6 – 7 pm
5401 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, DC 20011
Sarai Johnson joins Black Girl Book to discuss her book "Grown Women: A Novel." This event will celebrate the voices, stories, and brilliance of Black women and girls.
https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/16893387
8/25
Mary Riley Styles Public Library & Bard’s Alley
6:30 – 7:30 pm
120 N. Virginia Ave., Falls Church, VA 22046
Join Will Hackman as he discusses his book Radically Reframing Climate Change: A Guide to Savings Ourselves, which reframes the climate crisis as a humanity crisis -- and provides a path forward for engagement and voter mobilization.
https://www.mrspl.org/event/august-author-talk-will-hackman-35476
8/26
Politics and Prose at The Wharf
7 pm
610 Water St SW, Washington DC, DC 20024
Joby Warrick discusses The Jackal: The Rise and Fall of Carlos, the World's First Super-Terrorist.nThe spectacular rise and dramatic fall of super-assassin Carlos the Jackal—one of history’s most infamous terrorist masterminds—told with new revelations from the Jackal himself.
https://politics-prose.com/joby-warrick-082626
8/27
Busboys and Poets 14th & V
6 pm
2021 14th St NW, Washington, District of Columbia, 20009
Edwidge Danticat discusses her novel Dey, a vivid, timely story, moving from Haiti to Brooklyn to Miami, of a woman whose sense of self and family are called into question when she gets caught in a random act of violence one sunny Florida day.
https://www.busboysandpoets.com/events/th-evt-58794263/
Politics and Prose at Connecticut Ave
7 pm
5015 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
Nadia Hashimi discusses City of Widows, in conversation with Liza Mund. A gripping, occasionally terrifying, yet ultimately hopeful novel focusing on the women of Afghanistan in the years since the Taliban regained power.
https://politics-prose.com/nadia-hashimi-082726
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
Tony Fletcher discuses Pow!: When UK Punk Went Pop, 1980-84, in conversation with Seth Lorinczi. The fascinating memoir of a precocious English teen in the early 1980s who published a music magazine, interviewed many of the era's top artists, befriended rock stars, ran a record label, appeared on television, played in a band and found first love -- all at the same time
https://politics-prose.com/tony-fletcher-082726
8/28
Politics and Prose at Union Market
7 pm
1324 4th Street NE, Washington, DC 20002
K.S. Shay discusses Portrait of a Witch Undone, in conversation with Ioanna Papari Kosiori. A contemporary New England coven hides the mysteries that lurk in the marshes north of Boston—and how they are connected to the largest unsolved art heist in modern history.
https://politics-prose.com/ks-shay-082826
Solid State Books
7 pm
600 H Street Northeast, Washington, DC, 20002
John Manuel Arias discusses his new novel, Crocodilopolis, a gripping tale of sibling rivalry, family secrets, and the fate of a nation. In conversation with Jamila Minnicks.
https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com/events/2025/4/26arias
8/29
Solid State Books
3 – 4 pm
600 H Street Northeast, Washington, DC, 20002
Jessica Spotswood discusses her new novel The Harrow Home for Wayward Girls, in conversation with Katherine Locke. In this gothic historical tale full of mystery and romance, two girls must uncover the secrets of their haunted home before it's too late.
https://www.solidstatebooksdc.com/events/2025/4/26wiswell-2hwcy