October 17, 2020

The Writer’s Center presents a symposium addressing the subject of race in literature and popular culture, offering free creative writing workshops followed by a panel discussion. Featured writers include Mariah Barber, Edward Farmer, Vanessa Hua, Shanon Lee, and Ivelisse Rodriguez, moderated by Patrick Corvington, writer and TWC Board Member.

December 9, 2020 
Athena Dixon, author of The Incredible Shrinking Woman

November 20, 2020 
Megan Alpert, author of The Animal at Your Side

November 4, 2020 
Deesha Philyaw, author of The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

October 22, 2020 
K-Ming Chang, author of Bestiary

September 25, 2020 
Francisco X. Stork, author of Illegal

September 10, 2020 
Alexandra Petri, satirist and author of Nothing Is Wrong and Here Is Why

September 3, 2020 
Amber Sparks, author of And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories and Other Revenges

August 20, 2020 
Donna Hemans, author of Tea by the Sea

August 6, 2020 
Mathangi Subramanian, author of A People’s History of Heaven

July 24, 2020
Alysia Li Ying Sawchyn, author of A Fish Growing Lungs

July 10, 2020
Lauren Francis-Sharma, author of Book Of The Little Axe

June 19, 2020
Gale Marie Thompson, author of Helen or My Hunger

May 14, 2020
Edward A. Farmer, author of Pale

April 22, 2020
Lilly Dancyger, editor of Burn it Down

April 2, 2020
Rion Amilcar Scott, author of The World Doesn’t Require You

December 1, 2020

A conversation between Judge Russell F. Canan and John DeDakis to celebrate the release of Canan’s new book, Pursuing the Horizon – Stories of Justice.

November 15, 2020

Dryad Press publisher (and co-founder of The Writer’s Center) Merrill Leffler talks with Ken Langer, author of A Nest for Lalita.

October 14, 2020

DC Writers Room member Eric Weiner talks with Peter Copeland about his latest book, The Socrates Express: In Search of Life Lessons from Dead Philosophers, what a writer or artist can gain from studying philosophy, and how philosophy can help artists find room to create even in the midst of national or personal turmoil.

October 4, 2020

A virtual reading of exceptional poetry, featuring acclaimed poets Nancy Naomi Carlson, Lola Haskins, Susan Sonde, and Pamela Murray Winters.

September 22, 2020

The Writer’s Center celebrates the release of David Goodrich’s new book, A Voyage Across an Ancient Ocean: A Bicycle Journey Through the Northern Dominion of Oil. David is in conversation with Andrea Hansell.

August 26, 2020

DC Writers Room members Lauren Francis-Sharma (Book of the Little Axe and Till the Well Runs Dry) and Judith Warner (And Then They Stopped Talking to Me: Making Sense of Middle School and Perfect Madness: Motherhood in the Age of Anxiety) talk about their new books, which both cover the fraught teenage years. In a conversation moderated by Carolyn Parkhurst, author of Dogs of Babel and Harmony, Sharma and Warner discuss the fictional and real-life stages when teens begin to grow into themselves, and what writers draw from to write about those years.

May 3, 2020

A virtual reading by contributors to the new anthology of DC women writers, Furious Gravity! Featuring Stephanie Dulli, Amy Freeman, Wendy Goodman, Monique Hayes, Donna Hemans, Beth Kanter, Maggie Nye, Alice Stephens, and Kathleen Wheaton. Moderated by contributor Vonetta Young.

February 29, 2020

A variety show for literature lovers, featuring nationally renowned authors Rachel Coonce, Dave Housley, Ofelia Montelongo, Rayceen Pendarvis, and Mahreen Sohail. Hosted by Amy Freeman, Brandon Blue, and Emily Holland, with music by Zach Powers.

January 25, 2020

Moderator Patrick Corvington facilitates a discussion with authors Melanie Figg, Abdul Ali, Rocky Callen, Jenny Chen, and GG Renee Hill on the way the literary community addresses mental illness, how we get it right, and where we need to do better. Introduction by The Writer’s Center’s Board Member Vonetta Young.

*Please note that only the first ~25 minutes of the discussion were recorded due to a technical difficulty.

December 8, 2019

TWC presents authors Solveig Eggerz, Melanie Hatter, Leslie M. Rollins, and Alice Stephens as they share their thoughts and inspiration for writing strong female protagonists. Moderated by Bethanne Patrick, also known as @TheBookMaven.

November 17, 2019

Authors Cheryl Head (Judge Me When I’m Wrong), Tara Laskowski (One Night Gone) and Vanessa Lillie (Little Voices) discuss their newly released crime fiction with moderator Angie Kim.

June 27, 2019

The Writer’s Center is proud to present the McLaughlin-Esstman-Stearns First Novel Prize to Kayla Rae Whitaker for THE ANIMATORS. Presentation by prize founder Neal Gillen and judge Barbara Esstman.

June 13, 2019

The Writer’s Center presented a panel discussion with LGBTQ authors from the DC area and beyond, including Aaron Hamburger, Cheryl Head, Emily Holland, Derrick Jefferson, and Angelique Palmer. Our panelists discussed LGBTQ literature, where it’s been, where it is, and where it might be going next in terms of craft, content, and impact on the LGBTQ community.

June 8, 2019

The Writer’s Center presented a groundbreaking symposium addressing the subject of autism in literature and popular culture. This was the first event of its kind, offering free creative writing workshops followed by a panel discussion, featuring autistic and neurotypical writers. Featured writers included Eric Garcia, Hannah Grieco, Jen Malia, Shanon Lee, and New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Parkhurst.