Celebrate Women's History Month with \ ;The Inner Loop \;and nine local writers of poetry\, fiction\, and nonfiction who will read their ori ginal work aloud! Whether you're a bookworm\, an inspiring writer\, or jus t enjoy listening to stories\, The Inner Loop readings have something for everyone.
\nThe program will occur in the New Books area on the firs t floor of the Martin Luther King\, Jr. Memorial Library. Registration is encouraged but not required. \;
\nThis program is a part of Our City\, Our Storie
s\, a series that features informative programs about local government
and governance and educate residents on how they can be involved in the p
rocess\, while also presenting cultural programs featuring authors\, artis
ts\, and \;subject matter experts from Washington\, DC.
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The Inner L
oop is a nonprofit organization that cultivates and promotes the distincti
ve literary culture of Washington\, DC by connecting both emerging and est
ablished writers to each other and to their community. We believe in the p
ower of transforming the written word into a shared experience\, and we be
lieve that everyone should have access to the same stage\, from first-time
storytellers to published authors.
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Amanda Bor
quaye is a Pushcart prize-nominated writer. You can find her word
s in Roxane Gay&rsquo\;s &ldquo\;The Audacity&rdquo\; and Longleaf Review
and nowhere else because she is bad at submitting her work. Her current wr
iting fixation is on children of immigrants grappling with how to demonstr
ate love and care for their previous generations in a country that prides
itself on capitalistic achievement and individual acclaim.
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Nikki Frias
is the author of "Damn\, you STILL Single?" and "Does this Divor
ce Make Me Look Fat?" She is also an improv teacher at the Washington Impr
ov Theater and a full-time writer helping people find their voice on the s
tage or the page.
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Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the collections Her Da
rk Everything\; Her Whole Bright Life\; \;Exquisite Bloody\, Beating
Heart\; and Beautiful &\; Full of Monsters. She is the Arlington County
Poet Laureate and the founder and editor-in-chief of Riot in Your Throat\
, an independent poetry press. She loves nail polish\, tattoos\, and a soy
latte each morning. Find her online at \;www.courtneyleblanc.com.
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Tanya Olson lives in Silver Spring\, Maryland.
She is the author of Boyishly\, Stay\, and Born Backwards\, all out from Y
esYes Books. She has received a Discovery/Boston Review prize and an Ameri
can Book Award and was been named a Lambda Fellow by the Lambda Literary F
oundation. Her poem 54 Prince was chosen for inclusion in Best American Po
ems. \;
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Dia
na Rojas' debut fiction Litany of Saints: A Triptych was publishe
d by Arte Pú\;blico Press in April 2024. A graduate of NYU\, she has
written in everything from large daily newspapers to niche newsletters. D
iana grew up in Connecticut and New Jersey\, has lived in five different c
ountries and currently lives\, taxed and unrepresented\, in Washington\, D
C.
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\nBernardine (Dine) Watson is a nonfiction writer and
poet who lives in Washington\, DC. \; Dine's memoir "Transplant" won
the Washington Writers' Publishing Houses' 2023 nonfiction prize. Transpla
nt was selected by National Public Radio as one of the 2023 " books we lov
e" and featured in Poets and Writers' Magazine. \; Her poetry has appe
ared in numerous journals.
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Anisa Rahim is the author of the hybrid mem
oir American Meo: A Tale of Remembering and Forgetting published by Sputye
n Duyvil Publishing. \; You can find more of her poetry\, prose and ph
otographs on \;anisarahim.com. \;
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Kat Reyes Colvert was the Alan Cheu
se International Writer's Center Fellow for 2021 and received her MFA in C
reative Writing from George Mason University. \;
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Carol Mitchell
is the author of What Start Bad a Mornin' and 19 books for child
ren. She lives and teaches writing in northern Virginia.