We are thrilled to bring you the latest in literary events that have caught our attention. These events encompass a range of free and ticketed registration and are not affiliated with AWP. All times are in ET.

Tuesday, August 2

7 p.m.— Argo Bookshop presents A Montreal Pride Week Poetry Reading with Nancy Jo Cullen and Prathna Lor in conversation with Christopher Di Raddo. This conversation will be celebrate Cullen’s Nothing Will Save Your Life and Lor’s Emanations, both recent releases published by Canadian press Wolsak & Wynn. This event will take place via Zoom and offers free registration.

Wednesday, August 3

6—7 p.m.—Join P&P Live! for a discussion about Madeline Ostrander’s At Home on an Unruly Planet in conversation with Laura Helmuth. In this novel, Ostrander explores climate crisis as a palpable, physical force that leaves little room for abstraction. Ostrander is a science journalist whose work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Nation, Slate, and many other outlets. Registration is free and this event will premier online.

Thursday, August 4

7 p.m.— Voices de la Luna presents Elements of Poetry with Dario, a workshop centered on titles and titling. Poet and engineer Dario Beniquez will be facilitating this virtual workshop meant to supply writers with the tools to formulate creative and interesting titles. The organizer of this event asks that in lieu of purchasing a ticket, participants make a donation of what they can. This event will take place online.

7—9 p.m.— Argo Bookshop will be hosting A Half-Built Garden: Ruthanna Emrys in conversation with Ada Palmer. Emrys’ novel explores a future ravaged by ecological issues—and who else would come to Earth’s assistance other than aliens? Join the conversation to learn more about chosen families, queerness, and climate action. This event offers free registration and will take place online.  

7:30 p.m.—  Join Greenlight Bookstore for a virtual book launch! Lynne Tillman presents MOTHERCARE: On Obligation, Love, Death, and Ambivalence in conversation with Katie Kitamura. Tillman explores the relationship between mother and child and how the relationship changes and grows in situations where the offspring must become a caregiver for their mother. The novel will also dwell on Tillman’s time spent in the American healthcare system. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Friday, August 5

7:30—9:30 p.m.— Philip Wexler will host Words Out Loud Open Mic with this session focusing on opposites, specifically the dichotomy between heaven and hell. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Saturday, August 6

12:30 p.m.— Check out The Future of African Literature, a virtual discussion with speakers Tunde Leye, Ijeoma Ucheibe, and Ibrahim B. Ibrahim, moderated by Tolu’ A. Akinyemi and Omotayo Sangofadeji. In this conversation, literary voices and authors will convene to discuss current and past issues that African Literature has experienced. This event will take place via Zoom and offers free registration.

1—2 p.m.— OutWrite DC presents Love is Like a Butterfly: A Dolly Patron Poetry Workshop. In this workshop, participants will analyze Dolly Parton’s songs for certain craft specifications and understand how to apply those craft specifications to their own poetry. Lynn Melnick and Dustin Brookshire will serve as moderators. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

4—5 p.m.— Join OutWrite DC once more for The View From Here: Lesbian Poets Over 60 Read Their Work. Featured speakers include Jennifer Abod, Dorothy Randall Gray, Carla Sameth, Ronna Magy, and Bonnilee Kaufman. These Los Angeles poets will be sharing their work and journeys from throughout the past decades. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

4—5 p.m.— Many crime stories become lost in the media or buried under countless links and webpages. Meet the people behind Recovering the Past: Queer True Crime, an event centered on telling the often suppressed stories of queer and trans people who have fallen victim to crimes. Join moderator John Copenhaver and speakers Robert W. Fieseler, Emma Copley Eisenberg, Alan R. Warren, and James Polchin as they discuss the unique challenges of researching and writing these stories. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Sunday, August 7

1—2 p.m.— OutWrite DC presents the workshop Queer Subversion of Poetic Form moderated by Anne Marie Wells. In this workshop, participants will explore how queer poets have subverted past poetic norms and have created new and unique forms. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

4—5 p.m.— Join OutWrite DC for another exciting panel! In Be Gay, Do Crime, moderator John Copenhaver and speakers Cheryl Head, Robyn Gigi, Meredith Doench, Edwin Hill, and Kelly J. Ford unite to discuss topics including queerness, writing, and how narrative form allows queer writers to grapple with homophobia and transphobia. These authors and writers will also give tips and advice as to how to break into the genre of criminology writing. Registration is free, and this event will take place online.

Tuesday, August 9

7:30 p.m.— East City Bookshop presents a Virtual Release Party with Nalini Singh and Storm Echo. Join The New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh for the discussion of her new release Storm Echo, the latest book in her Psy-Changeling Trinity series. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

8 p.m.— Save a space! Greenlight Bookstore will be hosting a paperback launch featuring Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead in conversation with Adam Serwer. The novel follows a furniture salesman who is haunted by his family lineage and past upbringing. Taking place in a reimagined 1960s Harlem, the protagonist faces many questions circling around morality, race, and power. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Thursday, August 11

6—7 p.m.— The Kolaj Institute will be hosting the PoetryXCollage Journal Launch, a virtual discussion held by artists who work at the intersection of collage and poetry. Past participants will be reflecting on their work both in the journal and throughout their own residencies. Registration is free, and this event will take place online.  

Saturday, August 13

2—3 p.m.— ArtsxChange presents another Saturday Writer’s Workshop! Theresa Davis will be facilitating this workshop that will focus on specific storytelling skills, thematic development, and other facets of writing. Registration is free, and the event will take place online.  

Monday, August 15

2 p.m.— Join Carfiff BookTalk in celebrating the 100^th anniversary of T.S Elliot’s The Waste Land. Dr. Ruth Clemens, Dr. Nicoletta Ascuito, and Suzannah V. Evans will be guiding the discussion. This event offers free registration and will take place online.  

9 p.m.— Elliot Bay Book Company will be hosting a Virtual Poetry Event featuring Allison Adelle Hedge Coke and Craig Santos Perez. Allison Adelle Hedge Coke will be reading from her new poetry collection Look at This Blue, a collection that amid war, societal disrupt, and climate crises, chooses to look at and uplift the world’s astounding biodiversity. Craig Santos Perez will be reading from Navigating CHamoru Poetry: Indigeneity, Aesthetics, and Decolonization and telling the stories of poets who have transformed colonialism into resistance. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Tuesday, August 16

2—3:30 p.m.— The National Association of Scholars will be hosting The Great American Novel Series: Beloved (Toni Morrison), a discussion about the lasting implications of Beloved and Morrison’s work as a whole. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

Wednesday, August 17

8:00 p.m.— Looking to improve or change your writing style? Look no further! Writing with Style: Developing Elegance and Personal Voice in Your Writing, hosted by Research Education and Development, will delve into how to bring better style and voice to academic writings. Participants will look at how to find your voice, key elements of style, how to create compelling narratives, and how to edit for style. This event offers free registration and will take place online.

7—8:30 p.m.— Are you a writer who has yet to send their manuscript out? Before sending out copies of your manuscript to different publishers, pop into Write Like a Pro: 10 Writing Mistakes to Avoid, hosted by Myra Levine. In this workshop, writers will primarily learn how to spot and fix mistakes. This workshop is prime for writers who want to improve their skills, find an editor, publish, or just want to learn more about how to polish and perfect their writing.  This event offers free registration and will take place online.