Welcome to Washington Unbound!
April 15, 2025
We are a new online journal founded by a local fiction writer and a local poet, publishing reviews of books by Washington, D.C. area authors; interviews with authors, publishers, and organizers in the local literary community; a calendar of area literary events, and much more. We’ll publish a new review or interview each Tuesday. We aim to be a resource for writers, readers, literary organizations, bookstores, and publishers in the Washington, D.C. area. In these troubled and frightening times, we know that writing, reading, and conversation are more important than ever. At Washington Unbound, we intend to champion diverse voices, center marginalized writers and communities, oppose censorship, and be an active participant in the collective conversation. Words are powerful, and we are honored to be speaking.
The D.C. area is home to a diverse literary community, including writers of all genres, genders, races, sexual orientations, and cultures. It also has a rich literary history. We are surrounded by a vibrant, active, exciting literary scene, but many people who have lived in the area for years are unaware of the local writers they could be reading, or the events they could be attending. We intend to bring a wider audience into the literary community. In particular, we plan to highlight books published by small presses. Many excellent books from independent publishers receive few or no reviews. While we will consider books by all Washington area authors regardless of where they’re published, we will focus the majority of our reviews on books from small presses.
We hope to be the place that readers and writers alike visit for information about new and upcoming books, the vast array of readings and other events, publication and sales opportunities, the many organizations that support literary endeavors in the DMV, and other offerings found in our region. We’ll also review non-book literary productions such as theater and film.
Please join us by sharing publications, events, and other literary matters you are offering or planning, and bringing new resources to our attention. If you’d like to write for us, definitely get in touch. Email us at Washington.Unbound@gmail.com.
Each month we will publish a newsletter, which will be available here on the website and also your inbox. We’ll share links to our newly published pieces and let you know what else to expect from us later in the month. We’ll also highlight three or four events or new books that we’re particularly looking forward to.
For April 2025, we’re excited to share our first two reviews of books by Washington area authors, both debuts. Norah reviewed We’re Gonna Get Through This Together, a smart, lyrical, and incisively witty short story collection by Z. Hanna about the murky waters we find ourselves in when we fight against injustice and search for a place to belong. Greg reviewed purl, a poetry collection by fifth generation Washingtonian Michele Evans who reimagines aspects of The Odyssey as well as other Greek myths. Look out for interviews coming soon with novelist Tom Navratil (Dog’s Breakfast), poet Holly Karapetokova (Dear Empire), and poet and arts coordinator Dan Brady.
With so much happening in the D.C. metro area, it’s hard to choose highlights. But here goes!
The Folger Shakespeare Library, after undergoing a massive, years-long renovation, reopened last year. On April 19, they are bringing back their annual celebration of William Shakespeare’s birthday, including a day of family-friendly activities and a lecture from the Folger’s new director.
Independent Bookstore Day is April 26. Celebrate and support your favorite store with activities at many different stores around the area. Fifteen independent bookstores across Northern Virginia, Frederick, Md, and Wardensville, Wv are partnering for the second annual NoVa+ Indie Bookstore Crawl, allowing you to pick up a “passport” and stamp it as you visit other stores.
“Reston Readings,” the Reston Used Bookshop’s monthly series, holds its next reading on April 27. Greg will be reading from his own poetry, alongside Naomi Thiers and Michelle Evans (whose name you may remember from a few paragraphs ago because we’ve just reviewed her book, purl :) ).
Local author Keith Rushing will be at Politics and Prose on April 30, talking about his new memoir, Descended: Searching for My Gullah-Geechee Roots, in conversation with Rion Amilcar Scott. Descended is a story about family, place, and the desire to understand where we have been and where we are going.
We’re so excited to launch Washington Unbound into the world, and we invite you to come along for the ride!
Sincerely,
Norah Vawter and Gregory Luce
Founders & Editors