Washington Writers' Publishing House
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WWPH WRITES 120... The latest issue of WWPH Writes is all about Poets Laureate and the important role they play in bringing poetry to everyone. They’re out in their communities leading workshops, visiting schools, and creating programs that reflect local voices and stories. They help make poetry feel accessible and alive, often stepping in as cultural ambassadors, especially in places where literary resources are limited. Their work reminds us that poetry isn’t just something on the page—it’s something shared, experienced together. WWPH Writes is proud to highlight their energy, commitment, and love for all things poetry, especially during National Poetry Month.
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Plus, join us in the celebration of CAPITAL LOVE, the next mini-anthology in our 'Capital' series of pocket-sized books, set to be published on May 5th...and set for a big launch... the CAPITAL LOVE LITFEST, an all-day marathon of panels, creative writing workshops, and readings to celebrate the power of love and community. The Capital Love LitFest will take place on Sunday, June 28th at the Writer's Center of Bethesda. See below for more details and registration links to this pay-as-you-can literary event!
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Lastly, if you are working on a poetry, fiction, or literary nonfiction manuscript, we are open for submissions. We are also seeking work for our annual PRIDE poetry and prose contest. Read on for details.
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But first, our celebration of the Poets Laureate representing the rich mosaic of the DMV!
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Truth says, "It’s an honor to serve as the inaugural Poet Laureate of Howard County, a role I see as a reflection of God’s goodness, rather than my own achievement. In a time when injustice stalks us daily, my mission—and challenge—is to confront it and to encourage people to love one another more fully."
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Truth Thomas is a singer-songwriter, poet, and photographer born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Washington, DC. An MFA graduate of New England College, he won the 2013 NAACP Image Award for Speak Water and received a 2025 Outstanding Artist Howie Award. Truth Thomas is the inaugural Poet Laureate of Howard County, Maryland.
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Angelique says, “My work as poet laureate centers on community engagement through local libraries and celebrates joining artistic disciplines through a project called 'Poetry and..."
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Angelique Palmer is a performance poet, Kindergarten Teacher at Westminster School, and Spoken Word instructor at Wilkes University. She is a member of the 2026 Pride Poems Fellowship cohort at the Arts Club of Washington and will serve as Fairfax County Poet Laureate until 2027. She is a 2025 Best of the Net nominee, a 2015 Women of the World Poetry Slam finalist, and she’s currently ranked 19th among the top 96 competitive poets in the world.
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Her first full-length book, The Chambermaid’s Style Guide, debuted on Sargent Press in 2016. Her second book from Etruscan Press is 2021's Also Dark. The New Orleans native and Florida State University Creative Writing graduate has called Fairfax County home since 2017.
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David says, “To be able to represent the incredibly talented voices of poets and artists of a community like Takoma Park, Maryland, is an honor. If I can channel just 10% of the accomplishment and wisdom found on these streets, it will have all been a grand success. I just feel lucky to be able to sip from this spring.”
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David Alberto Fernández is the Poet Laureate of the City of Takoma Park, Maryland. He published his first chapbook of poems, Flowers beyond here, in 2020 and is the co-founder and co-curator of a seasonal poetry series known as the Beltway Café at MLK Library in DC and the Vocal Takoma multimedia poetry and arts pop-up arts project at the Takoma Park Farmers Market. David is also a librarian at the Library of Congress. His new collection of bilingual poems Mundo se consume / World consumes itself was published by Beltway Editions in October 2025: Find a copy here.
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Lady Brion is an international spoken word artist, activist, organizer, and educator. Lady Brion currently serves as the executive director of the Black Arts District. In 2024, she was appointed by Governor Wes Moore as the Poet Laureate of Maryland, making her the youngest Poet Laureate in Maryland’s history and the only spoken word artist to ever hold this position. She received her B.A. in Communication and Culture from Howard University and her MFA in Creative Writing & Publishing Design from the University of Baltimore. During her slam career, she has won the 2016 and 2021 National Poetry Slam, the 2017 and 2019 Southern Fried Regional Slam, and the 2019 Rustbelt Regional Slam. In 2021, she became the Women of the World Poetry Slam Champion, making her the number 1-ranked woman slam poet in the world.
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John says, "Most of my time has been devoted to inspiring others to. Just write and you'll be right! I do this by teaching workshops, hosting Spilled Ink every Fourth Friday of the month at Jirani Coffeehouse, and having poets be brave and share their creativity by grabbing the microphone and adding to the upsurge of the Arts in Prince William County, Virginia."
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John L. Dutton II has taught language arts to middle school students in Prince William County for more years than he can remember. He hosts Spilled Ink VA, an open microphone night celebrating the written word every FOURTH Friday at Jirani Coffeehouse in Manassas, Virginia. John has actively been involved with two writing groups, Write by the Rails (WbtR) and the Prince William Poet Laureate Circle. He is a life member of the Virginia Writers’ Club and the Poetry Society of Virginia. John has published three books: Armadillo Lost Her Pillow, Argument at the Airport, and Billy Pug’s Bad Day. His fourth book, The Great Escape: A New Twist on an Old Tale, will be available in the summer of 2026.
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Mattie says, "I have learned to inspire writers to bridge their inner and outer worlds by trusting their authentic emotions and metaphorical recognitions, which are perched on the cusp of poiesis."
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Mattie Quesenberry Smith, Ph.D., is Virginia’s Poet Laureate, 2024-2026, and an Academy of American Poets Laureate Fellow, 2025-2026. Generously supported by the Academy’s fellowship, she facilitates a statewide civic project, “Perseverance and Resilience: Supporting Veterans through Poetry,” also known as the Veterans Poetry Project (VPP). In 2024, Smith earned a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from Virginia Tech, where she learned to facilitate interdisciplinary, hands-on, design-based teaching and learning in STEM and humanistic studies by integrating critical reflective writing within the design process. Raised in Appalachia, Smith explores natural landscapes through place-based creative writing where poetry and science often collide. She lives at the foot of House Mountain in Lexington, Virginia.
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Jennifer says, “As Poet Laureate Kronovet, I celebrate the incredible linguistic diversity of [my] home county.
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Jennifer Kronovet is the author of two poetry collections, The Wug Test (Ecco) and Awayward (BOA Editions), and she is the co-translator of Empty Chairs (Graywolf), by Chinese poet Liu Xia. She founded and edits Circumference Books, a press dedicated to poetry in translation. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, American Poetry Review, The Nation, A Public Space, and elsewhere. Kronovet has lived in Beijing, Berlin, Curaçao, Guangzhou, and several U.S. cities, and she currently works as a high school ESOL teacher. Jennifer Kronovet is the Poet Laureate of Arlington County, VA
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JOIN US on Sunday, June 28th from 10-6 pm at the Writer's Center for a special WWPH event...our CAPITAL LOVE LITFEST!
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An all-day literary extravaganza with 9 workshops, 25+ writers, a small press bookfair, and a big kick-off reading of CAPITAL LOVE, our new mini-anthology. It all wraps up with a summer of love mingle! And it's a PAY-AS-YOU-CAN event (and if free is what you can do, it's okay with us)!
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Space is limited to 120 registrants, so please register now at the Writer's Center in Bethesda (FREE PARKING! Easy walk from the Metro!!) here is the registration link.
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Need more information? We have it! Find details for the day, including panels, generative writing workshops, deep-dive discussions on publishing and the writing life, and a small press book fair!! find it all here.
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With special thanks to the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities and the Maryland State Arts Council for their generous support of WWPH's literary arts efforts.
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Look for CAPITAL LOVE featuring 55 writers from DC, Maryland, and Virginia,
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on the power of love, everywhere books are sold.
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Sending love to all our contributors below.
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Officially on sale on MAY 5th!
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2026 MANUSCRIPT CONTESTS
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WWPH SUBMISSIONS OPEN APRIL 1st
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2026 PRIDE Poetry & Prose Contest
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PRIDE 2026 POETRY & PROSE Contest Theme: Transmission: Do You Read Me? In the face of turbulent times, Washington Writers’ Publishing House invites trans, nonbinary, intersex, and other gender expansive writers to send us writing that represents them and their stories. This year for Pride, we wish to focus on highlighting and uplifting trans voices in our community. We believe …
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America's Future Samplings
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AMERICA'S FUTURE VIDEOS We are thrilled to share a sampling of poetry and prose from AMERICA’S FUTURE, the Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s most ambitious, boldest, and most thought-provoking anthology (now on sale in trade paperback/ebook). In this landmark 50th-anniversary anthology, we dared writers to imagine what’s next. Submissions poured in, and 164 writers and 179 works are represented in this 526-page collection just published on September …
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Thank you for helping make your Washington Writers' Publishing House a vital and vibrant place for the literary arts. We are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit, and all donations are tax-deductible.
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With special gratitude to the
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DC COMMISSION ON THE ARTS & HUMANITIES and the MARYLAND STATE ARTS COUNCIL
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Prose editor, WWPH Writes
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Poetry editor, WWPH Writes
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Copyright © 2025 The Washington Writers' Publishing House, All rights reserved.
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