Washington Writers' Publishing House
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WWPH WRITES 123... There is a lot of love happening at your Washington Writers' Publishing House!
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Love is... our Capital Love LitFest -- on Sunday, June 28th, from 10-6 pm at the Writer's Center in Bethesda. This is a marathon literary fest with creative writing workshops, deep dives into getting published, Black Women Writers, Queer Love, and a music-and-reading jam with our Capital Love anthology contributors to wrap up the day! 12 small presses and their editors will be at our book fair (all eager to hear about your work), and much more! Raise your voice with us. Write with us. Learn with us. Be literary with WWPH. A pay-as-you-can event, which starts at FREE. Register now.
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Plus, we have an entire Summer of Love planned with literary salons (creative writing workshops and readings) throughout DC and Maryland, which kick off next Wednesday, June 24th at 7pm at the Frederick Book Arts Center in Frederick, MD. Meet us, Caroline & Jona! Plus, award-winning WWPH author/Frederick resident Suzanne Feldman will lead the creative writing workshop. All invited. Free. Reserve your seat below.
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- Manuscript length works in poetry, fiction, and literary nonfiction. $1,500 prize. All publication costs. Deadline June 30th.
- TINY POEMS: AWE. Our beloved August issues return with lunes. See below for details. Deadline: July 15th.
- CAPITAL Translation. This is our 2027 entry in our 'Capital' series of pocket-sized, collectible anthologies...following Capital Queer (2025) and Capital Love (2026). Deadline September 1.
- Worlds Beyond contest for poetry and prose in literary speculative fiction, science fiction, and fantasy. Cash prizes and publication in WWPH WRITES. Special guest judge: Myna Chang. August 1st-September 8.
We hope you appreciate the bold moves your Washington Writers' Publishing House is making to expand publishing opportunities in the DMV and uplift our literary voices in an inclusive, thoughtful, and joyful way for readers across the nation.
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In this issue of WWPH WRITES, we are featuring an exciting new poet on the DC literary scene, AriYanna Marie Owens from Howard University, and a very short excerpt from Caroline Bock's new novel, THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE, which was just published this month by Regal House Publishing, another powerhouse independent press.
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Last thing, WWPH will have a booth at the DC Pride Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue this Sunday, June 21st, selling books and meeting friends. Stop by and say hi!
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Happy Juneteenth! Read on!
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Caroline Bock & Jona Colson
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AriYanna Marie Owens is an English major and Secondary Education minor at Howard University. She is from Portsmouth, Virginia, and currently lives in Washington, DC.
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AUTHOR'S NOTE: I am so grateful for the buzz THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE is receiving. "...rich, layered, intellectually complex, and, yes, beautiful. Equal parts domestic fiction and workplace drama, the novel centers on Amy Greene, a television executive, wife, mother, and film aficionado whose life is combusting..." shares reviewer Norah Vawter in Washington Unbound.
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For this brief excerpt, I chose a scene where literally there is fire. It's set in the middle of the novel, and it's December 2001, weeks after 9/11. The main character, Amy Greene, is on Amtrak, traveling late one Monday night from Penn Station in NYC to Union Station in DC, when this happens... smoke engulfs her train car as it pulls into Newark, New Jersey. Firemen are waiting on the platform and drag a combative drunk out of the lavatory. Amy is imagining what's next for the firemen... and for herself.
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THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE
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It all happens so fast and, well, efficiently. I wonder what they will tell their wives or girlfriends when they get home, whether it’s tonight or tomorrow, or whenever firefighters go home. Will they say: Just another fire coming into Newark? Just another drunk? Will they be as fixed and certain as they seem right at this moment when they ease into bed next to their lover? Will they be ready to make love? Will they cover their partner’s body with their own, as hard and ready as they are right now? Or, will they become soft in their lover’s arms? Will they cry out their pain? Will they wonder about the ugliness of life? The boots that will need to be cleaned from vomit? Or will they gaze at their lover and think, I am alive? Have they thought this a hundred times since 9/11? Have they thought: I am ready to fuck, or make love, ready to smother the flames of discontent in me by this act of making love because it has been a very long night with a fire on the train and a drunk and those passengers—they don’t know the half of it—but I am going to make love and sleep in my own bed; sleep, so help me.
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No, there’s nothing soft about these men, especially the oldest one, grizzled, crow-feet around his eyes, his skin too red to be healthy; he catches my eye and is happy with the cheers, or himself. How I love firemen. No irony. I love them. That fireman knows what love is. I wish he’d tell me—no time, the conductor is announcing that the train is back in service.
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Headphone kid skids down opposite me.
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He repositions the headphones back over his ears and clicks in another CD. Before he turns his face to the window, wanting this trip to be over as much as I do, he presses his hands together and lowers his head. He murmurs what I imagine is a prayer but could also just be music pounding through his headphones.
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A river or lake, houses perched precariously near the tracks, sky skirts by. I need an exit plan—and I realize that is what I am missing with Owen—an exit plan, whether it’s for this month, next year, or ten years from now.
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The night clears as the train flows forward. The moon and a cluster of stars blink into focus, but only for the briefest of moments. Billowing clouds obscure the bleary moon and stars. The kid rests his head back and finishes his prayers, yawning to the world.
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May we soon be where we all need to be.
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©Caroline Bock reprinted with permission of the author
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Caroline Bock is the author of THE OTHER BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE (Regal House Publishing, June, 2026), a workplace love story inspired by her two-decade career in cable. Notably, Bock led the marketing and public relations efforts at Bravo, IFC, and IFC Films and was part of the senior executive team that launched IFC and IFC Films. She is also the author of young adult novels LIE and Before My Eyes (St. Martin’s Press), as well as the award-winning short story collection Carry Her Home (2018 winner of the WWPH Fiction Prize).
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She is the co-president/prose editor at the Washington Writers’ Publishing House.
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The Other Beautiful People is available everywhere books/ebooks are sold, including at Bookshop.org here
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You are invited to join Caroline Bock at KRAMERS BOOKSTORE, where she will be in conversation with the novelist Michelle Brafman (with her new novel Draw Near To Me).
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Address: 1517 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036
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Reading/talk/conversation and a SPECIAL CLASSIC MOVIE TRIVIA contest with prizes!
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and at The Ivy Bookshop in Baltimore
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Date: Wednesday, July 29th
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Address: 5298 Falls Road, Baltimore, MD 21209
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WWPH SUBMISSIONS are now open. Deadline June 30th. Updated guidelines, FAQs on our website...
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JOIN US AT THE CAPITAL LOVE LITFEST! Sunday, June 28th from 10-6 pm at the Writer's Center.
What is this? It's an all-day literary lovefest! It's Pay-As You-Can (and that starts at free!). It's creative writing workshops, deep-dive discussions, a small press book fair with publishers and editors ready to talk about publishing you, and it all culminates in a live music and reading jam, plus a reception with writers from Capital Love! Capacity is limited to about 120 people, and spots are going fast!
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AND THERE'S MORE! This summer, WWPH will be on the road with a SUMMER OF LOVE series of literary events! All free. Made possible with the support of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the Maryland State Arts Council...reserve your seat now... links below...
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Summer of Love at Frederick Book Arts Center
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Welcome to the Summer of Love Tour, where Washington Writers' Publishing House is bringing authors all over the DMV to celebrate our new mini-anthology, Capital Love. These writing salons will reflect the intention of Capital Love, which is the belief that love is the antidote to hate and that love is action, intent, healing, and hope. This event is designed …
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Summer of Love at Queen Takes Book
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Welcome to the Summer of Love Tour, where Washington Writers' Publishing House is bringing authors all over the DMV to celebrate our new mini-anthology, Capital Love. These writing salons will reflect the intention of Capital Love, which is the belief that love is the antidote to hate and that love is action, intent, healing, and hope. This event is designed …
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Summer of Love at The Den at Politics and Prose
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Welcome to the Summer of Love Tour, where Washington Writers’ Publishing House is bringing authors all over the DMV to celebrate our new mini-anthology, Capital Love. These writing salons will reflect the intention of Capital Love, which is the belief that love is the antidote to hate and that love is action, intent, healing, and hope. This event is designed to …
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CAPITAL TRANSLATION
Now open for submissions
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CAPITAL TRANSLATION: WWPH CELEBRATES LITERARY TRANSLATION IN THE DMV
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“Without translation, we would be living in provinces bordering on silence.” – George Steiner
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We are proud to announce a call for submissions for our third Capital Anthology, Capital Translation. Free to submit.
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Open to all source languages. Translators must live in DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
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$25.00 contributor payment and author copy.
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An opportunity to be part of our joyful celebration of voices in our region and our world. Publication targeted for May of 2027.
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Also, our first work of poetry in translation, AGUAS by Miguel Avero, translated by Jona Colson, was just selected by the Bilingual Press at Arizona State University as one of their summer reading recommendations! Available everywhere books are sold. Special classroom discounts are available directly from your WWPH.
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Last note: WWPH WRITES is open for submissions ONLY for our AUGUST TINY POEMS special issues. Free to submit!
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Visit us at our booth this weekend at the DC Pride Festival on June 21st! And don't miss our next issue of WWPH WRITES with our PRIDE 2026 contest winners!
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Prose editor, WWPH Writes
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Thank you for being part of the Washington Writers' Publishing House community! Happy PRIDE!
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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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