When you ask someone who doesn’t live here to describe D.C., “literary” isn’t usually one of the words on their list. That’s just another way that the city’s complexity gets lost amid stereotypes about Hill staffers and their stuffy parties.
The truth is that D.C. has a robust and exciting creative writing scene — which I wish I’d known when I first moved to the city in 2024, just weeks after my college graduation. When I came here, I spent much of my first year looking for a creative community, scouring Instagram and Google for opportunities to meet other writers and continue my education after my time in undergrad concluded.
I know I’m not alone — D.C. is a city of creatives, and many of them want to work on their craft along with other artists. Whether your writing mainly happens in a journal or you’re an experienced novelist, there’s something for everyone in D.C.’s various literary spaces. Check out these six organizations to see what might be a good fit for you and your interests:
Cost: ~$60 per two hour workshop (scholarships available), other events are generally free
Just outside the D.C. border is the region’s largest literary organization, offering workshops spanning every stage of the writing process since 1976. Whether you’re forming an initial idea or querying agents, The Writer’s Center in Bethesda probably has a class that’s useful for you. With both virtual and in-person workshops as well as free author conversations, writerly happy hours, and open mic nights, the space’s community-oriented approach allows D.C.-area writers to expand their connections while honing their skills. The center also produces its own magazine, offers writing coaching and consulting, and provides scholarship opportunities through their fellowship program. It has 11,000+ attendees and workshop participants per year.
In 2018, D.C. Writers’ Salon founder Ali Cherry began hosting writing salons in her Logan Circle home. With 1,000 Meetup group members interested in attending and room for only 20 writers in her house, Cherry began renting out a Dupont Circle space designed to mimic the ambience of her living room. Unlike your typical writing class or workshop, most of the Writers’ Salon programming is just time to write together. Two-hour salons are offered almost daily for 150+ members, fostering a sense of cohesive community in a typically solitary art.
“The idea was that it would be like a gym for writers,” she told The 51st. “The way to be a writer is to actually write.”
Founded by an author-screenwriter couple in 2014, The Inner Loop offers monthly local readings, an annual week-long residency program, and weekend writing retreats for aspiring and practicing authors alike. Retreats happen at local spots like Shaw’s Tavern, the Goethe-Institut in Logan Circle and Cacapon State Park in West Virginia.They also choose authors to spotlight in their monthly “Author’s Corner” and produce their own podcast, “The Inner Loop Radio.”
With over 100 volumes of poetry published since its founding in 1975, WWPH is the region’s oldest independent publishing house. A mostly volunteer-run non-profit, WWPH publishes fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and poetry in translation exclusively from authors based in the D.C. area. Their annual manuscript contest, which will open once again this spring, allows writers to submit their work to be selected for publication with promotional and editorial support from the WWPH team. They also have their own digital magazine, WWPH Writes, and host various events across the city showcasing their authors’ work, often centered around the D.C. experience. The organization most recently released America’s Future, an anthology spanning 160+ writers including Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin.
Location: Virtual (mostly), store locations at The Wharf, Union Market, and Tenleytown
Cost: ~$50 per two-hour session
Looking for a familiar face to get started? With three locations across D.C. and a household name for the region’s independent bookstores, Politics and Prose offers additional involvement opportunities outside their author events through online literature and writing courses. Spanning both contemporary and classical literature, Politics and Prose is the perfect one-stop shop for the former English major looking to buff up their analytical skills and literary knowledge in a flexible environment and structure. The two-hour classes typically range from one to four sessions.
A hybrid between a coworking office and literary salon, the D.C. Writers Room is a communal space open 24 hours for any writer in the city to work on their individual projects in a community-oriented setting. Whether you work remotely or need a quiet place to jot down your thoughts, this is a great way to engage with other writers while still meeting your deadlines. They also offer a “Your Novel in a Year” program, where writers are connected with published authors to complete a full manuscript with editorial and interpersonal support.
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