Washington Writers’ Publishing House is a D.C. favorite, publishing books by local authors each year in their annual poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction contests. Open to new, upcoming, and established writers from anywhere in the D.C. area, the contest’s winning books have gained a national readership. This year’s press book launch takes place on Oct. 14 at Politics and Prose, and will celebrate poet K. Avvirin Berlin, novelist Len Kruger, and memoirist Bernardine “Dine” Watson. Berlin’s poetry collection Leda’s Daughters deftly explores the lives of working women, “re-envisioning African American and Native American women’s history as a history of poetics,” writes WWPH of the book. Tonee Moll, last year’s poetry winner, writes that “Leda’s Daughters re-illuminates those myths that surround us.” Luger’s Bad Questions is “humorous and heartbreaking,” according to WWPH, which calls the novel “a coming-of-age journey toward redemption and self-awareness.” Suzanne Feldman, last year’s fiction winner, writes, “Bad Questions rings with emotional truths that resonate vividly and viscerally today.” Watson’s Transplant: A Memoir is a compelling examination of one Black woman’s experience with kidney disease and the established medical system. Kojo Nnamdi, host of WAMU’s Politics Hour, writes, “Transplant: A Memoir transports the reader along the path of hopes dashed, then revived, despair, courage, faith, and love.” The Washington Writers’ Publishing House Launch starts at 3 p.m. on Oct. 14 at Politics and Prose. politics-prose.com. Free. —Hannah Grieco
Washington Writers’ Publishing House Launch: K. Avvirin Berlin, Len Kruger, and Bernardine Watson, Oct. 14
