The Inner Loop's November Reading

Whether you're a bookworm, an inspiring writer, or just enjoy listening to stories, The Inner Loop readings have something for everyone! Join us at Shaw's Tavern on November 17th at 7pm for The Inner Loop's October Reading featuring Christopher Kondrich alongside nine local readers in poetry, nonfiction, and fiction, including our Author's Corner Spotlight, Shelagh Powers Johnson! Our mission is to create an inclusive writing community in DC, so we encourage you to grab some food, a drink, and meet other literature lovers. We can't wait to see you there!

Learn more about our featured reader:

Christopher Kondrich's third book, Tread Upon, was published by Copper Canyon Press in April 2026. His previous collection, Valuing (University of Georgia Press, 2019), was a winner of the National Poetry Series, a finalist for The Believer Book Award, and was selected by Library Journal as a best book of the year. His poetry appear widely in such venues as The Atlantic, The Kenyon Review, Los Angeles Review of Books, New England Review, The Nation, The New York Review of Books, The Paris Review, Ploughshares, and The Yale Review. He has received fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and is currently Poet-in-Residence in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at the University of Maryland.

Learn more about our Author's Corner Spotlight:

Shelagh Powers Johnson is the author of the short story collection A History of Existing Life (Broken Tribe Press, 2025). Her work has appeared in the Portland Review, the Grace and Gravity Anthologies, The Plentitudes, and Ghost Parachute, among others, and has been nominated for a Pushcart, Best Small Fictions, and Best Microfiction. Shelagh teaches Creative Writing and Literature at Bowie State University and is faculty editor of the university's literary magazine, The Torch. She is also a PhD student in Morgan State University's English doctoral program. You can view her TEDxTalk, "Creative Writing: A Transformational Practice" on YouTube and find her online at www.shelaghjohnson.com.

Reader Lineup:

Fiction: Batul Abbas, Jon Anderson, Shelagh Johnson

Nonfiction: Ala Fox, Yvette Green

Poetry: Serena Agusto-Cox, Katherine Gekker, Katherine Schmidt