Foggy Bottom West End Main Street (FBWE) and Litbox will present the first-ever Foggy Bottom Book Crawl, a free, walkable literary event set across venues in the historic Foggy Bottom neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It will occur Sunday, Sept. 21 from 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Attendees are invited to discover D.C.’s vibrant literary scene through live readings, engaging Q&As, meet and greet opportunities, and thoughtful conversations spanning history, fiction, poetry, memoir, and more.
The 2025 lineup includes an exciting mix of nationally recognized and locally beloved authors, all from the region. There also are authors and topics will find of high interest, including:
Kyla Sommers, discussing “When the Smoke Cleared: The 1968 Rebellions and the Unfinished Battle for Civil Rights in the Nation’s Capital,” at the GW Campus Store, 2125 Eye St., NW.
Okezie Nwoka, discussing his fiction work “God of Mercy” at Bodega Taqueria y Tequila, 2127 Eye St., NW.
Jordan Casomar, young adult fiction author, discussing “How to Lose a Best Friend” at Western Market, 2000 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Book Crawl attendees can attend the readings in any order they like — there’s no set rotation schedule! Readings repeat on the hour, beginning at 11 a.m., Noon and 1 pm. Free tickets are available at www.eventbrite.com/e/foggy-bottom-book-crawl-tickets-1639918252639
The Washington Informer interviewed Casomar about his work.
What do you want people attending your reading at the Book Crawl to hear?
A story about Black and Brown kids who aren’t endangered by the world around them, only their own feelings. We’ve got plenty of the former these days.
What other writers at the event are you excited to meet or hear from?
I’m just excited to hear everyone and, more than that, to meet so many folks in D.C. that believe in stories and words.
Why is participating in this Foggy Bottom Book Crawl important to you?
This administration—and the corporations bending the knee a little more every day—are doing everything in its power to control the story. They’re pulling history from museums, shutting down TV shows they don’t like, yanking books about anyone who lives different than they do. They want to be the only mouthpiece in town and I refuse. They want Black and Brown folks to be silent, at best, and I refuse that most of all. I will never stop telling the truth about this country and I will never stop telling stories about Black and Brown kids living and loving in spite of it.
What has been the reaction from readers and the public to your novel?
Many readers have expressed to me their horror and/or anger at some of the choices the characters make in the book and there’s truly no greater reward than having folks invested enough in your words and your story to really feel some kind of way about what happens on the page.
Where do you get your inspiration as a writer? What does it mean to you to be a Black prose writer?
First and foremost, a lot of eavesdropping. But I also have the great fortune to work for a wonderful organization, Writopia, as a creative writing instructor and Dungeon Master for teens. Our writers are brilliant, our RPG players so inventive, and a lot of what happens in our workshops and game sessions are converted into fuel for my own work.
As for what it means to be a Black prose writer, well, I never wanted my blurbs to just say that I was a writer, because I’m not. Who I am as a Black man in America shapes everything about how I write—the words I use, the stories I tell, the rhythm of my sentences—and I’d never want it any other way.
Do you have another book you’re working on?
I’m currently working on an adult novel inspired by my great-grandfather’s murder in 1975: a young man struggling withaddiction inherits a property in St. Louis from a grandmother who died 20 years ago, or so his estranged, abusive father always told him. When he goes to check the place out, he learns his father’s been lying about his entire life — including the fact that his own father was murdered — and he has to find out why.
Foggy Bottom West End Main Street is presenting the Book Crawl; it’s a nonprofit dedicated to revitalizing the Foggy Bottom and West End areas through advocacy, business support, and community-building. Litbox is a D.C.-based book vending machine that exclusively features books by D.C.-area writers.