About Us

Our mission is to cultivate and promote the distinctive literary culture of Washington, DC.

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The Inner Loop creates inclusive and accessible opportunities for our diverse network of both emerging and established writers to connect with each other, to connect to their community, and to transform the written word into a shared experience through the act of reading aloud.

​The Inner Loop was founded in 2014 because we believe stories come alive in the community, and we dreamt of a place where storytellers could share their words both on the page and out loud.

Today, we have an incredible community that’s supportive, diverse, and equal. We foster human connection through our vibrant and dynamic reading series, our inspiring writers’ retreats, the collaboration of our residency, a one-of-a-kind podcast, and additional programming and resources like the Author’s Corner, workshops, and more.

“There are no egos here. Just DMV writers in dialogue with one another, sharing their work and their craft, and inspiring everyone to read local.”

– Zak Salih

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Audience Members

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Talented Writers

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Podcast Episodes

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Independently Published Authors

Meet

Our Team

Rachel Coonce

Co-Founder/Executive Director

Courtney Sexton

Co-Founder/Director of Strategic Partnerships

Aeriel Merillat

Digital Outreach Coordinator

Abi Newhouse

Programs Coordinator

Meet

The Board of Directors

Itoro Bassey

Anthony Dobranski

Daniel Knowlton

Leeya Mehta

E. Ethelbert Miller

Chet'la Sebree

The DMV

Literary Community

The DC area is brimming with talent, and we’re always looking for ways to connect local writers (and readers!) with the thriving literary community beyond our programming. These are a few of the people, organizations, establishments, and events that we think are awesome.