OutWrite Book Festival to Showcase LGBTQ Authors and Artists This Weekend

Members and allies of the District’s LGBTQ community will flock to the 14th and U street corridors this weekend for an annual celebration of queer literature.

The OutWrite Book Festival returns to the D.C. Center (2000 14th St. NW) for its sixth year on Aug. 5-7.

“This year, we have more than 60 different authors and panelists who are participating throughout the festival,” said OutWrite co-chair Dave Ring.

The free event will kick off Friday night with the launch of a new book, “Love Unites Us: Winning the Freedom To Marry in America.” The book chronicles some of the people behind Obergefell v. Hoges, the landmark Supreme Court case that gave same-sex couples the right to marry in the U.S.

“After the readings with the contributors to the book, we are having a panel with a diverse group of community members and looking at the what direction queer activism has gone in since the wake of marriage equality hearing,” Ring said.

Jim Obergefell, the main plaintiff from that case, is expected attend Friday’s reading and panel discussion, Ring added.

On Saturday, about 30 LGBTQ authors and exhibitors will sell books inside the center, Ring said. Other events planned for that day include workshops, open mic events, discussions and book readings, including a presentation by Dicción Queer, a Latino queer bilingual writing group.

The festival will wrap up Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.with additional workshops that cover topics like “working with agents to applying a queer lens to afro futurism,” Ring said.

Photo courtesy of OutWrite Festival