AMERICA’S FUTURE | A WWPH & Busboys and Poets Books Presentation

America's Future: poetry and prose in response to tomorrow features 164 bold, thought-provoking writers including an opening speech, published here for the first time, by Congressman Jamie Raskin of Maryland; poetry by master poet E. Ethelbert Miller in collaboration with Miho Kinnas, essays by Marvin Kalb and Bethanne Patrick, and short stories by Mary Kay Zuravleff, Kathleen Wheaton, and more.

The anthology arrives at an urgent moment in our nation's history, when many are anxiously questioning: What are the possibilities for the future? Some pieces turn to our past, reckoning with the wounds we still carry in today's scars before questioning the future. Others turn their gaze forward, imagining the ways hope and reinvention can carve new paths. A must-have collection of writings for this moment.

This new anthology from the Washington Writers' Publishing House dares to ask the questions: What of our future? Is there a literary response to this anxious moment--and to our shared tomorrows? Join us for the launch of America's Future.

AMERICA'S FUTURE: poetry & prose in response to tomorrow reading will be hosted by co-editors Caroline Bock and Jona Colson. Featured poets and prose writers include: Teresa Blair, Dwayne Lawson-Brown, Erik Fatemi, Sebastian Johnson, Holly Karapetkova, Tanya Olson, Heather Satrom, Elnathan Starnes, and Martha Anne Toll. Copies of AMERICA’S FUTURE and a few other WWPH titles will be available for purchase during and after the event, and the authors will be signing following the program.

This event is free and open to all. Our program begins at 5:00 pm, and will be followed by an audience Q&A. Copies of AMERICA’S FUTURE will be available for purchase before and after the event. Please note that this event is in person and will not be livestreamed. 

We ask that guests RSVP in order to receive direct updates about the event from Busboys and Poets Books

Caroline Bock's latest novel, The Other Beautiful People, a workplace love story about a movie-loving marketing executive, will be published on June 2, 2026, by Regal House Publishing. Her short story collection, Carry Her Home, won the Fiction Award from the Washington Writers' Publishing House. She is also the author of acclaimed young adult novels LIE and Before My Eyes from St. Martin's Press. Notably, since 2022, she has been the co-president and prose editor at the Washington Writers' Publishing House. In this role, she is the senior editor for fiction/creative nonfiction, and she has been the prose editor on the following anthologies: This Is What America Looks Like (2022), Capital Queer (June 2025), and America's Future, poetry and prose in response to tomorrow. More about her at www.carolinebockofficialauthor.site

Jona Colson is a poet, educator, and translator. His poetry collection, Said Through Glass, won the Jean Feldman Poetry Prize from the Washington Writers' Publishing House. He is also the translator of Aguas/Waters by Miguel Avero and the co-editor of the anthologies, This Is What America Looks Like (2022), Capital Queer (June, 2025), and America's Future: poetry and prose in response to tomorrow. His poems, translations, and interviews have appeared in Ploughshares, The Southern Review, LitHub, and elsewhere. He is co-president of Washington Writers' Publishing House and edits the bi-weekly journal, WWPH Writes. He is a professor of ESL at Montgomery College and lives in Washington, DC www.jonacolson.com

Washington Writers’ Publishing House is a non-profit, cooperative literary organization that has published over 100 volumes of poetry since 1975 as well as fiction and nonfiction. The press sponsors three annual competitions for writers living in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, and the winners of each category (one each in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction) comprise our annual slate. In 2021, WWPH launched an online literary journal, WWPH WRITES, to expand our mission to further the creative work of writers in our region. In 2024, WWPH launched our biennial works in translation series. Be a part of the WWPH community!

BOOK DETAILS

America’s Future

poetry & prose in response to tomorrow

Edited by Caroline Bock and Jona Colson

September 9, 2025 | Paperback, 526 pages, $30.00

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Busboys and Poets - Takoma, 235 Carroll Ave NW, Washington, United States