I moved to the DC area in 2020 to pursue my MFA in creative writing at American University. After years of working independently on my writing, participating in community workshops, running a literary organization, and holding a full-time job, I concluded that my writing needed the time and structure that an MFA program provided. This is to say, I came to the DC area to write the book I needed to write.

Making this decision came with a cost: I had to move to a place where I didn’t have a writing community, far from the one I had built and cultivated over the years. I wondered whether I would be able to connect with other writers in DC and whether moving and starting over would be worth it. This wasn’t a decision I took lightly, but eventually I decided to take the leap, hoping for the best.

At the MFA program, I met supportive classmates and nurturing and generous professors, all members of the DC writing community and a reflection of it. This was my first encounter with the community, and it didn’t disappoint.

During the last semester of my program, I started working at Politics and Prose as their events director, and there I had the chance to meet wonderful bookish people and amazing writers who were featured at our events. It was then I discovered that not only was there a strong and supportive community of writers in DC, but there was also a vibrant literary scene and a thriving independent-bookstore sector, which is essential for the exchange of ideas and the support of local writers. I’m still amazed that, every day in this city, you can attend a book talk or literary event.

Shortly after joining Politics and Prose, I became more involved with the Writer’s Center. I’ve attended many events they’ve organized, joined panels with other local authors, and facilitated community workshops. The organization has been a source of community and inspiration, and they have welcomed me wholeheartedly.

Over time, I discovered more extraordinary organizations and initiatives for writers in the area, many of which have supported my work in different ways, including 804 Lit Salon, the Grace and Gravity anthology of DC women writers, PEN/Faulkner, DC Writers Room, and Tintas DC, among others. As I write this, I am part of the 2025 cohort of the Inner Loop’s Author’s Corner, a program that highlights the work of authors from the DMV area, and I am honored that this wonderful organization is supporting my work. There are also many conferences, festivals, and funding opportunities for writers throughout the city.

Thanks to all the organizations and initiatives in the area, I’ve met incredible people who have welcomed me as a part of the writing community. A few years ago, I never would have imagined that DC was the fertile ground my writing needed to grow. Thanks to the support of the writing community, I completed and published my first book, and they have celebrated with me every step of the way. I’ve always struggled to understand when I hear writers say that writing is a lonely endeavor, when writing, for me, has been a practice of community.  

To nourish a writer, it truly takes a village. The DC writing community has welcomed me with open arms and has never made me feel like a transplant, much less a foreigner. I’ve only encountered deep generosity.

[Editor’s note: This piece is in support of the Inner Loop’s “Author’s Corner,” a monthly campaign that spotlights a DC-area writer and their recently published work from a small to medium-sized publisher. The Inner Loop connects talented local authors to lit lovers in the community through live readings, author interviews, featured book sales at Potter’s House, and through Eat.Drink.Read., a collaboration with restaurant partners Pie Shop, Shaw’s Tavern, and Reveler’s Hour to promote the author through special events and menu and takeout inserts.]

Patricia Coral is a bilingual Puerto Rican writer. She holds a B.A. in Hispanic Studies from the University of Puerto Rico, an M.A. in Spanish from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico, and an MFA in creative writing from American University, where she received the Myra Sklarew Award and where she was editor-in-chief of FOLIO. Patricia writes creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, but frequently her words find their home in-between. The former director of events for Politics and Prose Bookstore, she has contributed to numerous literary magazines, and her work has been supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Her memoir, Women Surrounded by Water, is her first book, and it was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography.