The Washington Writers’ Publishing House’s (WWPH) latest anthology, commemorating its 50th Anniversary, is set to arrive September 2025. It will include over 160 writers with connections to D.C., Maryland, and Virginia who submitted poetry, short fiction, and creative non-fiction essays around the theme of America’s Future, given all that 2024 and 2025 have wrought.
While not deeply engaged in the editorial process at the press for this particular effort, My very short story Reunion was selected for inclusion in the anthology. Written before the 2024 election, it’s a first-person narrative about discovering distant relatives through a DNA website, serving as a metaphorical meditation on what it means to be seen, claimed, and counted as part of the “American” story.
Anthologies are herculean and overwhelming editorial endeavors. Reviewers must sift through hundreds and hundreds of submissions, balancing subjective personal taste with thematic cohesion, all while navigating the diverse range of voices and perspectives that such a call for submissions invites. Whether this one succeeds is a question for its future readers. But kudos to the WWPH team for providing a forum for regional storytelling in these uncertain times.
D.C. artist Dana Ellyn, whose Pullman Porter drawing she graciously allowed me to use on the cover of Strivers and Other Stores, provided artwork for the America’s Future cover as well.
