Proud to announce that after working with the Accessibility Assurance Department at Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind, the Busboys and Poets website scored a 92% accessibility compliance against WCAG 2.0 level AA. This means that individuals who require alternative access to printed digital content will have comparable access and use of the website as do individuals who do not require an accessible alternative.  

This is a part of main mission to be accessible to people with a wide range of range of disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, language, learning, and neurological disabilities. We hope you enjoy navigating our site and learning about us!

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The Making of Busboys and Poets

A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets

We’re proud to announce A Seat at the Table: The Making of Busboys and Poets, the new memoir from our CEO and Founder, which reveals the vision, challenges, and triumphs behind opening Busboys and Poets. Packed with misadventures, unexpected triumphs, and insights on race, business and politics, Andy Shallal’s memoir takes us on a “How I Built … Continued

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For Langston Hughes on His 123 Birthday

Speech given on February 1, 2024 in Havana, Cuba In 1927 Langston Hughes walked into a Cuba amid an emerging community of artists, intellectuals, and radicals.  He saw a “sunrise in a new land [– a day – in his words]sic – full of brownskin surprises, and hitherto unknown contacts in a world of color.”  … Continued

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Palestine Week 2024

January 18, 2024 – January 25, 2024 In keeping with our ongoing mission of uplifting racial and cultural connections, Busboys and Poets is hosting Palestine Week (January 18 through January 25, 2024). This week-long series of events will offer a diverse range of programming featuring Palestinian food, music, dance, poetry, discussions, and other enriching events. … Continued

Busboys and Poets Books Holiday Picks for Kids!

Busboys and Poets Books Holiday Picks for Kids!

“Mary Had a Little Glam” is a modern twist on a classic nursery rhyme featuring a young girl named Mary who has an eye for fashion and loves to share her gift with others. When she notices her classmates, some of whom are also children featured in popular nursery rhymes, are looking a bit drab, … Continued

President Obama meets with former inmates in the Langston Room

President Obama meets with former inmates in the Langston Room

President Obama met at Busboys and Poets 14th & V to have lunch with a group of former inmates. He was joined by senior advisor Valerie Jarrett. The Obama administration chose to have their meeting with us since we banned the box in 2009.

15 Influential, Iconic, and Inspiring Women Writers Through History

15 Influential, Iconic, and Inspiring Women Writers Through History

15 Influential, Iconic, and Inspiring Women Writers Through History Come into one of our Busboys and Poets bookshops and we can direct you to any number of wonderful books by women. From the high fantasy of N.K. Jemison to the sublime poetry of Joy Harjo to the intense investigations of Monique W. Morris we are … Continued