Busboys and Poets Books welcomes author Mahmoud Khalil for a conversation with journalist Ryan Grim about Khalil’s new memoir, No Land to Stand On: Notes from Detention. In his first book, Khalil recounts his experience as a Palestinian graduate student and legal resident of the United States, including his detention by U.S. immigration authorities following (more…)

Is AI a bubble or humanity’s last invention? An existing harm or an existential threat? Obsolete cuts through the hype and false binaries to answer all the AI questions you have, while raising some you probably aren’t prepared for. Many today don’t get further than seeing AI as a boondoggle—a new shiny object for techno-capitalists (more…)

Joe has lived his life at the confluence of art & activism. As an organizer in the labor movement and the environmental movement Joe always incorporated art & music into his work. In Three Roads Joe weaves strategy, memoir, and music into a powerful call to action! Through compelling personal narrative and frontline insight, Joe (more…)

The essential primer on colorism and how each of us has a role in dismantling skin tone bias. Racism is easy to spot these days; we know its script, its favorite media tropes, its legislative tactics, and how it makes us feel. But there is another societal ill hiding in racism’s shadow: colorism. Colorism is (more…)

On February 28, 2013, after pleading guilty to violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, John Kiriakou began serving a thirty month prison sentence. His crime: blowing the whistle on the CIA’s use of torture on al Qaeda prisoners. Doing Time Like a Spy is Kiriakou’s memoir of his twenty-three months in prison. Using twenty life (more…)

Introducing… The Busboys and Poets Book Club A book club that explores anti-colonialism and anti-imperialism through literature, history, and lived experience. Together, we’ll read writers and thinkers who challenge empire, occupation, exploitation, and the lasting legacies of colonial rule, while examining movements of resistance, liberation, and self-determination in the United States and around the world. (more…)

Meet author Barry Shawn Washington for a book signing celebrating Little Things Mean a Lot. Join us for a meet-and-greet at Busboys and Poets Hyattsville.Books will be available for purchase and signing.Sunday, October 25, 2026, 5–7 PMBusboys and Poets — Hyattsville5331 Baltimore Avenue, Hyattsville, MD 20781Free RSVP. (more…)

Join us for a special night filled with twists, chills, and thrills as local authors unveil their page-turning horror and thriller novels! On Sunday, October 25th at Busboys and Poets Takoma, join us for Author Next Door: Hometown Horrors, the next installment in our rotating celebration of community storytellers from across the DMV. Get in (more…)

Join us to learn about a compelling critique of how and why Washington ensnared itself so destructively in the Middle East. After Hamas’ shocking 2023 attack on Israel, the United States stood firmly behind Israel’s near-genocidal war on Gaza, despite widespread moral outrage and significant damage to Washington’s global agenda. But Gaza is only the (more…)

Join Dr. Evandra Catherine on Veterans Day for the launch of her debut memoir, Wounded Healer. A story of survival, service, grief, trauma, and transformation, Wounded Healer explores how the wounds we carry can become pathways to purpose and healing. Drawing from her experiences as a childhood trauma survivor, Air Force veteran, researcher, and Infant (more…)

Join author, corporate operations leader, and certified life coach Michael M. Roberson for an intimate book talk, reading, and celebration honoring the release of his debut memoir, Being Gay, Black, and Christian: A Journey of Faith and Identity.Navigating from childhood church pews in Inkster, Michigan, to executive boardrooms in the nation’s capital, Michael shares a (more…)