Kim Roberts

Apr 2025

18th Annual Kensington Day of the Book
11:00 am - 4:00 pm on Sunday, April 27, 2025 at Three blocks of Howard Avenue in historic downtown Kensington

Kim and Michael Gushue read from and discuss their new collaborative book of poems, Q&A for the End of the World from 2:10 to 3:20 pm. Presented as part of Kensington Day of the Book, an annual, day-long family festival celebrating literature. Look for the reading in the Poetry Tent. Other readers include: Simon Shieh, Grace Cavalieri Nancy Naomi Carlson, Zeina Assam, Doritt Carroll, David Ebenbach, Marguerite Feitlowitz, Heather Green, Holly Karapetkova, Courtney LeBlanc, Greg McBride, Bonnie Naradzay, Yvette Neisser, Tara Prakash, Ellen Sazzman, Jessica Genia Simon, and Philip Wexler. Other events include: open mic, live music, cookbook demonstrations, a children’s program, food court, and vendors. Free admission. Spans three blocks of Howard Avenue. Held rain or shine.

May 2025

Cultivating Voices
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm on Sunday, May 4, 2025 at

For a special program, “Science/Fiction,” Kim and Michael Gushue read from their book, Q&A for the End of the World, along with Lynn McGee, author of Science Says Yes. Followed by a themed open mic. Virtual; Free admission. Hosted by Sandy Yannone. Log on via Facebook or YouTube.

Find Your Story Festival
10:00 am - 12:00 pm on Saturday, May 31, 2025 at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial DC Public Library

Kim reads in the Gathering of Pride Poetry Marathon as part of “Find Your Story,” the DC Public Library’s day-long festival of LGBTQ+ authors, presented during World Pride 2025. The festival will include readings, panels, workshops, a Walt Whitman walking tour, a small press book fair, and an exhibition on queer print culture in the nation’s capital. The Poetry Marathon takes place on the Library’s 5th floor, overlooking the roof garden, along with the book fair. Kim will be one of 14 scheduled readers in the morning, from 10am to Noon. Other readers include: AGG, Regie Cabico, Ishanee Chanda, Sunu P. Chandy, Jona Colson, Natalie E. Illum, Hiram Larew, Dwayne Lawson-Brown, Saundra Rose Maley, Tanya Olson, Michelle Parkerson, Malik Thompson, Dan Vera. (The afternoon session, from 1pm to 4pm, will include an open mic.) Free admission.

Jun 2025

DC Pride Poems
All Day on Sunday, June 1, 2025 at

DC Pride Poems in an annual project designed to showcase LGBTQ+ poets from the greater Washington, DC region. We release a video each day during the month of June in honor of National Pride Month. The theme for 2025 is Word Play: poems that re-define words, use words from specialized vocabularies, incorporate words from languages other than English, use puns, or in some other way focus on the roots and etymology of language. Check back daily for a new poem–featuring 30 poets in all. The series is co-curated by Kim and Jon Gann.

Marfield Prize Winner's Reading
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 at Arts Club of Washington

Award presentation and reading by the 2025 winner of the Marfield Award, a national nonfiction book award for writing about the arts. This $10,000 prize is one of the largest awards in the US for a single book. Kim is one of three judges, along with Elvi Moore and Celia Wren (all three of whom will be present for the event). Reception and book signing to follow. Free admission; pre-registration required.

Arts Club Pride Poetry Reading
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm on Saturday, June 14, 2025 at Arts Club of Washington

Kim hosts a poetry reading by the five 2025 Pride Poets in Residence at the Arts Club of Washington: AGG, Natalie E. Illum, Dwayne Lawson-Brown, Saundra Rose Maley, Chris Nealon. Followed by a reception and book signing. Free admission; pre-registration required.

Writer's Center
2:00 pm - 3:00 pm on Saturday, June 21, 2025 at The Writer’s Center

Kim and Michael Gushue read from their new collaborative book of poems, Q&A for the End of the World. Free admission; advance registration.

Humanities DC Culture Series
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm on Thursday, June 26, 2025 at

Kim co-hosts a panel with Regie Cabico on “The Literature of AIDS in DC.” Sponsored by Humanities DC. More information on speakers and registration to come!

Washington Writers Publishing House June Salon
7:00 pm - 10:00 pm on Monday, June 30, 2025 at Rhizome DC

Kim leads a generative poetry workshop, along with Tonee Mae Moll, followed by a reading by contributors to the new anthology, Capital Queer, and a reception. Sponsored by Washington Writers Publishing House, and hosted by Jona Colson. Free admission.

Jul 2025

American Poetry Museum
3:00 pm - 4:30 pm on Sunday, July 13, 2025 at American Poetry Museum

Kim and Michael Gushue read from their new collaborative book of poems, Q&A for the End of the World, followed by a book signing. Free admission.

Oct 2025

Cafe Muse
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm on Monday, October 6, 2025 at The Writer’s Center

Kim and Michael Gushue read from their collaborative collection of poems, Q&A for the End of the World. Other readers: Bonnie Naradzay, and Michele Wolf. Hybrid program takes place in person and simultaneously online via Zoom. Free admission; register online.

F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival
All Day on Saturday, October 18, 2025 at Montgomery College

The 29th annual F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Festival includes panels, workshops, a reading by special honoree Percival Everett, and a keynote address. Kim will present a generative writing workshop, “Writing Short,” looking closely at flash fiction and prose poems, and discussing the charm and challenge of brevity. How do these “short shorts” stop time, center on a single incident or character, and infer a rich backstory? How do we imply deep emotion as we distill the essentials of a story into a single paragraph? We will read some examples, talk about strategy, and then do some short writing of our own. See website for full information and registration.