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TIL In the News...

The Inner Loop is special. But don't take our word for it, read what folks around town have to say.

Taking Risks: Inner Loop Contest Winners Don’t Hold Back

By Nicole Schaller for District Fray

During the pandemic shutdown, many swore they would begin writing the  next great American literary work regardless of their past writing  experience. The forced isolation inspired and allowed people to work on  passion pieces that would otherwise remain ideas. With the increased  volume of created content, this year’s Inner Loop Contest had plenty of entries to choose from and the selected winners exemplify the top local works produced during this tumultuous time.

Literary DC: Area arts organizations every writer (and reader) should know.

By Clare Mulroy for the Washington Independent Review of Books

Even throughout the pandemic, we were reminded of the resilience of the  arts. Now, with the world beginning to open again, read how a few local  nonprofits are contributing to the arts and literary scene in DC.

Amazon Literary Partnership Announces 2021 Grant Recipients

Business Wire

The Amazon Literary Partnership announced more than $1 million in  grant funding to 80 nonprofit literary organizations across the U.S. The  funding supports groups that are working to empower diverse,  marginalized, and underrepresented voices, helping writers to create,  publish, learn, teach, experiment, and thrive in 2021 and beyond.

Lit for Localvores

By Natalia Kolenko for District Fray

The project, which received an Amazon Literary Partnership  grant, was launched last year as a multiplatform promotional campaign  that would spotlight a local author and their published work each month.

D.C.'s Got the Write Stuff

By Courtney Sexton for District Fray

While The Inner Loop traditionally builds platforms for community engagement with writers off the page, the opportunity to publish local writers in a magazine  outside of the traditional literary realm fits well with our mission to  transform the written word into a shared experience.

2020 Amazon Literary Partnership Grants Awarded

By Al Woodworth, manager of Amazon Literary Partnerships and senior editor for the Amazon Books Editorial Team

66 grants are awarded to organizations across the country that support writers.

Writers Out Loud

By Zoe Aslop for Cafe MFA

The alchemy that happens between a writer reading their work and an audience is terrifying for the same reason that it can be instrumental – it exposes gaps and connections a person writing alone in a room might never anticipate. Sexton and Coonce urge writers to take risks and play, exploiting the audience as sounding board.

Writers Gather for The Inner Loop’s Fundraising Gala

By Joyelle Ronan for On Tap Magazine

I sat in the Full Service Radio studio quietly as “The Inner Loop Radio: A Creative Writing Podcast” recorded their latest episode. This week’s topic was on food writing and featured guest speakers Laura Hayes and Susan Lutz. Before getting into the conversation, hosts and The Inner Loop founders Courtney Sexton and Rachel Coonce plugged their upcoming gala...

Stepping Out With The Inner Loop

By Zach Powers for The Writer's Guide

DC literary organizers share the motivation behind their mission in the Winter/Spring 2020 edition of The Writer's Center's triannual publication.

Into the Wilds

By Leeya Mehta for the Washington Independent Review of Books

Now, in their sixth year, the Inner Loop founders Rachel Coonce and  Courtney Sexton (solid writers in their own right) have grown it into a  multi-pronged literary establishment with a podcast, residencies, and  more.

Amazon Literary Partnership awards funding to 66 literary organizations

By Neal Thompson

TIL receives Amazon grant: "At Amazon, we believe in the power of the written word to change lives and we are committed to helping writers connect with their readers. We also strive to support a diversity of voices by funding organizations that prioritize amplifying and uplifting overlooked and underrepresented writers."

Learning How to Reading: The Inner Loop

Interview by Tyler Barton

The editors of Fear No Lit interview TIL's Courtney Sexton and Rachel Coonce, with an introduction from Kris Zory King.

A Writer's House

By Mary Architzel Westbrook for Distinction magazine

A Virginia writer takes a trip to Porches, where The Inner Loop holds annual writing retreats. 

Best of D.C. 2018: See what Express editors picked as their favorite things in Washington

From the Post

Washington Post Express editors hail The Inner Loop as "Best group to write home about".

Inner Loop’s free ‘Literary Cornucopia’ unleashes creative writing feast in DC

Interview by Jason Fraley

Courtney Sexton and Rachel Coonce are interviewed by WTOP's Jason Fraley.

Ploughshares Looks at the DC 'Literary Loop'

By Harriet Staff for Poetry Foundation

Ploughshares's  Melissa Silverman explores Washington, DC's "literary loop," giving us  the inside scoop on the city's increasingly independent,  literary-minded, non-profit scene.

Inside DC’s Literary Loop

By Melissa Silverman for Ploughshares

As they hosted the monthly reading series, Coonce and Sexton say, they  saw growth potential, and slowly began offering new literary  opportunities to local writers. 

Storytelling in the City: How Washingtonians Share Their Stories

By Reem Nadeem for On Tap Online

In DC, it takes countless forms, and it’s not always recognized as storytelling.

Loopy for Literature?

By Hayden Higgins

730DC's Hayden Higgins interviews Courtney Sexton and Rachel Coonce of The Inner Loop.

All Written Up and No Place to Go

By Tara Campbell for the Washington Independent Review of Books

You, silent writer. I’m talking to you.

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