In 2025, ARTWIFE Magazine is teaming up with The Inner Loop to bring you interviews with DC-area authors! In March, April, and May, then again in September, October, and November, join us on the third Tuesday of the month to hear from recently-published novelists, memoirists, and poets in the DMV. Today we meet Patricia Coral, author of the memoir "Women Surrounded by Water," which was longlisted for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award in Autobiography. She holds a BA in Hispanic Studies from the University of Puerto Rico, an MA in Spanish from the InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico, and an MFA in Creative Writing from American University. Patricia writes creative nonfiction, fiction, and poetry, but frequently her words find their home in between. The former director of events for Politics and Prose Bookstore, she has contributed to numerous literary magazines and her work has been supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities.

Purchase Women Surrounded by Water at https://ohiostatepress.org/books/titles/9780814259252.html and use code CORAL for a 30% discount and free shipping!

Find more from Patricia on her website, www.patriciacoral.com, and find her on Instagram @_patriciacoral_

The Inner Loop creates inclusive and accessible opportunities for our diverse network of both emerging and established writers to connect with each other, to connect to their community, and to transform the written word into a shared experience through the act of reading aloud. They put on monthly readings in Washington, DC, market writers who published with small- to medium-sized presses, host writing retreats and residencies, and provide other special programming throughout the year. Check out upcoming events at theinnerlooplit.org.

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