Appearances

I regularly do panels and readings of my poetry and prose and I’d love to appear at your event.

I’m available to appear “virtually” anywhere (via Podcast/Zoom), but my “live” appearances are constrained by geography (I live in Northern Virginia, USA). However, I do travel some, so drop me a line and I’ll see if I am in your area soon.

I can speak about: Speculative (Horror, Science Fiction, Fantasy) Fiction; writing tips and techniques; how to get your first story published; the craft of writing; how to submit your stories to magazines; Horror as an art form; writing for “scripted fiction” podcasts; writing poetry; and how to conduct research for writing historical fiction.

Contact me at: DariusJones dot Writer at gmail dot com for a booking request.

Upcoming appearances:

  • I appear regularly (but not always) at the Poetry Open Mic at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Alexandria, VA (the 2300 Mount Vernon Ave. location!) on the first Friday of every month at 7 p.m. It’s where I publicly debut/test many of my new poems (LIVE!). If you just want to listen, or better yet, have a poem you’d like to share, why don’t you join us? …Hope to see you there!

PAST Appearances:

  • I was the featured poet at the Poetry Open Mic at St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Alexandria, VA on Dec. 5, 2025. Brace yourselves, here’s a recording of the full set of my poetry:

In October 2025 I did three signings at local Barnes & Noble locations as a sort of Mini-Book Tour for my debut poetry collection, “The Book of Hours”:

  • Signing 1 – Oct. 17. My first book signing EVER was at the Barnes & Noble in Fair Lakes, VA (Fair Lakes Promenade Drive) on Oct. 17 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
  • Signing 2 – Oct. 18. My second signing took place at the Barnes & Noble in Gainesville, VA.  
  • Signing 3 – Oct. 25. My final signing of the month took place at the Barnes & Noble in Manassas, VA.
  • At StokerCon 2025, I made three appearances:
    • The Open Mic Poetry Reading on June 12. I debuted my poem “Anti-Hydra” at this reading. A recording is here:
  • A LIVE reading with the talented Rachel Harrison and Ryan Marie Ketterer on June 14. I debuted the poems “Shine Back,” “The Power in the Darkness,” “The Silences” and “Coming through the Rye.” A recording is here:
  • On Sept. 29, 2024, I was on the panel “Don’t Worry; The Monster’s Got Your Back” hosted by the SFWA at the Baltimore Book Festival. We had a great discussion on the transformative power of Horror and other topics. A recording is here:
  • On July 28, 2024 I joined a Horror panel at Elaine’s in Old Town Alexandria, VA. I did a short reading from my tale “The Hatchlings” followed by a question-and-answer period. Here’s the audio:
  • Moderated an author panel for the Northern Virginia Writer’s Club and gave a short reading on June 8, 2024 at Purcellville Public Library in Virginia. I debuted two short “literary” poems there: “Chopin” and “Clouds”:
  • Gave a live reading at StokerCon 2024 on June 1, 2024. I debuted two Dark poems:
  • Moderated a panel on “Turning your Military and Government Experience into Prose” for the Northern Virginia Writers’ Club on March 16, 2024. Veterans on the panel shared how their experiences inform their fiction and nonfiction writing.
  • Appeared as a guest on the Sonitotum Podcast with Matthew Wayne Selznick, Episode 93. We covered: mental health, epic poetry, handling (literary) rejection, meditation, and much, much more. Broadcast Aug. 23, 2023.
  • Gave a live reading (and my first reading anywhere!) at StokerCon 2023 on June 17, 2023:

Thank you and hope we can do an event together soon!

[Updated: Dec. 2025.]

search previous next tag category expand menu location phone mail time cart zoom edit close