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Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
With The Emperor of Gladness, forthcoming in May from Penguin Press, Ocean Vuong crafts a story of intergenerational connection—of labor, love, memory, and care—while bridging the intimate and the epic, the lyric and the narrative.
“Everything will take longer than you feel like it should, and this is a gift.” —Rickey Fayne, author of The Devil Three Times
The author of Duet for One (Regal House Publishing, May 2025) recommends writers research vocabularies specific to their characters’ lives to ensure the novel’s world feels believable.
“The magnitude of space around me must have opened a kind of interior spaciousness where the writing came from.” —Lisa Fishman, author of One Big Time
The author of Duet for One (Regal House Publishing, May 2025) recommends writers discover their structure as they write.
The person behind the viral Instagram account @poetryisnotaluxury talks about their approach to selecting poetry for a digital platform versus a print anthology, the value of anonymity, and more.
“Stories that are planned are boring and flat and unlike life, which is messy and has its own logic.” —Craig Thompson, author of Ginseng Roots
“Intuition is enough.” —Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Exit Zero
Jehanne Dubrow encourages writers to provide varied points of entry into books on trauma to give readers breathing room and keep them engaged.
Curating and sequencing your poems with intention can positively affect the outcome of your submission. Contest organizers and judges offer four guiding points as you assemble your poetry packet.
Writing contests that accept excerpts as short-form prose can help you keep up the momentum during the long journey to book publication. Contest winners and other experts share what it takes to create an attention-grabbing excerpt.
When your work is being judged with all identifying information removed, an artist statement enables you to share who you are as a writer, your motivation, and your influences—creating a map from your now to a dreamed-of future.
This summer’s notable opportunities celebrate new talent, amplify marginalized voices, and push boundaries. Our editors take you behind the scenes to see how these contests are run, who they serve, and why they do what they do.
In his fifth novel, Run for the Hills, Kevin Wilson returns to a theme that flows through much of his work: the threads that connect us to other people, even if we’ve never met them before.
In The Book of Records, Madeleine Thien takes on political, historical, and philosophical issues in the wake of catastrophe while offering a portrait of a life that holds hope amid seemingly hopeless circumstances.
Superstar literary agent Nicole Aragi talks about what stands out to her in a query, the importance of finding the right agent, and the art of following your nose.
In the poetry collection I Imagine I Been Science Fiction Always, Douglas Kearney shatters traditional expectations by transforming images and texts into dynamic conversations about Black identity, personhood, and art.
This series of interviews with over forty book editors, publishers, and agents offers a unique look at the past, present, and future of the book industry and what writers can do to thrive in today’s publishing world.
In the hostile climate of the current U.S. administration, queer authors persevere through writing and community building, continuing a culture of resistance and defiance that is radically, emphatically, grounded in joy and love.
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Hardly Creatures by Rob Macaisa Colgate and Chronicle of Drifting by Yuki Tanaka.
In the past decade, the Undocupoets advocacy organization has greatly increased undocumented poets’ visibility as meaningful voices in American poetry. The group plans to push forward in community against the difficulties to come.
The publishing industry is unique in letting retailers return unsold stock—a practice with enormous costs for indie presses. The editor of Orison Books breaks down the logistics of fulfillment and suggests ways to reimagine book returns.
An immigrant novelist reflects on the opportunities extended to her by the American publishing industry—and challenges the notion that she should be grateful to be given any kind of welcome.
Write a poem that uses the language of flowers to share a secret, a scene where a young person expresses their thoughts about a parental figure, or an essay based on the logic of your own dreams.
As the Common celebrates its fifteenth anniversary, founder and editor in chief Jennifer Acker delves into the thinking behind creating a literary organization and magazine devoted to place.
