Ten Questions for Craig Thompson
“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
Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Ten Questions for Marie-Helene Bertino
“Intuition is enough.” —Marie-Helene Bertino, author of Exit Zero
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On Trauma and the Book-Length Project
Jehanne Dubrow encourages writers to provide varied points of entry into books on trauma to give readers breathing room and keep them engaged.
Undocupoets Turns Ten
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.
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Drafting an Artist Statement: Honoring Who You Are and Why You Write
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.
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Who’s In and Who’s Out: Crafting Poetry Submission Packets
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.
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Excerpt Expertise: How to Submit Part of a Longer Work to a Contest
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.
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Inside the Contest: Behind the Scenes at Six Great Contests to Enter This Summer
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.
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Threads, Thrumming: A Profile of Kevin Wilson
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.
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Hopeless Hope: A Conversation With Madeleine Thien
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.
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Agents & Editors: Nicole Aragi
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.
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Agents & Editors: The Complete Series
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.
The LGBTQ+ Literary Resistance
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.
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Page One: Where New and Noteworthy Books Begin
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Hardly Creatures by Rob Macaisa Colgate and Chronicle of Drifting by Yuki Tanaka.
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Double Dreaming, Double Imagining: A Profile of Douglas Kearney
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.
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The Sad Tale of the Soft Sale: How Book Returns Work and Why You Should Care
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.
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On Discomfort: The Creative Gift of Being Out of Your Depth
A novelist describes her exposure to a multitude of scientific disciplines as the writer-in-residence at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery and shares how exploring something completely new has lent fresh energy to her work.
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The Ungrateful Stranger: Whose Story Deserves Welcome?
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.
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The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
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.
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Q&A: Jennifer Acker’s Place at the Common
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.
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The Written Image: The Unsent Letter Mailbox
Inspired by the possibility of providing complete strangers an opportunity for creativity and catharsis, the Unsent Letter Mailbox started as an interactive urban art project and has now grown into a salon reading series.
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Literary MagNet: Steven Espada Dawson
The author of Late to the Search Party highlights magazines that have offered his lithe, intimate poems a home, including Waxwing and Split Lip Magazine.
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Small Press Points: Conduit Books & Ephemera
Publishing two poetry books a year, Conduit Books shares the quirky aesthetic of its journal counterpart, Conduit. The press seeks work that is innovative, honest, and sincere, bringing people to poetry and rumination.
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The Anthologist: A Compendium of Uncommon Collections
An introduction to three new anthologies, including What My Father and I Don’t Talk About: Sixteen Writers Break the Silence and Sing the Truth: The Kweli Journal Short Story Collection.
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An AI Licensing Platform Takes Off
In response to the unauthorized use of books to train large language models, the developers of Created by Humans propose a solution: negotiation between authors and AI companies to help writers control how their work is used.
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