Article Archive: News and Trends

Founded in 2017, the African Poetry Digital Portal serves as singular resource for studying contemporary African poetry. Now, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the project’s leaders aim to expand their offerings.

Writer Sophie Calle took a job as a maid at a Venice hotel to secretly study the lives of its guests. Her diary of observations and photos compose The Hotel, a book whose provocative methods have inspired other artists.

Artist Nathan Langston put a unique spin on a game of Telephone by using a fragment of poetry to inspire one artist then another—growing into a multifaceted project with contributions from artists from seventy-two countries.

To recruit talented BIPOC professionals into literary agenting and ensure social justice in the field, Literary Agents of Change offers a paid internship program as well as a mentorship program focusing on retention.

The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr and Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead.

Roxane Gay Books, a new imprint of Grove Atlantic, will publish three books a year in a variety of genres, with the author herself casting a wide net in terms of the submissions she’s seeking and dispensing with the usual requirements.

A pop-up literary agency at the University of Arizona allows students to gain practical, hands-on experience in the publishing world by connecting children’s picture book authors with established agents.

The nonprofit Creature Conserve brings together artists, writers, and scientists through classes, events, and more, all with a mission to support conservation by focusing on how we tell stories about animals. 

A series of books, edited by Erica Vital-Lazare and published by McSweeney’s, shines a light on Black literature that was previously overlooked or underappreciated.

Four new anthologies including The 2021 Griffin Poetry Prize Anthology: A Selection of the Shortlist and We Are the Baby-Sitters Club: Essays and Artwork From Grown-Up Readers.

The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including Second Place by Rachel Cusk and The Renunciations by Donika Kelly. 

Author Lara Ehrlich, the host of Writer Mother Monster, shares a selection of the best insights and advice offered on the podcast.