Finding a Way Out of the Maze: A Q&A With Dan Chaon

The acclaimed author of Among the Missing, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001, talks about his new novel, Ill Will.
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Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
The acclaimed author of Among the Missing, a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001, talks about his new novel, Ill Will.
The New Yorker staff writer and bestselling author of The Orchid Thief talks with musician Ben Arthur about her music, inspiration, distraction, adaptation, and her new book about the Los Angeles Public Library fire in 1986.
Read excerpts of the debut books by 2016’s 5 Over 50: Desiree Cooper, Sawnie Morris, Paul Vidich, Paula Whyman, and Paul Hertneky.
Max Ritvo, the author of Four Reincarnations (Milkweed Editions, September), spoke with poet Dorthea Lasky two months before his death from cancer. He was twenty-five.
In our sixteenth annual First Fiction roundup, five debut authors—Yaa Gyasi, Masande Ntshanga, Rumaan Alam, Maryse Meijer, and Imbolo Mbue—discuss their first books. Introduced by Angela Flournoy, Naomi Jackson, Emma Straub, Lindsay Hunter, and Christina Baker Kline.
For the past thirty years, from the publication of his first novel, Mohawk, to his latest, Everybody’s Fool, a sequel to his beloved 1993 novel, Nobody’s Fool, Richard Russo, the Pulitzer Prize–winning “patron saint of small-town fiction,” has remained the same generous, optimistic, hardworking writer he’s always been, welcoming readers into his books and his heart.
The Pushcart Prize, a venerable nonprofit award series and press, released its fortieth-anniversary prize anthology this month. On the eve of its release party, Poets & Writers staff looked into the history of the prize, and what has kept "one of the last bastions of non-corporate writing" alive and well over the years.
Start your MFA research with this comprehensive guide to more than 170 full- and low-residency programs in creative writing, expanded and updated for 2016. Each listing includes detailed information such as core faculty, special features, funding, tuition, application fees, and deadlines. The free PDF also includes a regional index, a cost-of-living comparision, and a handy Application Tracker to keep track of your applications.
Three poets laureate—Luis J. Rodriguez, Joseph Bathanti, and Natasha Trethewey—talk about the various initiatives and influences they've brought to the position, and what the role means to them.
In a continuing series examining the lives of writers in the international writing community, contributing editor Stephen Morison Jr. spends time with three authors in Rome who share a common desire "to shake free from a past so impressive it's suffocating."
Since appearing in our annual Debut Poets roundup, a number of the one hundred and twelve poets we’ve highlighted have gone on to create a wealth of interesting and important work. The following list includes each poet we’ve featured in the past ten years, his or her debut collection, and the many full-length books that followed.
Culled from our Writers Recommend series, the music and movies that inspire authors to keep writing, with recommendations from Sandra Beasley, Chloe Caldwell, Scott Cheshire, Joshua Henkin, and others.
On its surface, the ongoing dispute between Hachette Book Group and Amazon is about the price of e-books, but as more authors and traditional publishers square off against the giant online retailer, which has plenty of defenders of its own, many in the industry are starting to believe the battle is about something much more fundamental—it’s about the future of literature itself.
A writer compares what she thought would happen after receiving her MFA with what actually happened, and offers a few practical lessons to writers who may be considering, or who have recently completed, a graduate writing program.
Founder of the Sackett Street Writers' Workshop in Brooklyn, New York, Julia Fierro discusses how creating her own workshop program—and in doing so, building her own community of writers—allowed her to rediscover her own voice.
Read exclusive excerpts from the novels and story collections of debut fiction writers Courtney Maum, Scott Cheshire, Celeste Ng, Yelena Akhtiorskaya, and Mira Jacob.
The Guardian’s literary editor discusses the newspaper’s new monthly prize for self-published books by writers based in the U.K.
Writers have been self-publishing since the beginning of written words. Celebrating those creative individuals determined to be heard, we present a timeline of notable moments in self-publishing history.
A comprehensive article about how we compiled the 2014 MFA Index of full- and low-residency programs, featured in the September/October 2013 issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.
Read exclusive excerpts from the novels and story collections of debut fiction writers NoViolet Bulawayo, Bushra Rehman, Bill Cheng, Anton DiSclafani, and Chinelo Okparanta.
Authors who know how to give an inspired reading, on stage or at the front of the room, in front of an audience, can make connections that are just as moving, inspiring, and unforgettable as those established on the page.
The video poem may be ushering a whole new demographic to poetry. Here are six that have been made available to a wide audience on YouTube.
Looking for a good book to read? Take a look at the list of titles our readers say were the best they read in 2011.
These twenty-five feeds from literary magazines offer frequent updates about the writing they’re publishing, the events they’re hosting, and the news they find interesting.