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Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
The author of Craft in the Real World: Rethinking Fiction Writing and Workshopping lays out a plan for identifying MFA programs that suit your life, your writing, and your creative ambitions.
When you build your own literary education from workshops and mentorships, travel and books, learning is tailored to the books you dream of writing.
The focused support, accountability, and wisdom of the right writers group can keep a literary life afloat—and keep you at the writing desk.
A compendium of tools to help you find an MFA program, deepen your craft, and connect with a writers group or start your own.
A writer canvasses faculty about the supportive communities, intentional mentorship, and flexibility that make low-res programs outstanding options for emerging writers.
Persistence is a virtue in landing an agent—but if you’re not connecting, when is it time to regroup? An agent offers professional wisdom on balancing tenacity and realism, and on assessing what to do next if your search has stalled.
Between signing with an agent and bringing a book to editors, writers almost always take one more crucial step: receiving edits from their agent. Agents describe what authors can expect by way of notes at this stage and how these revision prepares a book for market.
Writers may dream of partnering with a literary agent who offers it all, from staunch advocacy from a sympathetic ear. But in practice, the best agent may be one who’s less fairy tale and more human.
Wondering where to look and what to look for as you research agents? An industry veteran offers guidance on best resources and best practices for finding possible fits.
An agent unpacks the intangibles a query letter needs to convey, including your own sense of your story, your professionalism, and your voice.
The author of Dreamt I Found You talks to editors and writers about a growing number of prizes honoring debuts at age 50, 60, 70, or beyond, recognizing that there is no one timeline for being a writer.
On the long road to finishing a book-length manuscript, the affirmation and practical support of these eleven prizes for works-in-progress can give writers an invaluable boost.
A unique field of awards recognizes the capacity of writers to tell the Earth’s stories with wonder and to advocate for its protection.
The author of How to Submit: Getting Your Writing Published With Literary Magazines and Small Presses offers a guide to great prizes for poems, stories, and essays, where editors celebrate the artistry that goes into shaping these small gem of poetry and prose.
A quick guide to forty of the most inspiring prizes for short work, environmental writing, work by older writers, and works-in-progress.
Writers including CJ Hauser, Nancy Jooyoun Kim, Uttama Patel, and Ethan Rutherford reflect on the quieter wins that have affirmed them as writers, with or without a medal or trophy.
At Ragdale, the author of The Great Believers receives portents that shape her books and strengthen her resolve.
In a season of disappointment while trying to conceive, the author of How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder reconnects with creativity at the Summer Fishtrap Gathering of Writers.
A fortuitous residency at Jentel gives the author of Incantation: Love Poems for Battle Sites a chance to dream big and forge the first hundred pages of a new collection in just two weeks.
Amid political turmoil and momentous life changes, a retreat at the Blue Mountain Center gives the author of The Archer inspiring ideas about how to be an artist—even without writing any new pages.
In the aftermath of his father’s death, an encounter with a literary hero at the Disquiet International Literary Program gives the author of Wyoming what he needs to write again: gratitude.
Foxes, llamas, and one portentous bobcat remind the author of Ninetails: Nine Tales that the artistic process can’t be planned or tamed—and that perhaps its wildness is one of the reasons we write.
The award-winning writer studies how the most powerful horror stories are grounded in “deeply human dilemma,” and how daring the ghoulish can bring us closer to our characters.
The author of Winter Counts offers a masterclass in building suspense, whether your character is planning a heist or planting a garden.
