The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises
Write a poem about the pains and pleasures of cold weather, a short story that brings together an unexpected series of events, or an essay that contemplates companionship.
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Article Archive
Articles from Poet & Writers Magazine include material from the print edition plus exclusive online-only material.
Q&A: Jaquette Joins Words Without Borders
The new executive director of Words Without Borders, Elisabeth Jaquette, speaks on translation as an art and a profession as well as her goals to spotlight new global voices and help set best practices in the field.
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The Written Image: Ghost(ed) Notes
Christine Sun Kim’s art practice uniquely melds different mediums with ASL to address her experience as a Deaf individual in a hearing-centric world, prompting viewers to reflect on accessibility and ableist exclusion.
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Literary MagNet: Tiffany Midge
The author of The Dreamcatcher in the Wry spotlights journals and platforms that have published her work and appreciate her wry sense of humor, including the Belladonna and Hunger Mountain.
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Small Press Points: Driftwood Press
Publishing around half a dozen novellas, poetry collections, and graphic novels yearly, Driftwood Press resists narrowing itself to a specific niche; instead, the press is defined by its diversity in stories, styles, and perspectives.
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The Luminous Life: Our Twentieth Annual Look at Debut Poets
Ten debut poets who published in 2024 generously share the inspiration, advice, and writers block remedies that have sustained them through their literary journeys.
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Reflection: Twenty Years of Debut Poets
Since 2005, Poets & Writers Magazine has highlighted emerging poets in an annual feature on first poetry books. In celebration, we gathered a list of the 222 poets and their debut collections that have graced our pages.
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A Library Grows in Norway
A century-long art project that pledges a grove of spruces in Norway to print one hundred sealed manuscripts, the Future Library is a source of optimism in the looming climate crisis that we can still build a future full of stories.
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The Black List Seeks Next Great Novel
Continuing its legacy of helping industry professionals discover untapped talent, the Black List has added fiction to the roster of manuscripts shared through its site—a move that could create a new pathway to publication for novelists.
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A New Hurston’s “Incomplete” Truths
More than sixty years after her passing, Zora Neale Hurston’s newly published novel, The Life of Herod the Great, reimagines archival materials and prompts reflection on the legacies of historical figures and literary objects.
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Ten Questions for Lily Tuck
“I studied with Gordon Lish and he once said: ‘Never explain, never complain.’” —Lily Tuck, author of The Rest Is Memory
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Revision Strategies: Endings
The author of Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America (Little A, 2021) offers advice on how to approach editing the endings of essays.
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Ten Questions for Bruce Bond
“All good poems are love poems.” —Bruce Bond, author of The Dove of the Morning News
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Revision Strategies: Beginnings
The author of Mothertrucker: Finding Joy on the Loneliest Road in America (Little A, 2021) offers advice on how to approach editing the beginnings of books and essays.
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Ten Questions for Juhea Kim
“Describe your inner vision clearly so that the reader can see exactly what you see.” —Juhea Kim, author of City of Night Birds
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Ten Questions for Jessie van Eerden
“I found the creation of cohesion challenging; essays are disparate things, yet the book needs to make a whole.”—Jessie van Eerden, author of Yoke and Feather
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Lessons From Cinema: Writing Young Protagonists
The author of Amphibian (Ig Publishing, October 2024) considers what films can teach us about writing adolescent characters.
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Ten Questions for Brynja Hjálmsdóttir and Rachel Britton
This week’s installment of Ten Questions features Brynja Hjálmsdóttir and Rachel Britton, the author and translator of A Woman Looks Over Her Shoulder / Kona lítur við.
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Lessons From Cinema: Blurring the Line Between Magical Realism and Metaphor
The author of Amphibian (Ig Publishing, October 2024) applies lessons in magical realism and metaphor from film to fiction.
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Lessons From Cinema: How Scriptwriting Saved My Novel
The author of Amphibian (Ig Publishing, October 2024) contemplates how lessons in screenwriting can be applied to fiction.
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Ten Questions for Sharon Wahl
“Do a lot of people feel this monogamous guilt in their writing lives?”—Sharon Wahl, author of Everything Flirts: Philosophical Romances
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Ten Questions for Mike Fu
“Streamline. Outline. Find your center of gravity.” —Mike Fu, author of Masquerade
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Ten Questions for Miller Oberman
“[T]herapeutic modes can enhance artistic work enormously, because they give us access to our inner workings in fresh, sometimes even revelatory ways. ” —Miller Oberman, author of Impossible Things
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Submitting and Publishing Hybrid Work
The author of The Body Alone: A Lyrical Articulation of Chronic Pain offers advice on submitting and publishing hybrid work.
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Ten Questions for Kimiko Hahn
“You can go with intention, or you can explore where the poem leads you. Where your unconscious leads you.” —Kimiko Hahn, author of The Ghost Forest: New and Selected Poems
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