Mapping the Maze

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Dates  |  Pricing and Refunds  |  Schedule   |  Presenters 

Trying to get your work published can feel like wandering in a maze. If you're running into one dead end after another, not sure which way to turn, Poets & Writers can demystify the process and help you reach your destination—publication. 

Mapping the Maze is an online workshop designed for poets and writers of literary prose (fiction, nonfiction, creative nonfiction) who have developed their craft and are now ready to make a concrete plan for getting their work published. 

In this workshop you will:

• Learn to prepare submissions to literary journals and presses
• Get tips on querying literary agents
• Gain insight into the business side of publishing (contracts; author rights)
• Network with established authors as they share stories from their own paths to publication
• Be introduced to Poets & Writers’ online resources
• Leave with a clear, actionable plan outlining your personal publishing goals and the steps you will take to achieve them 

This workshop might be for you if you are:

• Ready to submit poems, stories, or essays to literary magazines but don’t know where to begin 
• Submitting work regularly, but not getting the response you want 
• Seeking direction on publishing your debut manuscript
• Interested in exploring agent representation
• Eager to expand your writing community

DateS

**All sessions are hosted via Zoom. Active participation is required and sessions will not be recorded.**

Workshop Pricing and Refunds

Registration Fee: $225 Register today!

Early Bird pricing for the May workshop ended April 11.

Early Bird pricing for the April workshop ended March 7.

To ensure more equitable access, a limited number of full fee waivers are available, with priority to writers who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). Recipients will be notified on a rolling basis. Requests for fee waivers for the May workshop closed April 14.

Writers who reside in the Detroit, Houston, and New Orleans metro areas are eligible for a discounted rate of $150, as part of our United States of Writing initiative. 

The registration fee includes a one-year subscription to Poets & Writers Magazine (or an extension of your existing subscription).

REGISTER FOR THE POETRY WORKSHOP in MAY

REGISTER FOR THE FICTION WORKSHOP in APRIL

Refund Policy

If you are unable to attend, please submit a refund request to publishing_workshops@pw.org. We will issue a full refund for cancellations submitted one week prior to the start of the workshop. Cancellations in the week leading to the start date of class will receive a 50 percent refund. No refunds will be issued once the workshop begins.

Workshop Schedule

Below is an overview of the workshop, which will span five days. To view and download a PDF copy of the April schedule and presenter bios, click here.  To view and download a PDF copy of the May schedule and presenter bios, click here.

Tuesday
6:00-6:15 p.m. ET | Welcome
6:15-7:45 p.m. ET | Publishing 101
7:45-8:00 p.m. ET | An Introduction to Poets & Writers Groups + Icebreaker

Thursday
6:00-6:15 p.m. ET | Welcome
6:15-7:30 p.m. ET | Working with an Agent (for April fiction workshop participants)
6:15-7:30 p.m. ET | How and Why to Publish a Poetry Chapbook (for May poetry workshop participants)

Monday
6:00-6:15 p.m. ET | Welcome
6:15-7:30 p.m. ET | Submitting to Literary Magazines and Journals

Wednesday
6:00-6:15 p.m. ET | Welcome
6:15-7:30 p.m. ET | Working with a Book Editor

Friday
6:00-6:15 p.m. ET | Welcome
6:15-7:30 p.m. ET | The Writer's Journey
7:30-7:45 p.m. ET | How to Keep it Going

Register for the Poetry Workshop in May

REGISTER FOR THE FICTION WORKSHOP in APRIL

Presenters

April Presenters (for fiction writers):

• Kukuwa Ashun, Editor, Flatiron Books
• Diamond Braxton, Editor in Chief, Defunkt Magazine
• Diane Marie Brown, Author, Black Candle Women (Graydon House Books/HarperCollins) 
• Nicole Counts, Senior Editor, One World
• Jenzo DuQue, Fiction Editor, The Massachusetts Review
• Pilar Garcia-Brown, Senior Editor, Dutton
• Serene Hakim, Agent, Ayesha Pande Literary
• Annie Hwang, Agent, Ayesha Pande Literary 
• Maya Kanwal, Fiction Editor, Gulf Coast Journal
• Miriam Kumaradoss-Hohauser, Fiction Editor, Apogee Journal
• Kevin Larimer, Editor in Chief, Poets & Writers Magazine; Coauthor of The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer (Avid Reader Press). 
• Vivian Lee, Senior Editor, Little, Brown
• Ian Lendler, Agent, McKinnon Literary
• Nadxieli Nieto, Executive Editor, Flatiron Books 
• DK Nnuro, Author, What Napoleon Could Not Do (Riverhead Books/Penguin Random House) 
• Duvall Osteen, Agent, Aragi Inc. 
• Soumeya Bendimerad Roberts, Agent, HG Literary
• Polly Rosenwaike, Fiction Editor, Michigan Quarterly Review
• Lena Valencia, Managing Editor, One Story 
• Danny Vazquez, Senior Editor, Astra House
• Dawnie Walton, Author, The Final Revival of Opal & Nev (37 Ink/Simon & Schuster)

May Presenters (for poetry writers):

• Abayomi Animashaun, Anthologies Editor and Immigrant Writing Series Editor, Black Lawrence Press
• Bryan Byrdlong, Poetry Editor, Gold Line Press
• Anthony Cody, Author, Borderland Apocrypha (Omnidawn)
• Lisa Fay Coutley, Chapbook Series Editor, Black Lawrence Press
• Carlina Duan, Poetry Editor, Michigan Quarterly Review
• Roberto Carlos Garcia, Editor, Get Fresh Books
• Lee Herrick, Author, Scar and Flower (World Poetry Books)
• Jessica Faust, Coeditor and Poetry Editor, The Southern Review 
• I.S. Jones, Book Editor, Indolent Books
• Jessica Kashiwabara, Digital Director, Poets & Writers
• Kevin Larimer, Editor in Chief, Poets & Writers Magazine; Coauthor of The Poets & Writers Complete Guide to Being a Writer (Avid Reader Press). 
• Gerald Maa, Editor, The Georgia Review
• Dan Machlin, Executive Editor, Futurepoem
• Alyssa Ogi, Editor, Tin House
• Soham Patel, Associate Editor and Book Editor, The Georgia Review
• Maya C. Popa, Author, Wound is the Origin of Wonder (W. W. Norton)
• Brittany Rogers, Editor in Chief, Muzzle Magazine
• Crystal Simone Smith, Managing Editor, Backbone Press
• Christine Stroud, Editor in Chief, Autumn House Press
• Nikki Ummel, Editor, Bear Review 
• Jenny Xu, Editor, Harper Books and Ecco Books

REGISTER FOR THE POETRY WORKSHOP in MAY

REGISTER FOR THE FICTION WORKSHOP in APRIL

If you have questions about this opportunity, please contact tkehou@pw.org.

If you are not available for these dates and would like to be notified about future workshops, sign up here. 

Mapping the Maze is supported, in part, by generous gifts from Leonard & Louise Riggio and Macmillan Publishers.