March/April 2022

Our March/April issue features a special section on writers groups, including a guide to starting your own; Douglas Kearney in conversation with poet Solmaz Sharif about her second collection, Customs; Rigoberto González on Paul Tran’s journey to writing their debut book, All the Flowers Kneeling; Namrata Poddar on becoming a mother-writer; Steve Almond on learning from failure; Lincoln Michel on book advances; Sarah Fay on fact-checking the memoir; plus writing prompts, contest deadlines, and more.

Features

Naming the Nowhere That Language Was Stuck In: A Q&A With Solmaz Sharif

by Douglas Kearney
Print Only

Six years after her acclaimed debut, Solmaz Sharif returns with a second poetry collection, Customs, that builds upon the poetic scrutiny she has leveled at the nature of language, forever in tension with the nature of being.

Writers Groups: Creating a Space Where Your Writing Can Thrive

News and Trends

Jennifer Croft

Giving Translators Their Due

by Rachel Zarrow

A growing movement asks that literary translators receive equitable compensation and acknowledgement, starting with the inclusion of translators’ names on book covers. 

The Practical Writer

Book Advances 101: An Author’s Guide to Getting Paid

by Lincoln Michel
Print Only

Drawing on experience publishing with both indie and large presses, the author answers the most commonly asked questions about book advances, like: Do I have to pay back my advance if the book doesn’t sell? And, what can I expect as a royalty rate?

First: Paul Tran’s All the Flowers Kneeling

by Rigoberto González
Print Only

Paul Tran speaks with Rigoberto González about their family and the intergenerational trauma at the center of their debut poetry collection, All the Flowers Kneeling.

The Literary Life

The Time Is Now: Writing Prompts and Exercises

by Staff
Print Only

Write a poem that meditates on the origins of a meal; a fiction piece about a character corresponding with a historical figure; or an essay about accepting the onset of spring. 

Classifieds