Every day Poets & Writers Magazine scans the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know. Here are today’s stories.
Thirty-five prose writers and twenty-forty translators have earned fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), receiving a total of $1.2 million in funding to support their work. Prose recipients include Melissa Febos and Laura van den Berg, while the translator recipients include Layla Benitez-James and Julia Guez. The NEA also announced $1.22 million in funding for fifty-nine literary arts projects.
The Atlantic has hired three new staff members for its books team. Gal Beckerman has been named senior editor, while Maya Chung and Emma Sarappo have both been hired as associate editors. “The Atlantic has always been a place for extraordinary writers, and for those who love reading and literature,” said executive editor Adrienne LaFrance. “We are so pleased that Gal, Maya, and Emma are joining us in expanding this important work.”
In 2020 the U.S. government conceived of a coin program to honor distinguished American women, and now the first quarter in the series, which features writer Maya Angelou, has been released. “Each time we redesign our currency, we have the chance to say something about our country—what we value, and how we’ve progressed as a society,” said Janet L. Yellen, the secretary of the treasury. Angelou makes history as the first Black woman to appear on the quarter. (Washington Post)
Meanwhile, over in the U.K., Don Paterson has chosen to depart Picador, where he has overseen the poetry list since its inception in 1997. “It’s been my great honor to have overseen the Picador poetry list for a quarter century,” said Paterson. “This seems like the right moment to step down, so that the next generation, and the next twenty-five years of Picador Poetry, might start to take its new shape.” (Bookseller)
Sterling Publishing, the publishing arm of Barnes & Noble, has undergone a significant transformation. Emily Meehan, who was hired to lead the program last year, has introduced two new lead imprints, Union Square & Co. and Union Square Kids, while retaining Sterling Publishing as the name of the operation as a whole. (Publishers Weekly)
“It took me twenty-one years and three books to feel like I’m finally writing poems that are very, very close on the page to how I sound and how I think.” Tomás Q. Morín celebrates the voice of his latest poetry collection, Machete. (Creative Independent)
The National Endowment for the Humanities has announced its latest round of grant recipients, which include individual scholars and institutions alike. The awards collectively amount to $24.7 million. (New York Times)
Publishers Weekly has revealed its latest Writers to Watch list. Among the ten spring honorees are Lisa Bird-Wilson for Probably Ruby and Kate Folk for Out There.
Vulture features forty-nine books on its list of most anticipated titles due out this year, including Moon Witch, Spider King by Marlon James and Time Is a Mother by Ocean Vuong.
