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Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
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Every week a new publishing professional shares advice, anecdotes, insights, and new ways of thinking about writing and the business of books.
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Since our founding in 1970, Poets & Writers has served as an information clearinghouse of all matters related to writing. While the range of inquiries has been broad, common themes have emerged over time. Our Top Topics for Writers addresses the most popular and pressing issues, including literary agents, copyright, MFA programs, and self-publishing.
Our series of subject-based handbooks (PDF format; $4.99 each) provide information and advice from authors, literary agents, editors, and publishers. Now available: The Poets & Writers Guide to Publicity and Promotion, The Poets & Writers Guide to the Book Deal, The Poets & Writers Guide to Literary Agents, The Poets & Writers Guide to MFA Programs, and The Poets & Writers Guide to Writing Contests.
Find a home for your work by consulting our searchable databases of writing contests, literary magazines, small presses, literary agents, and more.
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Get the Word Out is a new publicity incubator for debut fiction writers and poets.
Research newspapers, magazines, websites, and other publications that consistently publish book reviews using the Review Outlets database, which includes information about publishing schedules, submission guidelines, fees, and more.
Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.
Since our founding in 1970, Poets & Writers has served as an information clearinghouse of all matters related to writing. While the range of inquiries has been broad, common themes have emerged over time. Our Top Topics for Writers addresses the most popular and pressing issues, including literary agents, copyright, MFA programs, and self-publishing.
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Well over ten thousand poets and writers maintain listings in this essential resource for writers interested in connecting with their peers, as well as editors, agents, and reading series coordinators looking for authors. Apply today to join the growing community of writers who stay in touch and informed using the Poets & Writers Directory.
Find information about more than two hundred full- and low-residency programs in creative writing in our MFA Programs database, which includes details about deadlines, funding, class size, core faculty, and more. Also included is information about more than fifty MA and PhD programs.
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Poets & Writers lists readings and other literary events held online and in person. Whether you are an author on a book tour or the curator of a reading series, the Literary Events Calendar can help you find your audience.
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Get the Word Out is a new publicity incubator for debut fiction writers and poets.
The Maureen Egen Writers Exchange Award introduces emerging writers to the New York City literary community, providing them with a network for professional advancement.
Find information about how Poets & Writers provides support to hundreds of writers participating in literary readings and conducting writing workshops.
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Find details about every creative writing competition—including poetry contests, short story competitions, essay contests, awards for novels, grants for translators, and more—that we’ve published in the Grants & Awards section of Poets & Writers Magazine during the past year. We carefully review the practices and policies of each contest before including it in the Writing Contests database, the most trusted resource for legitimate writing contests available anywhere.
Every day the editors of Poets & Writers Magazine scan the headlines—publishing reports, literary dispatches, academic announcements, and more—for all the news that creative writers need to know.
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A native of Harlem in New York City, Henderson attended Bronx Community College, Hunter College, and the New School for Social Research, but never completed a degree. In the 1960s, Henderson became a co-founder of New York City’s Black Arts Movement. In 1962, he founded the Society of Umbra with a group of other Black writers. Henderson served as the literary collective’s general editor.
Within academia, Henderson served as a poet-in-residence at the City College of New York, taught English and African American literature at the University of California’s Berkeley and San Diego campuses, and taught various seminars and workshops at Long Island University, The New School, and the St. Mark’s Poetry Project.
In addition to several other publications, Henderson was known for his biography of Jimi Hendrix. The book was first published in 1978 as Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child of the Aquarian Age. The latest edition, ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky: The Life of Jimi Hendrix, was published in 2009 by Atria Books. Henderson died at the age of eighty-three on May 14, 2026.
(Bio from the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education)
