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David Shields and Caleb Powell, authors of I Think You're Totally Wrong: A Quarrel (Knopf, 2015), reignite the age-old debate about the lives of artists as they attempt to disturb preconceived divisions between reality and fiction, life and art.
Poets & Writers Live was at Chicago's Instituto Cervantes on June 20, 2015, for a program featuring Li-Young Lee, Marc Kelly Smith, Kevin Coval, Haki Madhubuti, Roger Reeves, Parneshia Jones, Megan Stielstra, and many other authors, editors, agents, and literary professionals. More information about this and other Poets & Writers Live events can be found at pw.org/live.
Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, moderates as editors Jordan Bass of McSweeney's Publishing and Ethan Nosowsky of Graywolf Press join literary agent Danielle Svetcov and publicist Megan Fishmann of Counterpoint Press for a conversation about how authors can make a good impression—in cover letters, book proposals, and even at social gatherings.
Essayist and live lit performer Megan Stielstra—author of the collections Once I Was Cool (Curbside Splendor, 2013) and Come Here Fear, forthcoming from Harper Perennial—reads an essay as part of the Page on Stage segment of Poets & Writers Live in Chicago on June 20, 2015.
Publishing veteran Debra Englander gives an overview of the self-publishing process, followed by a conversation with self-published author Keith Devlin, literary agent Ted Weinstein, and publicist Amy Packard about the opportunities available to independent authors as well as the challenges they face.
Jamie FitzGerald, director of Poets & Writers’ Readings & Workshops (West), leads a discussion about resources available to writers in San Francisco, the importance of community, and how various literary communities can support one another. Panelists include Stacey Lewis of City Lights Books, Laura Moriarty of Small Press Distribution, Joyce Jenkins of Poetry Flash, Janis Cooke Newman of the Grotto, and Jason Bayani of Kearny Street Workshop.
Essayist Jenny Boully delivers a craft talk called "Beginnings and Endings: Revising Lives in Nonfiction" at Poets & Writers Live in Chicago.
Melissa Faliveno, associate editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks with the editors of literary magazines and small presses about the kind of work they publish, along with practical advice for writers looking to submit their work and tips for how to establish successful working relationships with editors. Panelists include Adrienne Gunn of TriQuarterly, Jeff Pfaller of Midwestern Gothic, Don Share of Poetry magazine, and Ben Tanzer of Curbside Splendor.
Agents Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management and Renée Zuckerbrot of the Renée Zuckerbrot Literary Agency join publicist Michael Taeckens and Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, for a conversation about how authors can make a good impression—in query letters, book proposals, and even at social gatherings. A select group of audience members are invited on stage for a critique of their query letters—and one writer gets a special surprise.
Melissa Faliveno, associate editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks with the editors of five independent presses about the kind of work they look to publish and the relationships they cultivate with their authors. Panelists include Abigail Beckel of Rose Metal Press, Robert Giron of Gival Press, Andy Hunter of Black Balloon Publishing and Electric Literature, Kimberly Steele of Augury Books, and Kathleen Wheaton of Washington Writers' Publishing House.
