A frequent conference-goer offers tips and best practices for connecting with a microcommunity—a small, intentional gathering of peers within the larger world of a writing conference.

Between signing with an agent and bringing a book to editors, writers almost always take one more crucial step: receiving edits from their agent. Agents describe what authors can expect by way of notes at this stage and how these revision prepares a book for market.

Wondering where to look and what to look for as you research agents? An industry veteran offers guidance on best resources and best practices for finding possible fits.

A fiction writer considers how long, or short, any given narrative needs to be, and in the process finds a new appreciation for an often-neglected form: the novella.

Eden Royce, R. O. Kwon, Aimee Bender, Susan Muaddi Darraj, and Jamel Brinkley introduce the authors of this summer’s best debut fiction: P.C. Verrone, M Lin, Joe Bond, Amanda Rizkalla, and Devyn Defoe.

In Lift Every Voice, Phillip B. Williams explores the devastating effects of avoiding grief, and sitting with that feeling, more than two decades after his father’s death, is what allowed him to finally mourn and eventually make his art.