Poets & Writers Theater

Marissa Davis reads from her debut poetry collection, End of Empire (Penguin Books, 2025), in this Books Are Magic event with poets Sasha Burshteyn and A. D. Lauren-Abunassar. Davis’s book is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this virtual reading and conversation, Poets & Writers Magazine features editor India Lena González introduces the five debut authors featured in “First Fiction 2025”: Sarah Yahm, author of Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation (Dzanc Books, 2025); Jon Hickey, author of Big Chief (Simon & Schuster, 2025); Carrie R. Moore, author of Make Your Way Home (Tin House Books, 2025); Aaron John Curtis, author of Old School Indian (Hillman Grad Books, 2025); and Jemimah Wei, author of The Original Daughter (Doubleday, 2025).

In this Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination event, Guadalupe Nettel, Ayşegül Savaş, and Maylis de Kerangal talk about their recent story collections and how short story collections are received in the current publishing industry. Savaş’s first story collection, Long Distance, is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this episode of The Seeds podcast with Alana Hadid, poet aja monet reads from her second collection, Florida Water (Haymarket Books, 2025), and reflects on the role of faith in her artistry and activism, and the current state of movement organizing for Palestine. Florida Water is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this event at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Dana A. Williams delivers a keynote address on Toni Morrison’s career and influence as an editor at Random House and joins Howard Rambsy II for a conversation about Morrison’s pivotal role in shaping and contributing to modern Black literature. An excerpt of Williams’s book Toni at Random: The Iconic Writer’s Legendary Editorship (Amistad, 2025) is featured in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Foreword Reviews interview from their Petit Forward series, Sarah Yahm fields questions about the characters in her debut novel, Unfinished Acts of Wild Creation (Dzanc Books, 2025). Yahm is featured in “First Fiction 2025” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Green Apple Books event, Irene Solà celebrates the English language release of her third novel, I Gave You Eyes and You Looked Toward Darkness (Graywolf Press, 2025), translated from the Catalan by Mara Faye Lethem, with a reading and discussion with author Shruti Swamy. Solà’s novel is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Amanpour and Company interview, Palestinian American author Hala Alyan talks about how fragmentation influenced the form and subjects in her memoir, I’ll Tell You When I’m Home (Avid Reader Press, 2025), and about the importance of preserving memory, culture, and identity. Alyan’s book is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this virtual City Lights Live event, Jon Hickey reads from and talks about his debut novel, Big Chief (Simon & Schuster, 2025), in a conversation with author Tomas Moniz. Hickey is featured in “First Fiction 2025” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Literature Translation Institute of Korea interview, Kyung-Ran Jo talks about how writing helps her preserve a sense of herself and shares her process of starting with a voice before subject matter. Jo’s novel Blowfish (Astra House, 2025), translated from the Korean by Chi-Young Kim, is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this AM Northwest interview with host Helen Raptis, author Melissa Febos speaks about her fourth memoir, The Dry Season: A Memoir of Pleasure in a Year Without Sex (Knopf, 2025), and what she learned from taking a step away from romantic relationships. Febos’s book is featured in Page One in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this video, Carrie R. Moore, winner of the University of Texas at Austin’s 2021 Keene Prize for Literature, talks about how a Solange song inspired her short story “The Rest of the Morning.” Moore, author of Make Your Way Home (Tin House Books, 2025), is featured in “First Fiction 2025” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Green Apple Books event, Jemimah Wei reads from her debut novel, The Original Daughter (Doubleday, 2025), and talks about her desire to write about two ambitious girls growing up in modern Singapore in a conversation with R. O. Kwon. “What I tell people about this book is that I’ve always thought it of as a love story, but like a really unromantic love story.”

In this 2022 Books Are Magic event, Jonathan Escoffery discusses his debut story collection, If I Survive You (MCD, 2022), and how he explores themes of identity, immigration, and belonging through storytelling in a conversation with novelist Nicole Dennis-Benn. Escoffery introduces Jemimah Wei in “First Fiction 2025” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

In this Bay Area Book Festival event featuring Native debut authors, Jon Hickey reads from his novel, Big Chief (Simon & Schuster, 2025), and Aaron John Curtis reads from his novel, Old School Indian (Hillman Grad Books, 2025), followed by a discussion moderated by Greg Sarris on the Native experience through modern political and personal struggles. Curtis and Hickey are featured in “First Fiction 2025” in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.