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Poets & Writers

@pw.org

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Official account of Poets & Writers, the primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers since 1970. Sign up for our newsletter: at.pw.org/newsletter

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · Aug 20

Announcing our September/October issue! Inside you’ll find a profile of novelist Kiran Desai; our annual #NewNonfiction lineup of five of the year’s best debut authors; and one writer’s candid reflection on rebuilding confidence in the wake of an agent breakup. Find out more: at.pw.org/SeptOct2025

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 6h

#ICYMI: Watch 2025 Jackson Poetry Prize winner Cyrus Cassells read a selection of his poems and speak about his evolution as a poet with Pádraig Ó Tuama in this Poets & Writers event. #ClipOfTheDay: at.pw.org/JPPReading2025

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 10h

In our new issue Ruth Madievsky writes about how your internet obsessions can become your writing’s obsessions and allowing those passions to animate your literary work: “…sometimes it helps to put the thing that’s stopping you from writing your book into your book.” at.pw.org/RatherBeOnline

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 15h

“Becoming a mother...and doing the daily work of parenting, helped me find the emotional core of the book.” In this week's #TenQuestions, Megha Majumdar shares an inside look at the writing process for her new novel, A Guardian and A Thief, out now from Knopf. Read more: at.pw.org/10qmajumdar

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 1d

“Start over again. Keep it simple this time. List only the degrees, the awards, the publications so well known that great-aunt in Alabama would recognize their names.” Advice on how to write an author bio from writer and literary agent Samantha Browning Shea. at.pw.org/AuthorBio

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 1d

Love to see it!

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 1d

Awesome!

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 1d

“When we take in our first breath, it is a promise to take on this human story... Breath is our entrance into story making—it is a promise.” #FromTheArchive In the 2021 September/October issue, Joy Harjo discussed the power of breath within poetry. Read more: at.pw.org/42zK3Xy

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 3d

#PWFictionPrompt: Write a story inspired by an historic piece of real estate in which your protagonist lives in the former home of a famous figure. at.pw.org/RealEstate

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 3d

"The instructors' insights, advice, and personal accounts of working with writers and publishers left me with [an] understanding of editors' and agents'...priorities that I could not have acquired on my own.” Register for Mapping the Maze before October 13 for an early. Learn more: at.pw.org/classes

Workshops & Classes

Register for Classes | Fee Waivers | Refund Policy | Code of ConductPoets & Writers is pleased to offer courses to help you deepen your writing practice and get published. All classes are offered…

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 4d

#ClipOfTheDay: Watch the trailer for The Librarians, a documentary about the escalating book bans in public libraries and the harassment, threats, and laws aimed at criminalizing the work of librarians and how they are rallying and standing up for the freedom to read. at.pw.org/TheLibrarians

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 4d

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a classic international anthology of poetry edited by Czeslaw Milosz and #PWWritingPrompts on making an effort, absurdities, and status. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 4d

“Egg timer or hourglass…just as the experience has begun, you’ll feel your time is running out.” Click the link to read Dan Beachy-Quick’s guidance on how to make the most of your time in grad school. “You can learn to hear that ticktock of time’s relentless passing differently…” at.pw.org/MFATime

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 5d

#ClipOfTheDay: In this 2012 Library of Congress event, László Krasznahorkai reads from his novel Satantango, translated from the Hungarian by George Szirtes, and speaks about the evolution of his writing style. Krasznahorkai was awarded the 2025 Nobel Prize for Literature. at.pw.org/Krasznahorkai

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 5d

An author who worked for years as a scribe at the Harvard Business School shares the lessons she learned that can be applied to writing, most notably: “…you can’t wait for someone else to decide you have value. You must act as though you already do, to help others see it.” at.pw.org/ValueOfOurWork

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 6d

#ClipOfTheDay: In this video from the American Library Association’s 2025 annual conference, authors and attendees respond to the dangers of book banning and the importance of supporting public libraries and the freedom to read. #BannedBooksWeek at.pw.org/BannedBooksBigChair

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 6d

“After a lifetime of imagining myself as an individual, I was recognizing my own story—of diaspora, denial, love, and so-called madness—enmeshed in a deep web of space and time.” – #NewNonfiction author Sarah Aziza on the process behind her debut memoir, The Hollow Half: at.pw.org/SarahAziza

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 6d

”Do your best and take constructive criticism with an open heart. Then do better.” Agent Lisa Bankoff of the Bankoff Collaborative tells it straight in our latest Agents & Editors Recommend: at.pw.org/AERBankoff

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 6d

Join novelist Morgan Talty to explore how the essential elements of craft—voice, point of view, character, plot, setting, and theme—work together to build compelling fiction in our upcoming class. Only a few spots remain! Register now: at.pw.org/fictionharmony

The Harmony of Fiction: Unifying Story Elements Through Generative Writing | Led by Morgan Talty — Poets & Writers

This generative, lecture-based writing course explores how the essential elements of craft—voice, point of view, character, plot, setting, and theme—work together to build compelling fiction. Through…

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 7d

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Alaska Quarterly Review virtual event, poet and naturalist Elizabeth Bradfield reads from her collection SOFAR (Persea Books) and discusses the relationship of her poetics to ocean ecologies, memories of queer love, and both human and natural histories. at.pw.org/Bradfield

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 7d

The Auteur series, from Ig Publishing, encourages authors to reflect on films that have transformed their lives. Thus far the nonfiction collection includes two book-length essays on Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Martin Scorsese’s After Hours. Find out more: at.pw.org/MoviesAndMemoir

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 7d

"It should be possible to both write good and live good. Go see your friends. Be with your family. Taste something new." In this week's #TenQuestions, Joshua Wheeler shares a look at the writing process for his new novel, The High Heaven, out now from @graywolfpress.bsky.social. at.pw.org/10qwheeler

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 7d

Scams targeting writers remain a threat, and Poets & Writers urges the literary community to be vigilant to avoid falling prey to scammers and frauds. We've compiled some resources and tips to help you stay alert: at.pw.org/48R7fUZ

Beware of Scams Targeting Writers

Scams targeting writers remain a threat, and Poets & Writers urges the literary community to be vigilant to avoid falling prey to scammers and frauds.

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 8d

#ClipOfTheDay: In this video, George Takei, honorary chair of Banned Books Week 2025, talks about how “access to books and knowledge is essential to democracy” and how reading provides a way to see ourselves reflected in stories and to discover the stories of others. at.pw.org/TakeiBannedBooks

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Poets & Writers @pw.org · 8d

“Where in this unwieldy animal did your protagonist sneeze for the first time? When did you last mention that minor character? And how many times have you used the word tentacle?” Author Claire Fuller on how to wrangle a long manuscript in Word: at.pw.org/ManuscriptInWord

Poets & Writers @pw.org · 8d

Thank you for joining us! We'll be posting the recording soon if you'd like to listen again or share with those who couldn't make it.