Poets & Writers

Our September/October issue is here! Inside you’ll find in-depth profiles of novelists Min Jin Lee and Deesha Philyaw; our ninth annual look at five of the year’s best debut nonfiction authors; an agent’s advice for writing in multiple genres; and so much more. Dig in: at.pw.org/SeptOct2026

“The whole reason for being of the novel, if I had to boil it down, is trying to capture what it feels like to be in the part of your life when you are full of potential.” Learn more about Chad Harbach’s second novel, The Brightness, in our new issue: at.pw.org/ChadHarbach

“I find joy in nature and others’ laughter at my jokes and my dogs. I joke, I’m funny, and as long as that’s the case, it’s enough.” In this week’s #TenQuestions, Emma Smith-Stevens discusses her new collection, Greyhounds, out now from Dzanc Books. Read more: at.pw.org/10q4smith-st....

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Waterstones interview, R. F. Kuang talks about the idea of linguistic relativity in the ways language can shape people’s experience of the world, and how the loss of her grandmother inspired her latest novel, Taipei Story. Watch: at.pw.org/TaipeiStory

“I love, love, love a book where you can feel the author trying: trying to dig deeper into some question or some sort of understanding or into what it means to grieve. Trying so hard to find new language and new ways of being…” —One World editorial director Nicole Counts: at.pw.org/AENicoleCounts

“How can you write dialogue when both the emotion is amorphous and the person who’s at the subject of your writing is invisible?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule Traci Brimhall encourages writers to reflect on someone they’ve lost through the symbolism of objects. at.pw.org/BrimhallCC1

#PWNonfictionPrompt: Select one room, or one part of a room, and write a series of vignettes detailing the physical objects. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/InteriorRoom

#ClipOfTheDay: Watch the trailer for Klara and the Sun, a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. Directed by Taika Waititi, the film stars Jenna Ortega as an “Artificial Friend” who is chosen by a mother for her ailing, heartbroken teenage daughter. at.pw.org/KlaraTrailer

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a collection of this year’s best essays edited by M. Gessen, and #PWWritingPrompts on satirical epitaphs, dispellers, and repetitions. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

For one nonfiction writer with autism and ADHD, perfectionism often threatens to “harden the creative process into something punitive.” With time, though, she has learned to regulate intensity rather than try to outrun it. Read on: at.pw.org/WritingAtThe...

In our November/December issue on technology and the author, one writer gets caught in the crosshairs of AI and shares thoughts on how all of us can defend ourselves and our work going forward. Stay informed: at.pw.org/ArtificialId...

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Politics and Prose event, Yiyun Li talks about her latest novel, Music Against the Night (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), and how art can sometimes be a way to shun life in a conversation with Rabih Alameddine. Watch: at.pw.org/YiyunLiMusic

How is technology changing the way we reach readers and shaping the way we write? What’s lost and what’s gained as literary culture goes digital? Browse the TOC of our new special section on technology and the author to find out the answer to these questions and more: at.pw.org/AgainstTheMa...

“You are not the same person you were when you approached the blank page, and you’re only going to continue to evolve as a person and understand your story better in subsequent drafts.” Wisdom from Kukuwa Fraser, senior editor at Flatiron Books, on the art of revision: at.pw.org/AERFraser

In our 11th annual #5Over50 feature, we celebrate five luminous and enduring debut writers who are age 50 or older, furthering the notion that it’s never too late to make a splash. Learn about what led them to publication and the stories behind their brilliant works: at.pw.org/5Over50x2026

In this week’s #TenQuestions, Lindsay Turner sheds light on the writing of her new collection, Middle Slope, out now from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. “All the life things that seem like they might endanger writing—parenting, especially—are what make the work happen.” Read more: at.pw.org/10q4turner.

#ClipOfTheDay: In this MacArthur Foundation video, poet Layli Long Soldier talks about the themes of kinship and community in her work, and her books WHEREAS and We. Watch: at.pw.org/LayliLongSol...

For our Nov/Dec issue, best-selling author Chad Harbach speaks with Emily Nemens about his return to the literary spotlight with The Brightness—a story of big love, campus protest, female friendship, and the daunting potential of youth. More: at.pw.org/ChadHarbach

#PWFictionPrompt: Try writing a story in which the protagonist is watching a friend’s pet and things go horribly awry. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/WatchingYour...

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Brooklyn Public Library event, four poets read from their newest books: Tina Chang, author of Lion; Tishani Doshi, author of Egrets, While War; Nathalie Handal, author of Roma Roam; and Erika Meitner, author of Assembled Audience. Watch: at.pw.org/BPLPoetry

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a guide to writing the lyric essay edited by Heidi Czerwiec and Lee Horikoshi Roripaugh, and #PWWritingPrompts on flitting, souls, and myths. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

Introducing our luminous 2026 #5Over50 authors: Judy Sandler, Shanda McManus, John Fadely, Radha Lin Chaddah, and Hillary Behrmanl! Check out the link to read their essays and excerpts from their debut works, plus listen to audio clips from their books: at.pw.org/5Over50x2026

“I felt like I wasn’t reading the books I wanted to read, and I found myself wanting more control over who was actually being published. I still think that’s basically my same publishing kind of credo.” —Nicole Counts discusses her road to becoming an editorial director: at.pw.org/AENicoleCounts

#ClipOfTheDay: In this episode of the Memoir Nation podcast, hosts Brooke Warner and Grant Faulkner celebrate independent media in a conversation with Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman, owners of the literary magazine the Rumpus. Watch: at.pw.org/Rumpus

#ICYMI: Our final issue of 2026 includes articles on how to keep tech at bay as a writer to reduce distractions and sharpen focus, the literary life as a neurodivergent writer, how to protect your identity from appropriation by AI, and 92NY’s literary audio archive. Learn more: at.pw.org/NovDec2026

In our new issue, you’ll find a special section on how technology has changed the way writers reach readers and how it is shaping the way we write. Don’t miss essays that answer the question: What’s lost—and what’s gained—as literary culture shifts to the digital? Read on: at.pw.org/NovDec2026

Our November/December issue has arrived! Inside you’ll find an in-depth profile of novelist Chad Harbach; an interview with Nicole Counts, editorial director of One World; our eleventh annual 5 Over 50 debut author feature; and so much more. Enjoy: at.pw.org/NovDec2026

“I am in a blues band called Last of the RedHot Mamas, and every so often I trade my laptop for a mic,” writes @kristenmillares.bsky.social, author of Desire Lines (@redhenpress.bsky.social). Read more: at.pw.org/WRMillaresYo...

#ICYMI: Watch 2026 Jackson Poetry Prize winner Marianne Boruch read a selection of poems from her books Bestiary Dark; The Anti-Grief; and Cadaver, Speak; and join Pádraig Ó Tuama for a conversation about the themes in her work. #ClipOfTheDay: at.pw.org/JacksonPrize...

Join us in celebrating a new group of acclaimed writers in the latest Recent Winners section of the magazine! Follow the link to learn about contests you might submit to the next time around: at.pw.org/RecentWinner...

“My life’s purpose is to tell difficult stories involving difficult people.” In this week’s #TenQuestions, Bonnie Jo Campbell mulls her path to writing her new novel, The Spirits, out now from W. W. Norton. Read more: at.pw.org/10q4campbell.

Inspired by Ross Gay’s poetry, Just Buffalo Literary Center embarked on a six-month project this year to explore patterns of gratitude and delight with their local literary community. Read some of the responses found in their “In Gratitude” boxes around Buffalo, NY: at.pw.org/InGratitudeI...

“How do we write the unsayable and write it slant so that the poem’s truth or meaning is more oblique and open-ended?” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky offers insight on how to address something that is difficult to say in writing. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC3

#PWPoetryPrompt: Choose a poem you love and write your own version of it, following the original structure and adding a new perspective. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/NewBones

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

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a collection of essays on the life and work of Forrest Gander edited by Robert Baker, and #PWWritingPrompts on similes, sci-fi futures, and conversations. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

Don’t miss our new #PageOne prose books: Saving the Fire by Itamar Vieira Junior, translated from the Portuguese by Johnny Lorenz, Unraveling Threads: Essays on Inheritance by brenda Lin, and The Wound Is Where the Light Enters: A Memoir of Resilience by Chris Young. More: at.pw.org/PageOne2026x5

“When I scramble my assumptions about audience, structure, or format, it exercises my brain and keeps my thinking nimble,” writes Todd Boss in our latest issue. Learn about the ins and outs of writing the libretto and how any writer might take the leap from page to song: at.pw.org/WritingLibre...

#ClipOfTheDay: “It felt like the kind of book that you can only write when someone is either about to die or has died.” In this Copper Canyon Press event, Paisley Rekdal reads from her book Heritance and talks about grief, forgiveness, and lineage. Watch: at.pw.org/Heritance

Learn about a collaborative writing method that can help counter the ruthless editor within and encourage joy. “The process sparks creativity in the way rehearsal works in theater, where mistakes are allowed to be made without penalty,” writes author Lynn C. Miller. More: at.pw.org/CreateWithou...

“When they talk about your book, do you hear genuine enthusiasm and a smart way of describing it that turns on the string lights wrapped around your heart?” Jenni Ferrari-Adler, senior agent at Aevitas Creative Management, on what to look for when you meet an agent: at.pw.org/AERFerrariAdler

“Authors think that if they present themselves as a veritable vending machine of books…agents will want to sign them…right away. The truth is it’s hard to sell one book, never mind many in different genres….” For more advice from Kate McKean on writing in multiple genres: at.pw.org/MultiGenreWr...

In this week’s #TenQuestions, T. Geronimo Johnson channels the voice of “America’s indomitable ghost writer, da Whizz—the original AI,” answering questions the same way he wrote his sweeping new novel, The Occidental Book of the Dead, out now from William Morrow. Read more: at.pw.org/10q4johnson.

#ClipOfTheDay: For this Pioneer Works event, Ben Lerner talks about how the instability of dialogue informed his latest novel, Transcription (Farrar, Straus and Giroux), in a conversation with New Yorker staff writer Alexandra Schwartz. Watch: at.pw.org/Transcription

“I read so much nonfiction, because I have to learn. There are all these interdisciplinary aspects: anthropology, law, economics, politics, it all gets in there,” says Min Jin Lee in our new issue. Learn more about her writing process: at.pw.org/MinJinLee

“We can reveal a truth in a poem by telling another’s story, within which lies our own.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to embrace fictional speakers in their work. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC2

#PWNonfictionPrompt: Write an essay on politeness and your thoughts about social embarrassment. Has there been a time when you suffered consequences for your politeness? #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/Politeness

#ICYMI: Watch this virtual reading and conversation of the five debut authors featured in “The New Nonfiction 2026” in the September/October issue: Nita Noveno, Phill Branch, Megan O’Grady, Joseph Trinidad, and Elena Dudum. #ClipOfTheDay: at.pw.org/NewNonfictio...

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a collection of essays on writing, teaching, and power by Helen Betya Rubinstein, and #PWWritingPrompts on swallows, publicity stunts, and fan letters. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

#PageOne “And a world we want to begin begins: / I turned my love for you into art, // that I may triumph over death.” Find out which of the dozen books celebrated in our latest issue has these poignant first lines: at.pw.org/PageOne2026x5

“The best method of getting the literary community to regard you as a serious writer and not a dilettante…is for you to manage the less-flashy aspects of your practice.” Learn author and teacher Lyzette Wanzer’s best practices for your pursuit of writing opportunities: at.pw.org/StrategicSub...