In this issue

Our annual Writers Retreats Issue features a survey of writing residencies at national parks; a conversation with author Jacqueline Woodson and poet Natalie Diaz; profiles of novelist Emily St. John Mandel and debut poet Monica Sok; Bethanne Patrick on the life of a book critic; a look at the changing role of book publicists; life lessons learned at author readings; writing prompts; contest deadlines; and more.

At Home With Elizabeth Bishop

We consider its lines to be the most elegant thing in Key West,” wrote poet Elizabeth Bishop to a friend upon purchasing the house at 624 White Street, where she would primarily live in Florida’s southernmost city from 1938 to 1946.

4 mins

An Alaska Retreat For Women Writers

Mystery writer and Alaska native Dana Stabenow spent last summer watching cabins and a main house take shape amid a meadow of violet lupines in Homer, Alaska.

3 mins

Cisneros Celebrates Macondo

Twenty-five years ago author Sandra Cisneros founded the Macondo Writers Workshop when she invited eight people to convene in the kitchen of her San Antonio, Texas, home.

3 mins

Energy

“WE ARE ALIVE BECAUSE OF STORY. IT IS ONE OF OUR ANCESTORS’ MOST POWERFUL TECHNOLOGIES. AND WE ARE ALL STORYTELLERS. A STORY IS AN ENERGY, AND LIKE THE WALLS OF JERICHO, MAYBE IF WE PUT ENOUGH OF OUR STORIES OUT THERE, INTO THE AIR, THE WALLS WILL START FALLING; THEY ARE ALREADY CRACKING.” —NATALIE DIAZ, WHOSE NEW BOOK, POSTCOLONIAL LOVE POEM, WILL BE OUT IN MARCH FROM GRAYWOLF PRESS.

10+ mins

Force of Will

THE STORY OF EMILY ST. JOHN MANDEL’S DRAMATIC ASCENT TO THE BEST-SELLER LIST AFTER THE PUBLICATION OF HER FOURTH NOVEL, STATION ELEVEN, HOLDS VALUABLE LESSONS FOR WRITERS ABOUT HARD WORK AND PERSISTENCE. HER RESPONSE TO THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR HER FOLLOW-UP, THE GLASS HOTEL, MAY BE EVEN MORE INSTRUCTIVE.

10+ mins

You Get Your Own Island

Exploring Wilderness Residencies at National Parks Across the Country

10+ mins

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Poets & Writers Magazine Description:

For more than twenty years, Poets & Writers Magazine has been a trusted companion to writers who take their vocation seriously. Within its pages, our readers find provocative essays on the literary life, practical guidance for getting published and pursuing writing careers, in-depth profiles of poets, fiction writers, and writers of creative nonfiction, and conversation among fellow professionals.