In this issue

Our annual Writing Contests Issue features a stress-free guide to seventy-five writing contests with no entry fees; Diane Seuss's notes on order in poetry and in life; Sarah Ruhl on writer’s block during the pandemic; Kavita Das on copyediting as a process for (or against) social change; J.T. Bushnell on building a novel; advice from agent Iwalani Kim; interviews with New York Times book critic Jennifer Szalai and Writer Mother Monster podcast host Lara Ehrlich; writing prompts; and more.

Saddle Up and Read

A young reader finds an attentive audience during a July 2020 farm visit.

5 mins

A Decade of Women Who Submit

For the past decade an international community of women and nonbinary writers have been working to claim space for themselves in an industry historically dominated by men. Known as Women Who Submit (WWS), the group supports and empowers its members to submit their work in spite of publishing’s inequities. Their achievements have been extraordinary: This July, the organization celebrates its tenth year, with twenty-seven chapters across the United States and Mexico, more than one hundred fifty successful book and magazine publication credits by its members in 2020, and a devoted community of writers, editors, and publishers.

4 mins

Ehrlich Speaks to Mother-Writers

Lara Ehrlich, author of the short story collection Animal Wife (Red Hen Press, 2020), has a deep narrative investment in the ways the world denies women power and agency. In October 2020 that commitment took a new shape with the first episode of her podcast, Writer Mother Monster, a much-needed balm for those of us balancing mothering and writing in the midst of a global pandemic. Aimed at dismantling the myth that women can “have it all,” her podcast is a series of interviews with mother-writers working in all genres, at varied points in their careers, who candidly discuss the joys and complications of that dual identity. Ehrlich, herself a mother-writer—her daughter turns five this year—spoke about what she has gleaned from these exchanges and how they’ve influenced her own approach.

2 mins

RESTLESS HERD

SOME THOUGHTS ON ORDER—IN POETRY, IN LIFE

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.