In this issue

Our annual Literary Agents Issue features a look at how an agent sells your book, agent etiquette tips, how to read a literary agency agreement, and how to use feedback from agents to get published; a profile of Kali Fajardo-Anstine on her new novel, Woman of Light, which chronicles five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West; our twenty-second annual roundup of the summer’s best debut fiction; how to sell a book without an agent; writing prompts; contest deadlines; and much more.

Translating Ukrainian Voices

Literary translator Zenia Tompkins founded the Tompkins Agency for Ukrainian Literature in Translation (TAULT) in 2019.

2 mins

Centering Neurodivergent Poets

If reading is another form of listening, truly attuning to an unfamiliar voice can be a means of transformation.

6 mins

Book Prize Celebrates Older Poets

Even as the number of awards for debut poetry books seems to have increased over the years, an inordinate number of those awards are won by writers age forty and under.

4 mins

Sanctuary

HOW MY MOTHER’S ART SHAPED ME AS A WRITER

10+ mins

KEEPING the STORIES

Kali Fajardo-Anstine's new novel, Woman of Light, chronicles five generations of an Indigenous Chicano family in the American West and is imbued with the acclaimed author's rich sense of history and pride in her own mixed ancestry: "The story of who I am is inextricably tied to this country."

10+ mins

Nightcrawling

Leila Mottley whose debut novel, Nightcrawling, was published in June by Knopf

9 mins

We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies

Tsering Yangzom Lama author of the novel We Measure the Earth With Our Bodies, published in May by Bloomsbury

5 mins

God’s Children

Arinze Ifeakandu whose debut story collection, God’s Children Are Little Broken Things, was published in June by A Public Space Books

5 mins

She Is Haunted

Paige Clark whose debut story collection, She Is Haunted, was published in May by Two Dollar Radio

4 mins

Night of the Living Rez

Morgan Talty whose debut story collection, Night of the Living Rez, will be published in July by Tin House

4 mins

JOURNEY OUT OF LIMBO

THE EPIC STORY OF HOW AN AGENT SELLS YOUR BOOK

9 mins

Going Solo

SELLING YOUR BOOK WITHOUT AN AGENT

10+ mins

Read all stories from Poets & Writers Magazine

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.