Executive Director
Melissa Ford Gradel is the executive director of Poets & Writers and publisher of Poets & Writers Magazine. From 2010 to through 2020, she served as the organization's managing director.
Under Gradel's leadership, Poets & Writers has launched new programs including Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for early career authors; created extensive online programming; and enhanced its digital resources, including Poets & Writers Groups. She is the publisher of Poets & Writers Magazine and led the transition to a new membership strategy that pairs subscriptions to the treasured publication with access to a suite of digital-first content, learning, and community, to meet writers' needs now and in the future. Gradel serves on the Steering Committee of LitNet, a nationwide coalition of literary organizations.
Before joining Poets & Writers, she served as development director at Poets House, where she helped to secure a permanent home for the organization in Battery Park City. As a freelance consultant, she worked with a range of arts and cultural organizations including Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn Children's Museum, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect 1: New Orleans, International Center for Photography, Rhode Island School of Design, the Women's Project, and others.