Poets & Writers Theater

"I thought maybe I'd be a filmmaker but I wasn't any good at that either, so I just kept falling through the cracks to fiction." Claire Vaye Watkins, whose first novel, Gold Fame Citrus (Riverhead Books, 2015), is featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks about how she arrived at writing fiction.

Nick Flynn reads a poem by William Blake and “Cathedral of Salt,” a poem from his new collection, My Feelings (Graywolf Press, 2015) for the P.O.P. video series, which was shot and edited by Rachel Eliza Griffiths in partnership with the Academy of American Poets. Flynn’s fourth poetry collection is featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Jonathan Galassi, president and publisher of Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, speaks with Beacon Press president Helene Atwan about his debut novel, Muse (Knopf, 2015), which is featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Naomi Jackson shares her favorite writing tools and personal photos that provided inspiration for the characters in her debut novel, The Star Side of Bird Hill, published today by Penguin Press. Read more about Jackson in “First Fiction 2015" in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, and catch her tour in the Reading Tour Manager.

In this short film presented by Electric Literature, a sentence from Etgar Keret's short story "Todd" is animated by Tatia Rosenthal and set to music by Christopher Bowen. Keret's new memoir, The Seven Good Years, was published this month by Riverhead Books and is featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Heather Fowler's fourth collection of short stories, published by Queen's Ferry Press in 2014, introduces flawed characters and tales of pain and desperation. Queen's Ferry Press is featured in "Small Press Points" in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

Kaylie Jones reveals the inspirations behind the title of her new novel, The Anger Meridian (Akashic Books, 2015), which is featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

"The gunshots that echoed throughout the valley sounded almost patient." Colin Winnette's new novel, Haints Stay (Two Dollar Radio, 2015), featured in Page One in the current issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, is a contemporary western about two murderous brothers.

Tayari Jones answers questions about her writing process and discusses the obstacles she experienced in publishing her novel Silver Sparrow (Algonquin Books, 2011). Read Jones's interview with debut novelist Angela Flournoy in “First Fiction 2015" in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

This animated trailer for Rebecca Dinerstein's debut novel, The Sunlit Night (Bloomsbury, 2015), was created by Jonty de Klerk. Read more about Dinerstein in “First Fiction 2015" in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine, and catch her tour in the Reading Tour Manager.

"I have a good poker face because I'm half dead inside." Colson Whitehead reads excerpts from his new book, The Noble Hustle, chronicling his experience preparing for, and then competing in, the World Series of Poker. Read Kevin Nance's interview with Whitehead—on how he met his agent Nicole Aragi—in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.

"I think of a book as an extended hand, it's a gesture, from someone who has attempted to make meaning out of their own experience." Author Alex Gilvarry speaks with Scott Cheshire about his debut novel High as the Horses' Bridles—the story of a child preacher, his faith, and his vision of the end of the world. An interview with Cheshire by Victor LaValle is in the July/August issue of Poets & Writers Magazine.