Poets & Writers Theater

In this virtual event hosted by the Strand Book Store, Sue Shapiro, author of The Forgiveness Tour: How to Find the Perfect Apology (Skyhorse, 2021), leads a conversation about best practices for pitching, submitting, and querying with agents and editors including Miya Lee, Rakesh Satyal, and Howard Yoon.

In this PEN America event from their 2022 World Voices Festival, authors Jean Guerrero, Omar El Akkad, Ousman Umar, and Yuri Herrera come together for a conversation about border and migrant narratives, the current global crises of displacement, and how literature tells the stories of those often ignored or hidden.

In this AAWW conversation moderated by Piyali Bhattacharya, writers with debut essay collections recently published, including Cathy Park Hong, Aimee Nezhukumatathil, and Sejal Shah, discuss Asian American identity, genre, gender, race, publishing, and the ways that the essay form has allowed writers to tell important stories. 

Yaa Gyasi and Zadie Smith speak with Courtney Martin about representation and risks in writing, the power of fiction to invoke curiosity and transform behavior, issues of history and identity, and their current projects at the 2018 Obama Foundation Summit.

“Poetry survives the errors of its beliefs.” In this video, Jon Baskin, editor of the Point, moderates a panel exploring the purpose of poetry with Don Share, Srikanth Reddy, Lamar Jorden, and Kush Thompson.

“You have to really free your mind from the word obligation.” During an event at the Center for Fiction, authors Francisco Goldman, Idra Novey, and Rivka Galchen answer questions from the audience about moving between fiction and other genres, which leads to a discussion about the importance of donuts.

“I think that the idea that you can separate politics out from life is the first fiction.” Claudia Rankine speaks about the confluence of writing and politics with Tony Kushner and Salman Rushdie in “The Stuff of Fiction,” a panel moderated by David Remnick, the first event in the New Yorker’s Public Forum: A Well-Ordered Nation series.

Melissa Faliveno, associate editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, leads a conversation with authors Wendy Lesser, Yiyun Li, Alejandro Murguia, D. A. Powell, and Michelle Tea about the personal, political, and professional reasons we choose to write while living in a culture, a family, or a community that doesn’t always value what we do.

Kevin Sampsell, publisher of Future Tense Books, talks with the editors of some of the Pacific Northwest's most successful independent presses about the kind of work they publish, along with practical advice for writers looking to submit their work. Panelists include Heidi Broadhead, managing editor of Wave Books; Natalie Garyet, managing editor of Tavern Books; Rhonda Hughes, publisher of Hawthorne Books; and Michael Wiegers, editor in chief of Copper Canyon Press.

Publishing veteran Debra Englander gives an overview of the self-publishing process, followed by a conversation with self-published author William Hertling, editor Jessica Page Morel, and book publicist Jessica Glenn about the opportunities available to independent authors as well as the challenges they face.

Dana Isokawa, assistant editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks with the editors of some of Portland's most exciting literary magazines about the kind of work they're looking for, the relationships they cultivate with their authors, and the balance between publishing traditional work and developing new and innovative ideas for both print and digital literature. Panelists include LeAnna Crawford of Gertrude, Cheston Knapp of Tin House, Travis Meyer of Poor Claudia, and Kim Winterheimer of Masters Review.

Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, moderates as editors Jordan Bass of McSweeney's Publishing and Ethan Nosowsky of Graywolf Press join literary agent Danielle Svetcov and publicist Megan Fishmann of Counterpoint Press for a conversation about how authors can make a good impression—in cover letters, book proposals, and even at social gatherings.

Publishing veteran Debra Englander gives an overview of the self-publishing process, followed by a conversation with self-published author Keith Devlin, literary agent Ted Weinstein, and publicist Amy Packard about the opportunities available to independent authors as well as the challenges they face.

Jamie FitzGerald, director of Poets & Writers’ Readings & Workshops (West), leads a discussion about resources available to writers in San Francisco, the importance of community, and how various literary communities can support one another. Panelists include Stacey Lewis of City Lights Books, Laura Moriarty of Small Press Distribution, Joyce Jenkins of Poetry Flash, Janis Cooke Newman of the Grotto, and Jason Bayani of Kearny Street Workshop.

Melissa Faliveno, associate editor of Poets & Writers Magazine, talks with the editors of literary magazines and small presses about the kind of work they publish, along with practical advice for writers looking to submit their work and tips for how to establish successful working relationships with editors. Panelists include Adrienne Gunn of TriQuarterly, Jeff Pfaller of Midwestern Gothic, Don Share of Poetry magazine, and Ben Tanzer of Curbside Splendor.

Agents Jeff Kleinman of Folio Literary Management and Renée Zuckerbrot of the Renée Zuckerbrot Literary Agency join publicist Michael Taeckens and Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, for a conversation about how authors can make a good impression—in query letters, book proposals, and even at social gatherings. A select group of audience members are invited on stage for a critique of their query letters—and one writer gets a special surprise.

Kevin Larimer, editor in chief of Poets & Writers Magazine, leads a conversation with editors Jeff Shotts of Graywolf Press and Chuck Adams of Algonquin Books, and authors Jeffrey Yang and Amy Rowland about what it means to be published by an independent press, the author-editor relationship, and how they work together to reach readers.

Bonnie Rose Marcus, director of Poets & Writers’ Readings & Workshops (East), leads a discussion about resources available to writers in Washington, D.C., the importance of community, and how various literary communities can support one another. Panelists include Elizabeth Bruce, Regie Cabico, Carlos Parada Ayala, and Sarah Browning.

Michael Szczerban, senior editor at Regan Arts, leads a discussion with agents Amy Berkower of Writers House, Eric Simonoff of the WME Book Department, Molly Friedrich of the Friedrich Literary Agency, and Meredith Kaffel of DeFiore & Company about how editors and agents work together on behalf of authors.

Bonnie Rose Marcus, director of Poets & Writers’ Readings & Workshops (East), leads a discussion about the many ways to build a life around writing. Panelists include Tina Chang, Rigoberto González, Karma Mayet Johnson, and Rich Vallar.