Official account of Poets & Writers, the primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers since 1970. Sign up for our newsletter: at.pw.org/newsletterhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.orghttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwxwzsy4zk2w#PWNonfictionPrompt: Write an essay on politeness and your thoughts about social embarrassment. Has there been a time when you suffered consequences for your politeness? #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/Politeness03 Oct 2026 13:01 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwxwzsy4zk2whttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwwlgch6pw2u#ICYMI: Watch this virtual reading and conversation of the five debut authors featured in “The New Nonfiction 2026” in the September/October issue: Nita Noveno, Phill Branch, Megan O’Grady, Joseph Trinidad, and Elena Dudum. #ClipOfTheDay: https://at.pw.org/NewNonfiction2026Reading03 Oct 2026 00:01 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwwlgch6pw2uhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwwgdx3mtn2qThe Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a collection of essays on writing, teaching, and power by Helen Betya Rubinstein, and #PWWritingPrompts on swallows, publicity stunts, and fan letters. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN02 Oct 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwwgdx3mtn2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mww4gwkixl2v#PageOne “And a world we want to begin begins: / I turned my love for you into art, // that I may triumph over death.” Find out which of the dozen books celebrated in our latest issue has these poignant first lines: at.pw.org/PageOne2026x502 Oct 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mww4gwkixl2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwtly3rhdb2n“The best method of getting the literary community to regard you as a serious writer and not a dilettante…is for you to manage the less-flashy aspects of your practice.” Learn author and teacher Lyzette Wanzer’s best practices for your pursuit of writing opportunities: https://at.pw.org/StrategicSubmissions01 Oct 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwtly3rhdb2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwrkjfigbs2j#ClipOfTheDay: Watch the trailer for the new film adaptation of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, directed by Georgia Oakley and starring Daisy Edgar-Jones, Esmé Creed-Miles, Caitríona Balfe, George MacKay, and Fiona Shaw. at.pw.org/Sensibility01 Oct 2026 00:01 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwrkjfigbs2jhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwr3j4d52r2vIn our latest Small Press Points installment, we spotlight Lost Kite Editions, a press launched earlier this year that grew out of a partnership between writers incarcerated in Minnesota prisons and non-incarcerated writers from the Minnesota Prison Writing Workshop. https://at.pw.org/LostKiteEditions30 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwr3j4d52r2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwqt57mpgg27“Now I view silence as a volcanic pressure that eventually erupts. I feed my silent self by paying reverent attention to the silent world around me,” writes Elizabeth Metzger, author of The Going Is Forever (@milkweededitions.bsky.social). Read on: at.pw.org/WRMetzger30 Sep 2026 17:03 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwqt57mpgg27https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwol2aokuv27“This life was unexpected. I told myself that I could not be so afraid of judgment that I would hold back. And so I did not.” Author Min Jin Lee on how a medical cure subsequently shifted her outlook on writing: at.pw.org/MinJinLee29 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwol2aokuv27https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwnxxxeiks2m“Sometimes I know I need to just observe and live life and let the writing come later.” For this week’s #TenQuestions, Tomas Moniz discusses writing his new novel, The King of Aloe Vera, out now from Algonquin Books. Read more: at.pw.org/10q4moniz.29 Sep 2026 13:51 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwnxxxeiks2mhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwmjl63gva2d#ClipOfTheDay: In this WIRED interview, Emily St. John Mandel discusses how the current political climate in America informed the speculative catastrophe in her new novel, Exit Party. Watch: at.pw.org/ExitParty29 Sep 2026 00:01 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwmjl63gva2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwm2lbckos2qDeesha Philyaw breaks down how to approach intimate scenes in a book: “Just like it’s boring if the characters have the same conversation or argument again and again, they also can’t have the same sex. The dynamic has to change the way their relationship is changing…” https://at.pw.org/RadicallyEntertaining28 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwm2lbckos2qhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwli4iwwl32e“Several revolutions make a final electric charge feel even more earned.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Jill Bialosky encourages poets to let truth surprise them in the writing process. at.pw.org/BialoskyCC128 Sep 2026 14:02 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwli4iwwl32ehttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwgdrrwnid2d#PWFictionPrompt: Try to carve out a few hours this week to spend engaged in an activity that is very different from your usual working environment and write a series of flash fiction pieces inspired by your time spent “outside.” #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/WorkingOutside26 Sep 2026 13:01 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwgdrrwnid2dhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwey5gwn3z2s#ClipOfTheDay: In this Green Apple Books event, Black Ocean celebrates its twentieth anniversary with readings from authors Carrie Olivia Adams, Kristin George Bagdanov, Nathan Hoks, and Zachary Schomburg. Watch: at.pw.org/BlackOcean2026 Sep 2026 00:00 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwey5gwn3z2shttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwet34mih42dThe Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a classic guide to crafting the poetic voice by the late Tony Hoagland, and #PWWritingPrompts on personal museums, role reversals, and comfort reads. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN25 Sep 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwet34mih42dhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwej6i27j62dWelcome fall by curling up with two notable poetry collections from our new #PageOne installment: Otherwhere: New and Selected Poems, 1976–2026 (Scribner) by Carolyn Forché and Staying Still (Tin House) by Hieu Minh Nguyen. Learn about these and ten other exciting titles: at.pw.org/PageOne2026x525 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwej6i27j62dhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mwbypndrhi2v“My goal has always been to write the strongest poems I can and to create space for other young people…. The title is important, but the community behind it is what gives it meaning.” Read more of our interview with Daniel Umemezie, the national youth poet laureate: at.pw.org/DanielUmemezie24 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mwbypndrhi2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw7x6ckcdf26#ClipOfTheDay: In this episode of the Fashion Neurosis podcast hosted by Bella Freud, Leïla Slimani talks about the dangers of gaining recognition as a writer and discovering the timelessness of literature through Dostoevsky and Tolstoy as a child. Watch: at.pw.org/Slimani24 Sep 2026 00:00 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw7x6ckcdf26https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw7ianc4uq2v#NewNonfiction “There is no secret sauce, no correct lighting, no perfect monitor. There was a heating pad on my back because my body ached. There were several drinks on my desk. Leftover, half-eaten snacks.” Debut author Elena Dudum on the reality of the writing process: at.pw.org/ElenaDudum23 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw7ianc4uq2vhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw77sqrzfc27“Invest emotionally in the secondary characters. They don’t have to spend as much time on the stage as your main players but they have to be compelling.“ More from Dawn Davis, SVP of 37 Ink, an imprint of Simon & Schuster: at.pw.org/AERDavis23 Sep 2026 17:02 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw77sqrzfc27https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw4xrqoklt2n“I have memories I’m not ready to abandon to the vault. My preferred literary techniques don’t accept the truth without suspicion, and in turn I notice what my memories obstruct.” #NewNonfiction Joseph Trinidad speaks to the beauty and difficulty of essay writing. at.pw.org/JosephTrinidad22 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw4xrqoklt2nhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw4fkrhzys2sFor this week’s #TenQuestions, Kiki Petrosino dives into the process of writing her new collection, Perfect Italian, out now from Sarabande Books. “Writing in syllabics became my ritual. It allowed for the space of the page to hold me.” Read more: at.pw.org/10q4petrosino.22 Sep 2026 14:07 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw4fkrhzys2shttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw2wah2c4b2s#ClipOfTheDay: In this Book Passage event, Téa Obreht reads from her fourth novel, Sunrise (Random House), and talks about her fascination with the American West after growing up in the former Yugoslavia in a conversation with Parini Shroff. Watch: at.pw.org/Sunrise22 Sep 2026 00:00 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw2wah2c4b2shttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mw2hcttdc325#NewNonfiction author Megan O’Grady writes about the process behind her debut, How It Feels to Be Alive, for our latest issue: “I began to envision a more intuitive and open-ended inquiry, one that encircled art and life, looking within before angling outward.” Read on: at.pw.org/MeganOGrady21 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mw2hcttdc325https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mvuqkjc46d2s#PWPoetryPrompt: Try writing your own cento, sampling verses from diverse time periods, styles, and subject matter, and citing your sources at the end. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/Cento19 Sep 2026 13:02 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvuqkjc46d2shttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mvtev5mvap2z#ClipOfTheDay: In this episode of Literary Hub’s Fiction/Non/Fiction podcast cohosted by Christian Barter, Jennifer Maritza McCauley, and Whitney Terrell, author Claudia Rankine discusses how current political crises inspired her new book, Triage (Graywolf Press). Watch: at.pw.org/Triage19 Sep 2026 00:00 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvtev5mvap2zhttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mvt7sss7dj2cThe Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a classic craft book on the art of writing nonfiction by Vivian Gornick, and #PWWritingPrompts on directives, believable mysticism, and transformations. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN18 Sep 2026 22:30 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvt7sss7dj2chttps://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mvsu6srgdr26In our magazine pages, noted agent Kate McKean addresses writing in more than one discipline. “I definitely could have used some of this advice myself back when I was sending out my first queries.” Read her responses to the most commonly asked questions: https://at.pw.org/MultiGenreWriter18 Sep 2026 19:02 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvsu6srgdr26https://bsky.app/profile/pw.org/post/3mvqfh7cpdz2kFor our new issue, nonfiction writer Joe Wilkins highlights journals that have published his essays about mountain meadows, childhood, and his “coming into being through place,” including Orion Magazine, River Teeth, the Georgia Review, and others. Read on: at.pw.org/JoeWilkins17 Sep 2026 19:33 +0000at://did:plc:a4iylm33rxlrvxcyudwtis2j/app.bsky.feed.post/3mvqfh7cpdz2k