About Poets & Writers

Poets & Writers Magazine

Poets & Writers Magazine is an American bi-monthly literary magazine published by the nonprofit organization Poets & Writers, Inc., headquartered in New York City. Since 1987, the magazine has been a trusted companion to writers who take their vocation seriously. Within its pages, 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. With a readership of over 80,000, it is published six times per year in print and electronic editions. The organization's website is pw.org.

The magazine also provides the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print — a reference function that has made it indispensable to working writers. The organization's mission is to promote communication throughout the U.S. literary community and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.

Publication at a Glance

Poets & Writers Magazine is published six times per year by Poets & Writers, Inc., a nonprofit organization headquartered in New York City. Established in 1987, the magazine is available in print and electronic editions. A one-year (six-issue) subscription is offered at $30, and a two-year (twelve-issue) subscription at $50. The magazine is the primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers.

The Organization: Founded 1970

Poets & Writers was founded in 1970 by Galen Williams, the director of New York's famed 92nd Street YM-YWHA Poetry Center, who leveraged seed money from the New York State Council on the Arts to launch a new organization for writers that would provide them with fees for giving readings and teaching workshops. The organization began in an apartment on the fringe of the Theater District. Since that time, Poets & Writers has grown into one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country for writers of poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Poets & Writers cultivated new sources of revenue, enabling the organization to expand its programs and publications. Award-winning editorial and design changes elevated Poets & Writers Magazine to new subscription and advertising levels. The organization's Readings/Workshops program was offered in new regions across the country, connecting writers and audiences in California, Chicago, and Detroit, in addition to New York State, where the program began. The Writers Exchange program, which introduces writers to the New York literary community, was initiated.

The Magazine Since 1987

The magazine was established in 1987, seventeen years after the founding of the organization. Its editorial formula — essays on the literary life, practical publishing guidance, in-depth author profiles, and professional conversation — has remained consistent for nearly four decades. The November/December 2009 issue, which included a special section on MFA programs and profiles of Jonathan Lethem, Audrey Niffenegger, and Sherwin Bitsui, won the gold 2010 Eddie Award for editorial excellence from Folio magazine in the category of Business to Business, Media/Entertainment/Publishing, Full Issue; the magazine had received a silver Eddie in the same category the previous year.

Editorial Content

Within the magazine's pages, 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. Regular features include conversations with agents and editors — extensive interviews asking the top names in publishing the questions writers want answered — as well as the Grants and Awards calendar, the Speakeasy, and articles on the business and craft of writing.

Grants, Awards, and Deadlines

The magazine provides the most comprehensive listing of literary grants and awards, deadlines, and prizewinners available in print. This reference function — tracking the hundreds of grants, fellowships, prizes, and contests relevant to poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers — is one of the magazine's signature services and a key reason writers subscribe.

Programs Beyond the Magazine

The organization's programs extend far beyond publishing. The Readings/Workshops program, which began in New York State, expanded to California, Chicago, Detroit, and — after a successful $3 million capital campaign completed in 2006 — to six new cities: Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. The Writers Exchange program introduces emerging writers to the New York literary community. On June 18, 2022, Poets & Writers joined the National Coalition Against Censorship, affirming that "efforts to limit readers' access to books are an affront to freedom."

Standing in the Literary Community

Poets & Writers is one of the largest nonprofit organizations in the country serving writers. The magazine's readership of over 80,000 makes it the leading periodical for the American literary community's working writers — from aspiring to emerging to established. Its blend of practical guidance and literary conversation has kept it, in the organization's words, "a trusted companion to writers who take their vocation seriously" for nearly forty years.

The Website and Digital Resources

The organization's website, pw.org, extends the magazine's mission online: the grants and awards database, the Speakeasy (the organization's community forum), and articles from the magazine. As one subscriber wrote, the site's series of conversations with agents and editors — extensive interviews in which a Grove/Atlantic editor asks top publishing names the questions writers want answered — provided comfort and insight during the anxious wait for editorial responses. The Grants and Awards calendar, the Speakeasy, and the magazine's articles together make pw.org one of the literary community's essential online resources.

Advocacy and the Freedom to Read

On June 18, 2022, Poets & Writers joined the National Coalition Against Censorship — a public stand for the freedom to read at a time of rising book challenges. The move reflects the organization's mission to "promote communication throughout the U.S. literary community, and to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public." From its 1970 founding with seed money from the New York State Council on the Arts to its current status as one of the country's largest nonprofit literary organizations, Poets & Writers has paired practical service to writers with advocacy for the literary culture they inhabit.

The magazine's subscription terms note that Poets & Writers publishes six issues a year but reserves the right to change the number of issues in an annual term — including discontinuing any format and substituting or modifying the manner of distribution. Subscriptions are offered with a satisfaction guarantee: readers not completely satisfied receive a full refund. At $30 for one year (six issues) and $50 for two years (twelve issues), the magazine remains one of the most affordable professional resources in the literary world.

For nearly four decades, the magazine has kept faith with its founding promise: provocative essays on the literary life, practical guidance for getting published, in-depth profiles of working writers, and conversation among fellow professionals — the trusted companion of America's serious writers.

Official Website

The organization's official website is https://www.pw.org, carrying the magazine's articles, the grants and awards database, and information on the organization's programs. Published six times per year by Poets & Writers, Inc., from New York City, Poets & Writers Magazine remains the primary source of information, support, and guidance for creative writers.