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Our annual Writers Retreats Issue explores road trips, writer-friend getaways, and other unexpected journeys to shake up your writing routine; a profile of novelist Karen Russell, author of The Antidote; a Q&A with Rosie Stewart of the Intellectual Freedom Taskforce at Penguin Random House; strategies for using the tools of journalism to enrich your fiction; a look at how some writers make a living outside literature; plus writing prompts, contest deadlines, and more.
Karen Russell’s second novel, The Antidote, published by Knopf in March, examines a dark chapter of America’s past, but not without hope for the future.
Drawing strength from traditions of moving across the land, a poet describes the joy and presence of mind that driving brings. Without the constant pull of screens, the road opens up an ideal space for creation.
Residency programs at the homes of famous writers offer both the luxury of space and time to write and deep immersion into a literary hero’s everyday world, often providing newfound clarity and insight into ongoing work.
Gatherings like the Heart of It are part of a boom in writer-run retreats and workshops that serve as homegrown alternatives to established retreats, addressing a need for kinship, in-person community, and mentorship.
Tired of waiting for an acceptance? The ingredients for a magical retreat are readily available to all of us outside the strictures of a space someone else is hosting—and at the place, time, and budget of our choosing.
In the aftermath of the September 2024 hurricane, the literary community has banded together to support North Carolina residents trying to rebuild their lives and has provided hope in the long recovery process.
The first lines of a dozen noteworthy books, including The Figure Going Imaginary by Marianne Boruch and Marginlands: A Journey Into India’s Vanishing Landscapes by Arati Kumar-Rao.
In response to publishers turning to artificial intelligence as a tool to expedite or replace the work of human translators, publishers and translators question whether machine-led translation can truly supersede a human touch.
The transcription of Voca, an audiovisual archive of more than twelve thousand poetry recordings, makes literary history accessible to poets, critics, scholars, and the general public.
Originally an umbrella site for literary journals, this book publisher looks to the wider writing community for inspiration, camaraderie, and collaborators in the art that it makes and promotes.
The author of Joyriders highlights journals and platforms that have offered his short stories a home, including Alaska Quarterly Review and American Short Fiction.
Flower Conroy’s elaborate three-dimensional installations, fashioned from found and crafted objects, masterfully evoke the spirit of each book the artist chooses and carefully communicate her reverence for literature.
Rosie Stewart, the new senior manager of public policy at Penguin Random House’s Intellectual Freedom Taskforce, shares some context for her new role, advice for those who want to get involved, and her hope for the future.
When you venture to inhabit identities and communities beyond your experience, seek people and places to ground your work. A journalist and novelist explains how research skills help fortify one’s imagined realities.
Freelancing doesn’t always guarantee freedom—making a living outside of the literary world empowers many artists with health insurance, energy to write, and relief from the worry of wondering about your next check.
Write a poem that uses the metaphor of a bridge to represent a complex family dynamic, a short story that reconceptualizes historical fiction, or a lyrical essay that reflects on the stages of returning to a former self.
Books centering mothers are often lumped into one category by the publishing industry, flattening the nuanced and varied experiences of this group into a one-size-fits-all niche. A memoirist asks the industry to do better.
