Ever wondered about the ISBN on the back of a book? What it is and what it does? In our new issue, a bookstore manager discusses the practicalities of the ISBN—a book’s passport as it travels from publisher to bookshops to the hands of readers. Learn more: at.pw.org/ISBNGuide

“I have seen, with my mind’s eye, some of the most relevant images for my stories when walking, running, and swimming,” writes Marta Pérez-Carbonell, author of I Made You Up Inside My Head (@riverheadbooks.bsky.social). Read on: at.pw.org/WRPérez-Campbell

In our current issue we spotlight Slant Books, a publisher based in Seattle that is named after Emily Dickinson’s encouragement to her reader: “Tell all the truth but tell it slant.” Learn more about this small press, which publishes 12 books per year in a variety of genres: at.pw.org/SlantBooks

“I’ve been writing a lot in my head before I actually sit down to write.” For this week’s #TenQuestions, Paul Yoon discusses the process of writing his novel, Etna, out now from Scribner. Read more: at.pw.org/10q4yoon.

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Politics and Prose event with Lily Meyer, Sigrid Nunez talks about how bringing together characters and ideas led to her first collection of short stories, It Will Come Back to You (Riverhead Books). Watch: at.pw.org/NunezStories

“So are you just getting the manuscript mostly ready, or are you polishing every surface?” Novelist Michelle Wildgen canvasses agents on what authors can expect by way of notes as they prepare a book for market. Learn more about this often mysterious process: at.pw.org/AgentAsEditor

“So much of our best writing happens when we leave behind the deadening glow of the screen.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages authors to find pastimes to supplement the writing life. at.pw.org/LippmannCC2

#PWNonfictionPrompt: Pen a humorous essay declaring a controversial opinion about something trivial but trendy. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/AgreeDisagree

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Live Talks Los Angeles event, author and chef Eddie Huang speaks with Ottessa Moshfegh about his debut novel, Come Undone (One World), and his love for defying genres through autofiction. Watch: at.pw.org/EddieHuang

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a classic craft book on poetry by Robert Hass, and #PWWritingPrompts on palindromes, obsessions, and belongings. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

#PageOne On the hunt for poetry and prose collections to enjoy this summer? Look no further, because we’ve got you covered: Lucky Creatures by Joseph Trinidad, Stegosaurus Moon by Scott Beal, If You Love That Lady by Maya C. Popa, and Earthly Virtues by Carl Dennis. More: at.pw.org/PageOne2026x4

“I am frequently haunted. Ghosts…sometimes appear to me,” begins Camille T. Dungy’s essay on being attuned to the multitudes and the role of time (“the never-fully disappearing legacies of history”) and place (“the music and textures of topography”) in the lit imagination. at.pw.org/TheMultitudes

#ClipOfTheDay: In this episode of the Fashion Neurosis podcast hosted by Bella Freud, Colm Tóibín talks about the importance of writing physical character details in stories and how books awards can sometimes feel like “a theater of cruelty.” Watch: at.pw.org/ColmToibin

“It’s a business affiliation but an innately intimate one,” writes Katie Arnold-Ratliff as she considers the good-enough agent and finding the perfectly imperfect partner for you. Read her insightful and realistic conversation with top agents: at.pw.org/GoodEnoughAgent

“Read avidly. Support local bookstores and writing organizations. Develop a writing practice that works for you. Pursue publication and recognition, but don’t make recognition your purpose.“ Agent Julie Stevenson of Massie, McQuilkin & Altman on community and validation: at.pw.org/AERStevenson

“What is the soundtrack of mourning my father?” asks Phillip B. Williams. “Had I not grieved my father when I did, I would not have been able to rhapsodize the way that I do in the work that’s coming out now.” Learn about his latest book and the journey it took to get there. at.pw.org/ToSingToFeel

For this week’s #TenQuestions, Marta Pérez-Carbonell shares how she came to write her novel, I Made You Up Inside My Head, out now from Riverhead Books. “Just like there is a right time for readers to read a book, the right time came for me to write this one.” Read more: at.pw.org/10q4perezcar....

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Spotlight PA video, Sara Nović discusses how writing letters to her sons inspired her new memoir, Mother Tongue, in a conversation with Alex Schneider, co-owner of the community bookstore A Novel Idea on Passyunk in Philadelphia. Watch: at.pw.org/MotherTongue

The EIC of World Literature Today discusses the 100-year evolution of the journal and how literature can promote cross-cultural dialogue. “[We] are redoubling our efforts to champion a vision of global literary excellence that transcends linguistic and geographic borders.” at.pw.org/WorldLitToday

“Instead of torturing yourself, you could transgress.” In this week’s #CraftCapsule, Sara Lippmann encourages writers to pursue multiple projects simultaneously. at.pw.org/LippmannCC1

“Joining Poets & Writers Groups has truly been a game changer.” If you’ve been looking for fellow writers to support you on your writing journey, find them at Poets & Writers Groups. ✍️✨ Join us on Wed, July 29 at 7 PM PST for an online introduction to P&W Groups. RSVP: at.pw.org/IntroGroupsJuly29

#PWFictionPrompt: Try writing a short story that revolves around a competition of some sort, perhaps even a battle of wills. #FromTheArchive: at.pw.org/SpiritOfCompetition

#ICYMI: Watch Poets & Writers Magazine senior editor India Lena González introduce the five debut authors featured in “First Fiction 2026” for this virtual reading and conversation: P.C. Verrone, M Lin, Joe Bond, Amanda Rizkalla, and Devyn Defoe. #ClipOfTheDay: at.pw.org/FF2026Reading

The Time Is Now to spark your writing! This week we recommend a new book by Michael Cunningham on a writer’s lifelong journey to write the unsayable, and #PWWritingPrompts on waiting, devotion, and mythos. Read more: at.pw.org/TTIN

Follow the link to learn about visual artist Heidi Pitre, who is transforming library checkout cards—in her words, “fragile pieces of ephemera”—into handmade odes to literary works with illustrations in gouache. “I often reminisce about yesteryear…” Pitre says. More: at.pw.org/LibraryCheckoutCards

“I smiled at the thought of a novella because I had come to the conclusion that a novella is something…no one wants,” writes Colm Tóibín in the afterword of “A Long Winter” (Scribner, 2025). In our latest issue, David Berner finds a new appreciation for this overlooked form: at.pw.org/LegitLitForm

#ClipOfTheDay: In this Today Show interview, Colson Whitehead talks about his novel Cool Machine (Doubleday), the third and final volume of his Harlem Trilogy, and his research process while writing crime fiction. Watch: at.pw.org/CoolMachine

“I like to think that even though I am in the loneliest of professions as a writer, I am in the people business.” Writer Ky-Phong Tran offers tips for connecting with a small, intentional gathering of peers within the larger world of a writing conference. at.pw.org/TemporaryLitHome

“I’m no self-possessed sage sitting in my garden, sundressed and hairbrushed, eating berries dipped in cream with clean fingers; I’m a small…troll snatching at beauty and munching its wings between mossy teeth,” writes Megan Gannon, author of Dispatch From Every Second Guess: at.pw.org/WRGannon

“Turn over that book you’re reading. On the back you will see a barcode, and just above the barcode you’ll spot a number,” writes Lynn Rosen for our latest issue. Learn about the 5 elements of an ISBN, the history behind standardized book numbers, and why they matter for authors. at.pw.org/ISBNGuide