What do poets want? Foremost, they want to write good poems. (At least, that should be their primary goal). Then they want publishing opportunities—magazines, journals, and presses that will print their work and make it available to readers. They want contests, where they can test their skills against fellow poets, gain recognition for their poems, and maybe even earn a few dollars in reward. They want to hone their talents through conferences and workshops, and to connect with other writers, seeking feedback and support while offering the same.

Poets want submission tips, advice from the seasoned and successful, inside views of the poetry-publishing world, and ideas to spark their creativity and reinforce their motivation. Those just starting out want directions and instructions: Where do I submit my work? How do I prepare a manuscript?

At Poet's Market, we try to give poets want they want—and what they need. In the 2008 edition, we offer over 400 pages of market listings alone, broken out by section: magazines/journals, book/chapbook publishers, and contests. We also provide sections on conferences, workshops, and festivals that include programs for poets, as well as organizations for poetry-writers and -lovers alike. Our resources include contact information for state arts grants and poets-in-education programs, lists of publications and Web sites of special interest to poets, and glossaries that define terms that appear in the listings as well as poetry forms and styles.

And in each edition of Poet's Market, we present a variety of interesting, informative articles and Insider Reports. For instance, our line-up in the 2008 edition includes:

• "Roundtable: Poets and Blogs" by Anne Bowling, with poets Amanda Johnston, Janet Holmes, Jilly Dybka, Reb Livingston and C. Dale Young
• "Professional Opinion: Setting Industry Standards" by F. J. Bergmann
• "Anne Marie Macari: Christian myth and motherhood" by Amy Ratto Parks
• "Second Rate Poems: They rate a second chance" by Jane K. Kretschmann
• "Things Start Happening: Poetry as power for inmates" by Brian Daldorph
• "Online Poetry Forums: A new community for poets" by Donya Dickerson
• "Christine Swanberg: Living the well-imagined life" by Nancy Breen
• "Hank Hudepohl: Making connections" by Erika O'Connell
• "Stanley Barkan: Translating the essence of a culture" by Travis Adkins

In addition, there are the nuts-and-bolts articles that appear in every edition—updated evergreen pieces on submitting poetry correctly, preparing a manuscript, relating to editors successfully, spotting a scam, and self-promotion for poets.

We know what poets want. They tell us regularly—by phone, letter, e-mail, through comments on the Poetic Asides blog and responses to our newsletter (see sign-up above), and face-to-face at bookstores and other events. We combine their feedback with our own knowledge and experience to put out the best publishing resource for poets that we can, one we hope will lead every reader along an exciting path to publication.

Nancy Breen, Editor
Poet's Market

Writer's Digest Books
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