2012 Poet's Market!

Since I took over the editorial duties of Poet's Market a few years ago, I've been working toward making the book not only a useful resource for poets trying to place their poetry, but also helpful for poets who are working to improve their poetry. While I knew I wasn't aiming to make Poet's Market a craft book, a "craft & business of poeming book" sounded about right (with the emphasis still on the business end of things, of course). I believe the 2012 Poet's Market has achieved this ideal!

The 25th edition of Poet's Market may be the best!

First off, the 2012 Poet's Market includes hundreds of publishing opportunities for poets, including listings for magazines & journals, contests & awards, book & chapbook publishers, and grants. Plus, there are listings for poetry organizations, conferences, workshops, and festivals. Those listings alone have made Poet's Market useful for the past 25 years. However, this year there's more.

There are two essays on truth in poetry with Collin Kelley coming in on the side of telling the truth and Sandra Beasley defending telling it slant. Geof Huth discusses experimental poetry; Nin Andrews asks why prose poems; and Nate Pritts apologizes for free verse. Plus, I included more than 30 poetic forms and their definitions.

This book includes interviews with poets Jessie Carty, Aaron Belz, Collin Kelley, Annie Finch, and Erika Meitner. For poets who are in a rut, I've included 101 poetry prompts. Oh yeah, and there's a lot of information on the business side of poetry.

Jeannine Hall Gailey explains why publishing a chapbook makes sense and when to target a micropress; Sage Cohen shares why poets need platforms; Nancy Susanna Breen dishes on poetry contests from the judge's perspective; Chloe Yelena Miller tells how and why to offer private writing workshops; Taylor Mali gives his 10 tips for the perfect reading; and there's so much more!

In fact, all 2012 Poet's Market purchasers also receive a one-year activation code for the poetry slice of information on WritersMarket.com AND access to a book-exclusive one-hour webinar that will teach you how to build an audience for your poetry.

Of course, I felt pretty good about this book when I sent it off to production, but I was also exhausted. It wasn't until I started hearing from contributors this past week that I started getting super excited about this book again. Here's what some of them have said:

Sandra Beasley (via Facebook): Robert, I got my copy of 2012 Poet's Market today and I was completely blown away to see my name on the cover. It looks great--such an incredible roster of contributors! Blog post to come, but in the meantime I can't thank you enough for all your hard work.

Erika Meitner (commenting on Sandra's post on Facebook): Hey! I was just coming over here to tell you the same thing! Mine came today and I was also marveling at how awesome it looks. Sandra said it better. Good work!

Jeannine Hall Gailey (also chiming in on Sandra's post on Facebook): Mine too! And it was beautiful!

Nate Pritts (via e-mail): Hey Robert. The FedEx guy pulled up this morning as I was drinking my coffee. Thanks so much for the new 2012 edition. It looks terrific & I'm honored to be included in it with so many other fine contributors. I'm excited that, in addition to being a reference source, the Poet's Market is now something to actually read & sit with. It's great.

And that's exactly the type of response I've been shooting for: a valuable reference that's worth reading. I hope you'll take the time to check out the new & improved 2012 Poet's Market yourself!

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If you're interested in one of the other 2012 Market Books, here they are:

• 2012 Writer's Market Deluxe Edition, edited by Robert Lee Brewer
• 2012 Guide to Literary Agents, edited by Chuck Sambuchino
• 2012 Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, edited by Adria Haley
• 2012 Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, edited by Chuck Sambuchino
• 2012 Writer's Market, edited by Robert Lee Brewer (like the WM Deluxe, but without access to WritersMarket.com)