What Makes a Debut Writer Stand Out?
A live Q&A with India Lena González, senior editor at Poets & Writers Magazine
On Wednesday, September 16, I’ll be joined by India Lena González, senior editor at Poets & Writers Magazine, for a candid conversation about what makes a debut nonfiction book, and its author, stand out.
Backstory: I met India at the Whiting Awards lunch a few months ago. When she told me where she worked, I got nostalgic and immediately started reminiscing about how, in my early twenties, I used to pore over the long lists of magazines and writing contests in Poets & Writers Magazine, pen in hand, circling my favorites. (To her credit, she did not walk away).
India oversees the magazine’s New Nonfiction feature, an annual look at some of the year’s best debut memoirs, essay collections, and hybrid nonfiction. This year’s edition follows five writers who took very different paths to their first books.
We’ll talk about why those books caught India’s attention, what editors in general notice when deciding which emerging voices to spotlight, and how new writers can attract the attention of literary publications. We’ll also talk about the magazine’s popular “5 Over 50” series, and what it reveals about breaking through later in life.
Since this is a live Q&A, you’ll have the chance to ask India your own questions. Bring good ones!
Wednesday, September 16
1:00 p.m. ET
Live and exclusively for paid Author Insider members
Paid and founding members can register for the live Q&A on the Author Insider Events Calendar.