Poets & Writers presents a conversation with the authors selected for the inaugural poetry cohort of Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for debut authors. They will be joined by the publicist who led the cohort and will discuss the strategies they learned and used to maximize the exposure of their first collections, from reaching readers to generating media buzz, and planning memorable events. Join us to learn about this exciting new program and pick up top tips on publicity for poets.

Participants:

Thierry Kehou is the director of programs and partnerships at Poets & Writers where he manages Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for debut authors. A cofounder of the Lampblack Literary Foundation, he curates the Lampblack Reading Series at the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts.

Morgan LaRocca is the publicist at Milkweed Editions. Prior to joining Milkweed in 2022, they worked as a freelance publicist, publicity associate at Graywolf Press, and served as marketing and publicity intern at Tin House Books. They are a graduate of Towson University and a proud Baltimorean.

Born in South Korea and raised in Peru, Ae Hee Lee’s debut poetry collection, Asterism, was selected for the 2022 Dorset Prize. She's author of poetry chapbooks Bedtime || Riverbed, Dear bear, and Connotary (Frost Place Chapbook Competition Winner).

Caitlin Cowan is the author of Happy Everything (forthcoming 2024, Cornerstone Press). She serves as the chair of creative writing at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan and as a poetry editor for Pleiades. She writes PopPoetry, a weekly poetry and pop culture newsletter.

Sebastian Merrill is the author of GHOST :: SEEDS, the winner of the 2022 Levis Prize for Poetry from Friends of Writers, a member of the inaugural Get the Word Out poetry cohort from Poets & Writers, a Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Staff Scholar, and a Warren Wilson MFA Alumni Residency Fellow.