Announcing the Poets & Writers’ 2023 Get The Word Out Debut Fiction Cohort

Poets & Writers has announced the 2023 fiction cohort for Get the Word Out, a publicity incubator for early-career writers. The program gives selected writers an opportunity to work with an experienced book publicist who will guide them in leveraging the opportunity presented by their first major book publication.

Each of the ten writers selected has a book forthcoming in 2024. They are:

• Alisa Alering, Smothermoss (Tin House Books, July 16, 2024)
• Bruna Dantas Lobato, Blue Light Hours (Grove Atlantic, October 15, 2024)
• Christina Cooke, Broughtupsy (Catapult, January 23, 2024)
• Esinam Bediako, Blood on the Brain (Red Hen Press, November 2024)
• Jessie Marshall, Women! In! Peril! (Bloomsbury, April 2, 2024)
• Kathya Alexander, Keep A’Livin’ (Aunt Lute Books, Spring 2024)
• Lena Valencia, Mystery Lights (Tin House Books, August 6, 2024)
• Lynn Stansbury, Not All Dead Together (Chin Music Press, October 2024)
• Marissa Higgins, A Good Happy Girl (Catapult, April 2, 2024)
• Parul Kapur, Inside the Mirror (University of Nebraska Press, March 1, 2024)

The publicity mentor who will lead this cohort is May Zhee Lim. Lim is a writer, freelance publicist, and communications consultant. During her time with Riverhead Books, she worked on book campaigns that helped launch the careers of debut authors and expanded the readership of prize-winning authors including Hernan Diaz, Olga Tokarczuk, James McBride, Masha Gessen, Patricia Lockwood, C Pam Zhang, Claire Vaye Watkins, and Sigrid Nunez.

Get the Word Out participants will work closely with Lim over several months to learn what does and doesn’t work during a book’s publicity cycle. They will also take part in seminars led by media, events, and marketing professionals, as well as fellow authors who have successfully promoted their own books. Learn more about the program at Poets & Writers.