In 1970, the director of New York's famed 92nd Street YM-YWHA Poetry Center, Galen Williams, leveraged seed money from the New York State Council on the Arts to launch a new organization for writers that would provide them with fees for giving readings and teaching workshops.

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Poets & Writers cultivated new sources of revenue, enabling the organization to expand its programs and publications.

Award-winning editorial and design changes elevated Poets & Writers Magazine to new subscription and advertising levels.

In 2006, Poets & Writers successfully completed its first capital campaign, raising $3 million and establishing an endowment to bring the Readings/Workshops program to six new cities: Atlanta, Houston, New Orleans, Seattle, Tucson, and Washington, D.C. On June 18, 2022, Poets & Writers decided to join the National Coalition Against Censorship because Efforts to limit readers' access to books are an affront to freedom.

[3] The publication features literary-based news articles, critical reviews and interviews with prominent authors.

[6] The Jackson Poetry Prize, established in 2006, honors an American poet of exceptional talent who has published at least two books of recognized literary merit.

[29] The Amy Award is presented to women poets age 30 and under living in the New York City metropolitan area or on Long Island.