Not for the sake of agenting or publishing student work, but to better understand the publishing industry—the conduit for communion between writer and reader—the Writing Seminars regularly conduct lectures, talks, panels, and gatherings addressing specific issues in the publishing world and world of literary service organizations.

The module, over a series of residencies, has included visits by literary agents; editors from major trade publishers, small independent presses, and literary magazines; as well as other publishing house personnel, distributors, bookstore owners, and booksellers in general. Recent visitors have included David Bonanno, Editor, American Poetry Review, Sarah Barnes, Senior Editor at Little, Brown; Jill Kneerim, Founder and Managing Director of the Palmer & Dodge Agency; Joshua Cohen, editor-in-chief of Boston Review; Steven Huff, publisher and managing editor of BOA Editions; Colin Harrison, Senior Editor at Harper’s; D.W. Fenza, executive director of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs; Mark Stafford from Penguin; C. Michael Curtis, Senior Literary Editor of The Atlantic Monthly; Alan Kornblum of Coffee House Press; literary agents Irene Skolnik, Sally Ryder Brady, and Gail Hochman; Barbara Grossman of Viking Press; editor-publisher David R. Godine; and Zephyr Press publisher Ed Hogan; among many others. There have also been presentations of the submissions process and legal issues for writers.