Books in Our Collection – Where to Find Them
Find publishing opportunities, contests, as well as excellent short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in these periodicals.
*Found in CHPL’s print collection
Write Your First Novel – Coursera (FREE)
Learn how to get started, stay focused, keep writing and finish with a full-length 50,000 word novel.
Creative Writing Specialization – Coursera (fee-based)
Taught by creative writing professors who are also acclaimed published novelists, this extensive course covers the following: The Craft of Plot; The Craft of Character; The Craft of Setting and Description; The Craft of Style. Go at your own pace and get real-time feedback from other writers around the world.
MasterClass (fee-based)
For $15/month, learn from the true writing masters! A subscription gains you unlimited access to self-paced instruction.
A sample of writing courses: Billy Collins on poetry; Joyce Carol Oates on the short story; David Sedaris on writing humor; Margaret Atwood on creative writing, and so much more.
A mix of free and fee-based courses on a variety of topics. Below is a sample of FREE classes:
- Inkitt’s Novel Writing Bootcamp (90min)
- Write Dreamy and Imaginative Poetry (2hrs)
- Screenwriting – Mental RX for Success (45min)
- How to Become a Romance Writer (1hr, 10min)
Receive detailed feedback from experienced instructors. Slots open until filled.
Spring – Novels
Summer – Essays and Stories
Live, online webinars and workshops for writers looking to hone their craft with live instructors.
Writer’s Digest Annual Writing Competition
Early bird deadline = May
This yearly contest chooses almost 500 winners across the following genres:
- inspirational/spiritual
- memoir/personal essay
- nonfiction essay or article
- genre short story (mystery, romance, etc.)
- mainstream/literary short story
- rhyming poetry
- non-rhyming poetry
- script (stage play/television/movie script/short film)
- children’s young adult fiction
Rolling deadlines
Dubbed ‘a platform for emerging writers,’ The Masters Review hosts several contests through the year. These include flash fiction, summer and winter short story awards for new writers, chapbooks, novel excerpts, anthologies, and new voices.
Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP)
AWP is a nonprofit literary organization that provides support, advocacy, resources, and community to nearly 50,000 writers, 500 college and university creative writing programs, and 125 writers’ conferences and centers.
A moderated, free community of writers, publishers, agents and editors. Welcomes writers of all genres, experience levels, and ambition.
A free online writing community for individuals wanting to have their work critiqued.
A free online writing community focused entirely on and for women.
Wattpad is a free access, online community where millions of fiction writers and readers can interact with one another.
How Can I Get Published? from Penguin Random House.
A guide to demystify the process and provide you with resources.
Writing Inspiration from GetUnderlined.com
Underlined is an online book community just for teens created by Penguin Random House. They offer articles on a variety of book-related topics, including “writing inspiration” for young writers. Check out some of the articles from Underlined below:
- Ten Things Every Successful Writer Needs
- Author Wendelin Van Draanen’s Advice to Writers On How to Nurture Your Spark
- 8 Times Authors Got Real About Their Writing on Twitter
- Author Julie Buxbaum’s Top Five Tips on How to Become a Writer
- An Exclusive Interview with the Publisher Who Brought Harry Potter to the United States
Interested in sharing your story with a larger community? Learn about Wattpad and how you can use it to expand on your writing journey.
An online writing group that promotes daily free-form writing.
A searchable database of literary agents. Additional information on publishing.
BookBaby (Self-Publishing)
Pennsauken-based full-service self-publishing house – “where writers become authors.”
A creative writing software platform that offers world-class organizational tools, educational resources, and a platform to build an audience.
Software for writers – helps you to organize chapters, ideas, characters, research, and more.
The ultimate world building toolset & RPG campaign manager created for writers, gamemasters & creatives.
A helpful Tumblr page of guides, FAQs and tips on writing diversely.