Resources for Writers
This is an evolving constellation of lists compiled from multiple sources. Focal points include general interest; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and international. Please scroll down to find lists centered on BIPOC, LGBTQ, and myriad other stakeholders in our dynamic writing community. If you have suggestions for additional resources, please email them to conniemayfowler@conniemayfowler.com.
VCFA 2020 Novel Retreat Writers’ Resource List
(Special thanks to Rosemary Porto for compiling this list and to all of the 2020 VCFA Novel Retreat participants who contributed to it.)
CRAFT BOOKS (please scroll down to find a comprehensive list of craft books written by authors of color)
Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers: How to Edit Yourself into Print by Renni Browne and Dave King
Writing Fiction by Janet Burroway
The Writers Portable Mentor: A Guide to Art, Craft and the Writing Life by Priscilla Butler
From Where You Dream: The Process of Writing Fiction by Robert Olen Butler
The Art of Perspective by Christopher Castellani
Story Genius by Lisa Cron
The Art of Death: Writing the Final Story by Edwidge Danticat
The Art of Description: World into Word by Mark Doty
Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
On Writing by Steven King
Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by Anne Lamott
To Show and To Tell by Philip Lopate
The First Five Pages: A Writer’s Guide to Staying Out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman
The Scene Book by Sandra Scofield
Still Writing: The Perils and Pleasures of a Creative Life by Dani Shapiro
The Art of Time in Fiction: As Long as it Takes by Joan Silber
Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir by Sue William Silverman
The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White
Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss
If You Want to Write by Brenda Ueland
The 90 Day Novel by Alan Watt
LITERARY WEBSITES
Litersitic –They also offer a free web course on how to submit to litmags: https://www.literistic.com/read/author/liam/
Association of Authors' Representatives
LITERARY JOURNALS
Calyx
African American Review
Callaloo
Story
Appalachian Review (formerly Appalachian Heritage)
Agni
Hunger Mountain
One Story
Virginia Quarterly Review
Green Mountains Review
Smoke Long Quarterly (Flash)
X-R-A-Y (Flash)
Tin House online (Flash)
Redivider
Poetry magazine
Ninth Letter
Fairy Tale Review
Conjunctions
The Rupture
Tampa Review
The Baltimore Review
Mud Season Review
Blood Orange Review
The Spalding Review
The Sun
Storm Cellar
Tiferet
Cottonwood Review
Sources for rankings of various literary magazines and journals:
WRITING CONTESTS
The James Jones First Novel Fellowship
Retreat West First Chapter Competition
The Seven Hills Review Literary Contest
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Resources Culled from Online Sources
African Literature Podcasts
Not Another Book Podcast https://linktr.ee/nabookpodcast
James Murua (African and Black literature)
Black Literature Podcasts and Online Media
The Art of the Memoir (Description: Three memoir authors join Farai Chideya to talk about the craft of writing your own story. Dominick Carter is author of No Momma's Boy. Kym Ragusa memoir is titled The Skin Between Us, and Thulani Davis put her family history down in My Confederate Kinfolk.)
Black Authors Network Talk Show
I Found this Great Book: Celebrating Mystery, Speculative and Classis Literature by Black Authors
LGBTQ+ Literature Podcasts
Latinx Literature Podcasts
The Casual Academic: A Literary Podcast, Latin American Literature
Asian American Literature Podcasts
AAWW Radio: New Asian American Writers & Literature
International and Translation Podcasts
DEI Online Resources
Resources for Race, Equity, and Inclusion
DEI Writing Workshop Resources
The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop, How to Decolonize The Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez
Craft Books Written by Authors of Color—Source: de-canon, A Visibility Project
· Delany, Samuel R. About Writing: Seven Essays, Four Letters, & Five Interviews. Wesleyan. 2006.
· González, Rigoberto. Pivotal Voices, Era of Transition: Towards a 21st-Century Poetics. University of Michigan Press. 2017.
· Hongo, Garrett. The Mirror Diary: Selected Essays. University of Michigan Press. 2017.
· hooks, bell. Remembered Rapture: The Writer at Work. Picador. 1999.
· Johnson, Charles. The Way of the Writer. Scribner. 2016.
· Kingston, Maxine Hong. To Be the Poet. Harvard University Press. 2002.
· Lee, Li-Young. Breaking the Alabaster Jar: Conversations with Li-Young Lee. BOA Editions. 2006.
· Lorca, Federico Garcia. In Search of Duende. New Directions. 1998.
· Lorde, Audre. Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches. Crossing Press. 2007 (reprint).
· Lorde, Audre. Conversations with Audre Lorde. University Press of Mississippi. 2004.
· Mullen, Harryette. The Cracks Between What We Are and What We Are Supposed to Be: Essays and Interviews. University of Alabama Press. 2012.
· Mura, David. A Stranger’s Journey: Race, Identity & Narrative Craft in Writing. 2018.
· Paz, Octavio. Alternating Current. Arcade Publishing. 2015.
· Paz, Octavio. The Bow and The Lyre: The Poem, The Poetic Revelation, Poetry and History. University of Texas Press. 2009.
· Paz, Octavio. The Siren and the Seashell and Other Essays on Poets and Poetry. University of Texas Press. 1991.
· Phillips, Carl. The Coin of the Realm: Essays on the Life and Art of Poetry. Graywolf. 2004.
· Phillips, Carl. The Art of Daring: Risk, Restlessness, Imagination. Graywolf. 2014.
· Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Free Within Ourselves: Fiction Lessons for Black Authors. Main Street Books. 1999.
· Rhodes, Jewell Parker. The African American Guide to Writing & Publishing Non Fiction. Broadway, 2002.
· Shawl, Nisi. Writing the Other. Aqueduct Press. 2005.
Anthologies on Craft
· Ben-Oni, Rosebud (editor). On Poetics, Identity, and Latinidad: CantoMundo Poets Speak Out. Essay Press. 2017.
· Dawes, Kwame (editor). When the Rewards Can Be So Great: Essays on Writing and the Writing Life. 1849 Editions. 2016.
· Falconer, Blas & López, Lorraine (editors). The Other Latin@: Writing Against a Singular Identity. University of Arizona Press. 2011.
· Igloria, Luisa A. & Galvan-Huynh, Amanda (editors). Of Color: Poets’ Ways of Making An Anthology of Essays on Transformative Poetics. 2019.
· Tabios, Eileen (editor). Black Lightning: Poetry-in-Progress. Asian American Writers Workshop. 1998.
· Quan-Lee, Sherry (editor). How Dare We Write: A Multicultural Creative Writing Discourse. Modern History Press. 2017.
Textbooks
· Huey, Amorak and Todd Kaneko. Poetry: A Writers’ Guide and Anthology. Bloomsbury. 2018.
· Joseph, Allison (editor). (poetry instructional guide for teen girls) [title tbd]. Upper Rubber Boot Books. Forthcoming.
· Muller, Lauren (editor). June Jordan's Poetry for the People: A Revolutionary Blueprint. Routledge, 1995.
· Shawl, Nisi and Cynthia Ward. Writing the Other: A Practical Approach. Aqueduct Press. 2005.