Being A Writer

Meeting writers on the page since 1996

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Being A Writer

Useful Web Links

Submitting your writing…

Arts Council England and TLC’s Regional Writing Partners

Arts bodies outside of England

Additional Partners

Literature Development Agencies

  • The Word Factory (Workshops and masterclasses for short story writing)
  • Megaphone Write (Making minority voices heard in British children’s literature)
  • Opus Independents (Not-For-Profit, Independent Organisation, working in the arts, etc)
  • The Arts Projects (Online platform for poets and spoken word artists)
  • Short Stops (Dedicating to showcasing short stories in the UK and Ireland)

Live Literature

  • Apples and Snakes  – “England’s leading organisation for poetry and spoken word”
  • Word Poetry – (Longest running poetry and spoken word night in the Midlands)
  • Cafe Writers – (Monthly readings of poetry and prose, with open mic slots)
  • A Word In Your Ear – (Themed bi-monthly readings from writers and performers)
  • Grit Lit – (Literary night that focuses on writing and author with some edginess)
  • Stokes Croft Writers – (Storytelling night showcasing talent from Bristol and beyond)
  • Flashers Club – (Quarterly flash fiction open mic night, all writers welcome)
  • OutSpoken Live – (Combining live music with spoken word)
  • Tell Tales – (Bi-monthly open mic readings; poems, short stories, novel extracts)
  • Liars League – (Monthly live fiction night of stories from around the world)
  • Ark Short Stories – (Immersive live performances of themed stories)
  • Writers Hub – (Live reading event showcasing new writers)
  • Tongue Fu – (Improvised band music with poetry, led by Chris Redmond)

Magazines

Inspirational People in Literature 

  • Anne R Allen – Writer, blogger, author of eight comic mysteries, and a collection of short stories and poems. Very ‘TLC’ blog full of thoughtful, serious, literary content.
  • Jane Friedman – former publisher and writers’ champion, with a range of insightful guest posts from the writing and publishing community.
  • Chuck Wendig –  novelist, screenwriter, and game designer. This is his blog. He talks about writing, food and pop culture.
  • JR Carpenter – website of JR Carpenter, award-winning artist, writer, performer, postdoctoral researcher and maker of maps, zines, books, poetry, short fiction, long fiction, non-fiction and non-linear, intertextual, hypermedia and computer-generated narratives.
  • Jakonrath – Has sold more than two million books in twenty countries in the mystery, thriller, horror and sci-fi genres. Considered a pioneer in self-publishing and has been featured in Forbes, Newsweek, Time, the NY Times and blogs for the Huffington Post.
  • Max Porter – Editorial Director at Granta Books. Also wrote the multiple award winning Grief is the Thing with Feathers, now a theatre production starring Cillian Murphy.
  • Nikesh Shukla – Nikesh is the editor of the essay collection, The Good Immigrant, where 21 British writers of colour discuss race and immigration in the UK. The Good Immigrant won the reader’s choice at the Books Are My Bag Awards and is shortlisted for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards.
  • Courttia Newland – Courttia Newland is a British writer of Jamaican and Bajan heritage. He is the author of three acclaimed novels from Abacus: The Scholar, Society Within and Snakeskin.
  • Kae Tempest – is an English poet, spoken-word artist, novelist, and playwright. In 2013, they won the Ted Hughes Award for the work Brand New Ancients.
  • Inua Ellams – Inua Ellams is an internationally touring poet, playwright, performer, graphic artist & designer. He is an ambassador for the Ministry of Stories and has published four books of poetry. His current play, ‘Barber Shop Chronicles’ sold out its run at England’s National Theatre.
  • Jen Campbell – Jen Campbell is an award winning poet and short story writer. Her debut short story collection, ‘The Beginning of the World in the Middle of the Night,’ is published by Two Roads.
  • Kate Pullinger – Canadian novelist, author of digital fiction, and lecturer.
  • Naomi Alderman  – Author, novelist, winner of the Women’s Prize, and game designer (Zombies, Run!).
  • Crap Hound – Short stories, graphic novels, novels, all things literature.
  • Mark Dawson – an award-nominated, multiple USA Today bestseller, with more than 20 books and over 2 million books downloaded worldwide in multiple languages. Focus on marketing for self-published authors.
  • Savidge Reads – Writer and blogger, co-founder and Honorary Director of The Green Carnation Prize (for LGBT writing), also one of the voices of The Readers Podcast.
  • Nathan Bransford – author of How to Write a Novel and the Jacob Wonderbar series, which was published by Penguin. Former literary agent at Curtis Brown.
  • Tim Clare – Death of 1,000 Cuts podcast, and ‘Couch to 80k Writing Boot Camp’, a free 8-week online writing resource.
  • Philip Shelley – an old friend of TLC’s, Philip is one of the UK’s foremost screenwriting experts, and holds bootcamps, courses and training days with expert guests.
  • Toby Litt – Toby has a fabulous ‘Starting to Write’ resources page, as well as a series of free workshops on his website. Well worth a look.

Independent Publishers

Quirky – Of Interest

  • Future of the Book – A small think-and-do tank investigating the evolution of intellectual discourse as it shifts from printed pages to networked screens
  • IF Books – New writing happens here
  • 26 – 26 is a diverse group of people who share a love of words, and believe their potential is hugely underestimated.
  • Mslexia Writer’s Diary – from the leading women’s writing magazine
  • Mostly Lit – Join , , and  on Mondays as they discuss books, pop culture & wellness for their weekly Podcast
  • How to Fail – a podcast inviting people to speak on their failures, to celebrate the varied journeys we all take in life

Resources

Retreats:

  • Arvon – Arvon is a charity that runs five-day residential creative writing courses in retreats in rural writing houses, offering time and space to write.
  • Urban Writer’s Retreat – Writer’s retreat located in Devon plus day retreats in London.
  • TLC Literary Adventure – TLC’s annual writing holiday
  • Write Within – Self-led writer retreats at the Writers’ Cabin in mid-Wales

Self Publishing: 

  • Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing – Self-publish eBooks and paperbacks for free with Kindle Direct Publishing, and reach millions of readers on Amazon.
  • BookBaby (ebook publishing and distribution)
  • Silverwood Books  – self publishing package services
  • Unbound – Unbound is a crowdfunding publisher that gives people the tools, support and freedom to bring their ideas to life.
  • NetGalley – A site where book reviewers and other professional readers can read books before they are published
  • BookBub – Get free and bargain bestsellers for Kindle, Nook, and more
  • Matador – leading assisted self publisher, established 1996
  • CreateThinkDo – Marketing Mentoring for Creatives

Societies, Writers’ Rights and Trade Unions –

  • Society of Authors – Trade union for all types of writers, illustrators and literary translators, at all stages of their careers.
  • The Royal Society of Literature – A society of, and for, writers. We build bridges between our fellows and the reading public, so that their talents are shares as widely as possible.
  • English PEN – English PEN is the founding centre of a global literary network who defend and promote freedom of expression, and remove barriers to literature.
  • Alliance of Independent Authors – ALLi, the Alliance of Independent Authors, is a non-profit professional association for authors who self-publish. The alliance offers connection and collaboration, advice and education, advocacy and representation to writers who want to self-publish well.

Translation: 

Industry News:

Grants & Bursaries: 

Working in Publishing (organisations):

Getting Into Publishing (useful articles):

Editing Training: 

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