Read about writing

Whether you’re a student struggling to draft your first academic essay, a professor wrestling with an unruly manuscript, a novelist trying to establish a regular writing routine, or an inquisitive reader wanting to learn more about the psychology of writing, you’ll find something for you in this curated collection of books on writing. Start building up your own personal library now.

The Writing Process

Books on various aspects of the writing process: from getting started to “getting it out the door,” from procrastination to power.

Productive Writing

Books for writers who aspire to write more – whether more often, more prolifically, or with more confidence and ease.

Stylish Writing

Books for writers in any genre who want to sharpen up their style – or simply to grab their readers’ attention with graceful, elegant prose.

The Writer's Craft

Books on grammar, syntax, punctuation, paragraphing, and other essential tools for any writer’s artisanal toolbox.

Writing & the Body

Books on how our bodies influence our writing, how our writing affects our bodies, how writing and bodies can be set into motion together, and how metaphor — the linguistic expression of human embodiment — infuses our writing and expression.

Writing & the Brain

Books by psychologists, neuroscientists, cognitive linguists, mindfulness experts, and other researchers dedicated to reporting on the cutting-edge science of writing and cognition.

Writing Spaces

Books on the the complex pleasures of the pen, the writerly affordances of notebooks and journals, the emotional dynamics of writing space, and the unruliness of lines.

Teaching Writing

Books on the teaching of all kinds of writing (and thinking) for all types of students, with a focus on higher education learning and teaching.

Writing & Research

Books on research writing, researching writing, and research about writing.

Writing Genres

Books for academic, professional, and creative writers working in specific disciplines and genres, from science writing to prose fiction, from medical humanities to law.

Writing & Metaphor

Communities of Writers

Books on writing with and among others, whether through writing groups, writing networks, writing retreats, or collaborative writing partnerships.

Editing Writing

Books for writers who are also editors.

 

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Main image credit - Paper collage by Helen Sword