28 Comments
User's avatar
Courtney Maum's avatar

I'm putting this in my out-of-office-- it's so great! if you think about it email me a social square and the article link and I'll put on the TP Instagram....Thank you for the shout out!

Expand full comment
Sari Botton's avatar

Thank you for including me and my magazines in this incredible list of resources, Elizabeth!! <3

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

Thank you for all the wonderful and important work you do, Sari!

Expand full comment
Sari Botton's avatar

<3 <3 <3

Expand full comment
Amy Brown's avatar

Great list, Elizabeth. I would certainly add Writing in the Dark with Jeannine Ouellette as a Substack newsletter (very) worth reading for some of (if not the best) craft writing and teaching on Substack, as well as the always incredible essays Jeannine herself writes. WITD has become not just a newsletter and place of learning (I attended her 9-month virtual writing SCHOOL this past year), but a community, a family. Can’t recommend it enough for new & seasoned writers of every genre. And I remember first learning about you Elizabeth in a WITD post😀

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

WELP I knew I’d overlook something vital- thank you! Jeannine is a friend so I’m doubly apologetic but I’ve updated this list! Thank you, thank you! 🖤

Expand full comment
Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Ah thank you for adding!!

Expand full comment
Amy Brown's avatar

Glad to see WITD make your generous list of resources. Several were familiar to me but many not, so thanks!

Expand full comment
Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Thank you so much, Amy. We really are family. xoxoxo

Expand full comment
Helena Guerin Writes's avatar

This is really helpful Elizabeth, feel like a lot of writers would have backpacks like this to share that others starting out would really appreciate, I might start compiling. I've found the relationships I've made with other participants on online courses really rewarding, my writers group is an offshoot of a short course run by Kerry Ní Dochartaigh which I think you also attended? Elissa Bassist is an extremely generous teacher providing workshops via Substack atm if anyone is interested in humour writing, I attended the first one on Sunday and lmao. I'm forever indebted to Annie Dillard's The Writing Life for easing the pain of my emerging writer who was affronted to discover her loved ones weren't necessarily interested in reading every essay she wrote - if someone is not a reader, your writing is unlikely to change that fact!

Expand full comment
Jeannine Ouellette's avatar

Hey!!! Thank you so much for including Writing in the Dark, and for offering this list. I will share it with my community!

Expand full comment
Brenda Horrigan's avatar

When I click a link to this line, I geta 404 mesage--says there might be a typo in the URL? (Or is it me?): "I wrote a Substack about the best writing courses I took in 2024 and it still holds true."

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

That's odd, I tried updating the link but in case it still isn't working:

https://writingelizabeth.substack.com/p/the-7-best-workshops-i-took-this

Expand full comment
Brenda Horrigan's avatar

that works! Thanks

Expand full comment
Sally Ekus's avatar

What an incredible list! I’d love to add my non-fiction book proposal guidelines! https://open.substack.com/pub/notsosecretagent/p/cookbook-proposal-guidelines?r=6lue7&utm_medium=ios

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

this is fantastic, thank you!

Expand full comment
Sally Ekus's avatar

You’re welcome! Thanks for adding this to your incredible resource. I’m going to add your list to my Where to Begin post!

Expand full comment
Laura Premack, PhD's avatar

For books, I'd add Scratch, edited by Manjula Martin; the Shitty First Drafts chapter in Anne Lamott's iconic Bird by Bird; and, for academic writers, Joli Jensen's Write No Matter What. Mason Currey's Daily Rituals: Women at Work is also a thought-provoking (albeit at times infuriating) read. For support, I humbly offer myself -- I help people develop healthy and sustainable writing practices.

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

these are fantastic! thank you!!

Expand full comment
Danielle Macedo's avatar

I love this, I’ll be sharing it with a family friend who is in college and interested in writing as a career. And of course, I’ll be sitting down and going through to see what I might need to add to my own backpack! 😄

For podcasts, I’ve found Elizabeth Dillon’s recommendation of the Publishing Rodeo to be great! I think they’re on a hiatus (hopefully temporary), but they have a huge backlog. The authors that run it have some of the most candid conversations about the realities of publishing, though the focus is fiction and generally on SFF/genre.

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

ohhhh good addition! thanks!

Expand full comment
Ruthie Ackerman's avatar

This is SO great, Elizabeth! Bookmarking to share with my students and clients!

Expand full comment
Aysu Selin's avatar

Great list, Elizabeth. Thank you 🙏🏼

I would also recommend Brooke Warner’s Substack Writerly Things and her podcast with Grant Faulkner called Memoir Nation.

Expand full comment
Elizabeth Austin's avatar

Excellent, will add them shortly! Thank you!

Expand full comment
Alyson Mosquera Dutemple's avatar

What a generous gift this list is. Thanks!

Expand full comment
Memoiring Book Club's avatar

Fantastic resources for emerging writers. Such a public service! 🏆 I’ve taken so many of the classes (with Courtney, Deep Dives with The Sh*t, etc.), listen to lots of pods, etc., and continue to. It really helps my writing to always be learning from authors and be in community. Thanks for these!

Expand full comment
👉🏻jonathan_foster's avatar

great list. thanks.

Expand full comment
Chelsea Caffey's avatar

What an amazing resource. Thank you so much!!

Expand full comment