Hawaii Writing Groups, Workshops, and Creative Writing Classes
Here you’ll find a collection of resources for writers in Hawaii, from conferences to local critique groups, workshops, and creative writing classes. If you’re looking for writing groups near you, a workshop or class, a place to connect with other writers, or somewhere to submit your work, these Hawaii writing resources are worth checking out.
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Writing Organizations & Groups
Center for Biographical Research
A University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa center devoted to life writing, offering public talks, publications, educational programs, and other resources exploring biography, autobiography, memoir, and related forms. (Honolulu)
A nonprofit writing organization offering workshops, readings, writer-support groups, publications, and other opportunities for writers to develop their craft and connect with the literary community. (Big Island)
The National League of American Pen Women — Honolulu Branch
A Honolulu branch of the national arts organization offering monthly meetings, readings, speakers, workshops, exhibitions, and other programs supporting writers, artists, and musicians. (Honolulu)
Conferences, Retreats & Residencies
An annual festival celebrating books, storytelling, ideas, music, and Hawaiian culture through author conversations, performances, panels, and other public programming. (Honolulu)
An annual multi-day conference featuring master classes, craft and publishing sessions, author presentations, literary agents, editors, and one-on-one pitch opportunities across fiction, nonfiction, memoir, poetry, and screenwriting. (Līhuʻe / Kauaʻi)
A writing retreat on Oʻahu’s North Shore offering intensive workshops in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and memoir, along with dedicated writing time, creative activities, and opportunities to work closely with faculty. (North Shore / Oʻahu)
Literary Magazines & Publishers
An independent nonprofit literary press publishing poetry, fiction, plays, novels, anthologies, and the Bamboo Ridge: Journal of Hawaiʻi Literature and Arts, with a longstanding focus on voices from the islands. (Honolulu)
An independent publisher producing literature, memoir, history, language, and cultural works focused on Hawaiʻi and the broader Pacific. (Honolulu)
A literary journal of Hawaiʻi Pacific University publishing poetry, fiction, and nonfiction by writers from Hawaiʻi, the Pacific, and beyond. (Honolulu / Online)
A student-edited literary journal at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa publishing creative writing, essays, and visual art by student and professional contributors. (Honolulu)
MĀNOA: A Pacific Journal of International Writing
An award-winning literary journal published by University of Hawaiʻi Press, featuring fiction, poetry, essays, art, and translations from across Asia, the Pacific, the Americas, and beyond. (Honolulu)
Help us add to this list, Hawaii writers! Do you know of writing groups near you, writing workshops near you, creative writing classes near you, or a Hawaii literary journal or publisher we should be aware of? Let us know here. We periodically review these listings for broken links and outdated information.