Arizona Writing Resources
Posted by David Duhr in 
Continuing with our new series, State Writing Resources, here we have “The Grand Canyon State,” Arizona. Among the many writers, past and present, with Arizona ties are recent Pulitzer winner Adam Johnson, Raymond Carver’s editor Gordon Lish, famous Western novelist Zane Grey, and award-winning poet Eduardo C. Corral.
Presented here in no particular order are nine Arizona writing resources, from conferences to local critique groups to literary magazines. If you live in Arizona or are planning a move there, these are some organizations you might want to take a peek at.
1) The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing at Arizona State University
Arizona State University’s writing center, its mission is to become a “creative hub for writers and readers and the artistic and intellectual heart of a newly vibrant, multinational, and culturally diverse world of writers.”
2) Avondale Writers Conference
An annual one-day event that is designed to allow you to connect with agents, editors, and other writers who have gathered to share their knowledge and love of writing.
3) Arizona Authors Association
Meetings, readings, workshops, networking, and other events throughout the state.
4) Changing Hands Bookstore Writers’ Workshops
This popular Tempe bookstore offers a diverse array of workshops for both youth and adult writers, as well as a revolving door of author readings.
Arizona Mystery Writers is a non-profit organization in Tucson, formed to promote mystery writing by Southern Arizona writers. Membership is open to all people interested in mysteries.
6) Society of Southwestern Authors
With several chapters around the state, the SSA is a nonprofit association of writers and other publishing professionals, designed to promote friendship and support among area writers.
The Writers Studio Tucson welcomes beginning and advanced students to a unique workshop environment where fiction writers and poets learn to discover and nurture their own voices.
8) Desert Rose Romance Writers of America
Desert Rose RWA is an Arizona-based non-profit group of multi-genre writers affiliated with Romance Writers of America. Through educational programs and networking events, it encourages its members during all stages of their writing careers.
9) Professional Writers of Prescott
This group is a network of published and non-published writers and editors who live in the Quad Cities—Prescott, Prescott Valley, Chino Valley, and Dewey/Humboldt—and in the Verde Valley.
Help us add to this list, Arizonans! Do you run a local writing group or a lit journal we should be aware of? Feel free to share info and links in the comments section below.
Are they allowing books in Arizona yet, or is that still not a thing?
I was there last week and didn’t see any. Hopefully somewhere in AZ there’s a grassroots movement addressing the problem.