Illinois Writing Resources
Posted by David Duhr in 
Continuing in our series State Writing Resources, today we present the Land of Lincoln, the Prairie State, Illinois. The history of Illinois writing is a rich one, as one can see just by looking at these lists of writers from Chicago and writers from Illinois. And for some ridiculous reason, neither of those pages list Stuart Dybek, one of our best. His Childhood and Other Neighborhoods is a clinic on the short story.
Presented in no particular order are nine Illinois writing resources, from conferences to local critique groups to literary magazines. We tried to offer a variety of resources throughout the state, and not just in Chicago. (And with St. Louis just across the river, southern Illinoisans will want to stay tuned for our piece on Missouri.) If you live in Illinois or are planning a move there, these are some organizations you might want to take a peek at.
A not-for-profit organization designed to bring together writers of all genres twice each month to talk about their craft, exchange ideas, share good news, critique each other’s work, listen to seasoned writers share their experiences, stretch their writing muscles with creative prompts, go to writers conferences together, and ultimately collaborate in publishing their work in anthologies.
2) Prairie Hearts
The east central Illinois chapter of Romance Writers of America, providing support, encouragement, current marketing information, critiquing, and a variety of other opportunities for writers to network with other writers.
A not-for-profit multi-genre organization devoted to helping its members market their writing.
4) Chicago Writers Association
Volunteer, not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting the 4 C’s of writing: creativity, commerce, craft and community.
Brings writers together for an informative and fun weekend conference to network with other writers, rub elbows with publishers, and connect with agents.
6) Chicago Women in Publishing
A nonprofit volunteer organization formed in 1972 for professionals in the publishing industry and allied fields. Its purpose is to explore and improve the status of publishing professionals, to assist members in greater professional achievement, and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas.
Evanston Writers’ Workshop exists to help writers achieve their goals through education, support and friendship.
8) Love is Murder Mystery Conference
This independent, not-for-profit organization presents an annual convention open to writers, readers, educational groups and for-profit vendors. It also provides an educational forum to writers and readers to further their knowledge of writing, publishing, and the business of book production.
A growing community of writers building Chicagoland’s premier center for writing and writers. Their mission is simple: teach the art and craft of writing in a positive, open and encouraging community where students can develop their unique voices.
Help us add to this list, Illinoisans! 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.
In Print – We’re a professional writing organization based in Rockford, Illinois. We provide resources and education to our writers with workshops, guest speakers covering everything from time management through editing and copyright law. We meet on the second Saturday of the month at the public library in Cherry Valley, IL and our newest member-driven creation – In Print Radio – airs on http://www.rockfordcollegeradio.com every Monday morning at 10:00 am Central time.
Excellent. Thanks for the tip, Bob. Check it out, gang. In Print: http://inprintwriters.com/