Library Search: Creative Writing: Writer's Toolkit

Writer's Resources

This research guide provides information on library resources that may be helpful to an aspiring writer, including advice on the process of writing, overcoming creative block and getting your work published.

It is also important to stay up to date with the publishing industry. Market research reports, newspapers and industry news sources are all essential tools for understanding industry developments and staying informed. Explore this page for essential resources to support this.

Publishing Industry Information

Mintel This link opens in a new window
Marketing research reports providing detailed analyses of UK consumer trends, including reports covering British lifestyles, retail and consumer spending.

Publisher's Weekly
International news website of the book publishing and bookselling industry, including business news, reviews, and bestseller lists.
Publishers Association
The resources section is particularly useful for statistics on journal and book publishing trends, Also see events for book industry events.
Writers & Artists
Industry advice for writers and online community. Published by Bloomsbury.

The Bookseller

The Bookseller is a British magazine reporting news on the publishing industry. It is the first publication to publish official weekly bestseller lists in the UK, and contains the latest news from the publishing and bookselling worlds, in-depth analysis, pre-publication book previews and author interviews. It has also created the first UK-based eBook sales ranking.

LinkedIn Learning

LinkedIn Learning This link opens in a new window
LinkedIn Learning offers training videos that cover a wide range of creative skills, with several courses focussed on creative writing and editing. Search for 'Conquering Writer's Block' or 'Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps' or 'Productivity Hacks for Writers' to get started.

Dictionaries, Thesauri and Style Manuals

Oxford Reference This link opens in a new window
200 specialist dictionaries and reference eBooks for fact checking, exploring the meanings of a word, synonyms, euphemisms etc.

Writers Helping Writers Thesaurus Series
Specialist thesaurus guides to teach writers how to use show-don’t-tell to reveal a character’s deepest layers and make readers feel more involved in the world, events, and undercurrents taking place in the story.

Newspapers & Reviews

Gale OneFile: News This link opens in a new window
Provides access to local, national and international newspapers, including The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian, The Washington Post, The New York Times and more.
Times Digital Archive This link opens in a new window
Full-text facsimile of more than 200 years of The Times. With over 12 million articles available, dating from 1785-2019.

The New York Times Book Review
A weekly magazine featuring book reviews, feature articles, author interviews and book excerpts.
TLS: Times Literary Supplement
A weekly journal for literature, publishing book reviews, extracts and essays by leading writers.
The Complete Review
Thousands of reviews of novels, book information and news, especially for works in translation.

Creative Writing: Writer's Toolkit