Philadelphia
Philadelphia Writing Discord
As a part of being a good neighbor in Philadelphia, we run a Discord for writers in the greater Philadelphia region.
With over 800+ members and monthly virtual events, conference ticket giveaways, and more, it’s a free resource for our neighbors to network and make connections.
Want an invite? Email Eric.
Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl
A yearly event that pulls in over four dozen bookstores throughout the area. We run this to give back to the bookshops that make this place feel like home.
The event has been regularly covered by outlets like Billy Penn, CBS3, Axios, KYW, and more. It’s our honor to help shine a light on our indie bookseller friends.
Annual Meetups
By partnering with local bookstores and event spaces in the city, we host monthly free get togethers that provide writers with chances to meet publishing professionals and ask them questions.
You can see the event listings below, but the best way to keep updated is to follow us on social media and subscribe to our monthly newsletter.
Want to host an event? Have an idea for one? Say hi.
Non-Fiction Book Proposal Workshop at A Novel Idea
Join Eric Smith and literary agent Jennifer Herrera (of David Black Literary Agency) for a conversation on what makes a good non-fiction book proposal. The AMA workshop will dig into what most agents (and editors!) look for in a project like this, and how you can ideally polish yours up.
This is a free workshop, though we encourage donations to our beloved bookshop friends, and for you to buy a book or two, if you are able! Tickets are limited, scoop them while you can.
Write in at American Grammar
Join Neighborhood Literary for a write-in at American Grammar, one of our favorite local bookshops (and cafes!).
Things will kick off at 10AM and run until the early afternoon. While this is of course completely free, we do encourage folks do make a donation to the shop and/or purchase a book.
The morning and afternoon will also be full of special guest authors (also Eric!), who will be available for brain picks and questions about their work, craft, and can maybe even help you figure out that story problem you’re struggling with.
See you there!
Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl 2025
This year’s Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl! Come wander the city and explore bookshops around the region. More information can be found on the Philadelphia Bookstore Crawl’s official website here, where we update events frequently.
Query Letter Workshop at Head & the Hand
Join us and our friends at Head and the Hand in Fishtown for a free query letter workshop.
We’ll talk about what makes a great pitch, and afterwards, we’ll even critique a few brave folks’ query letters (we’ll pick five at random, we can’t do them all!) in real time. There will be plenty of time for questions and networking.
This is a free event and it will absolutely sell out, so be sure to reserve a ticket with H&H, here.
And while yes, it’s a free event, do consider donating to the bookshop or purchasing a book while you’re there. We can only keep doing these things if we keep being good neighbors.