London Writers Society

 

Welcome! If you’re a writer or interested in writing, and you are in or around London, Canada, this is the place for you.

Purpose

The London Writers Society provides information, community, and exposure for new and experienced writers–and all people interested in writing–in and around London, Canada.

Who We Are

Founded in 2007, LWS presently has approximately seventy members, mostly in our region (although we have a few long-distance members as well). Of particular pride to us is our inclusivity in regards to writing levels: members range from people who are interested in writing and yet are just edging into the craft, to writing educators, to widely published authors who have lived by the written word all their lives. You may care to browse the biographies in our LWS Luminaries page.

What We Offer

At the LWS, we particularly seek to help writers find a sense of community as we engage in a craft that is both uniquely self-enlightening and yet at times isolating. Our activities reflect this focus.

General Membership Meetings

In normal times, we have monthly meetings at the London Central Library, typically in the Stevenson and Hunt Room, on the third Tuesday of the month at 6:30 pm. These meetings are a great place to meet other writers and the writing-interested. These monthly meetings feature a variety of events ranging from guest speakers to mini-workshops. Our attendance at these meetings range between twenty and thirty-five participants on average.

However, due to Covid-19, we have naturally discontinued these in-person meetings. Happily, since April of 2020, we have successfully moved our meetings to an online Zoom format. Want to know how to participate in these online meetings? Subscribe to our newsletter to be informed of meeting details, including topic and Zoom procedures.

Critique groups

For many members, critique groups are a key attraction of the London Writers Society. They bring writers together with peers for face-to-face comments and suggestions on their works in progress. Our critique groups have moved online due to Covid-19, using either email or Zoom.

Events

We produce a variety of events to inform, entertain, and give writers a platform for their work. Our activities have included:

  • Managing the annual Souwesto Book Expo, which is the regional author portion of London’s prestigious WordsFest literary festival. 
  • Holding several intrasociety writing contests per year.
  • Keeping our members updated about writing events and opportunities through our ongoing newsletter program.
  • Offering mini-workshops on a variety of topics, such as query writing, flash fiction, self-publishing.
  • Organizing field trips to intriguing places, the like of which authors often write about yet typically do not directly experience. These trips have included police stations, horse farms, and shooting ranges.
  • Hosting holiday parties.
  • Organizing marketing opportunities, such as author days at locales such as Chapters.

Indeed, the LWS is always seeking new activities that will inspire our members–and be fun!

Newsletters

A key to the sense of community that the LWS offers is our newsletter program. We have a subscriber base of 380+ people interested in writing and writers in our region, to whom we send newsletters devoted to society announcements, writing news, announcements by our authors, and regional writing events. You can subscribe to the newsletter here. *

*Note: Subscribing to the newsletter does not provide membership privileges. To join the LWS go to Membership page

Membership

Membership in the London Writers Society is the best writing bargain to be had — only $25 a year to join our creative community. If you want to attend a meeting or two before you join, that is certainly fine.

If you want to join, the option to sign up in person at one of our General Membership Meetings is not presently available, since Covid-19 has moved our meetings online.

Yet, you can safely join the LWS via other methods: by mailing a cheque; by buying a membership online via paypal. These methods are described in our Membership page.