One of the most popular categories on the site is interviews with writers. Having now interviewed over 200 writers, the subject of inspiration comes up a lot. Most writers seem to have a few books that they turn to when looking to re-focus or re-ignite the inspiration needed to put pen to page. I felt it was time to compile a list of the best books for aspiring writers. This special reading list will include books that offer practical advice for aspiring writers; others will be recommended to help you stay inspired, others are just examples of incredible writing – but all have been nominated as must read books for aspiring writers. To discover this list of books for aspiring writers, we have an incredible panel of writers from a range of genres. Please meet our expert panel who will help us discover must read books for aspiring writers.

Chigozie Obioma is an award-winning Nigerian writer. He is an Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2015, he was a finalist for the Man Booker Prize and won four other awards – including the FT/Oppenheimer prize for fiction for The Fishermen. In 2015, he was named in the top 100 Influential People by Foreign Policy.

James Shipman is a published author with a passion for history, a passion he credits to his Father’s influence. His first historical novel, Constantinopolis was republished in March of 2015 and quickly followed by his second book, Going Home in July of the same year. Going Home reached as high as #2 in the Amazon Kindle Overall Paid Bestseller List. His most recent book is entitled A Bitter Rain.

Claire Fullerton is an author who was born in Wayzata, Minnesota but grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. Her debut novel, A Portal in Time was a paranormal mystery about a woman who suspects she has lived before. She followed it with a book she had actually written in previous years, entitled Dancing to an Irish Reel. Her third novel is titled, Mourning Dove and is a Southern Family Saga set in 1970’s and 1980’s Memphis.

Brenda Jackson is a novelist who writes contemporary multicultural romance novels. Brenda has published more than 100 novels and novellas. Additionally, she has over 10 million books in print. In 2012, Brenda received the Romance Writers of America’s (RWA) Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, one of the highest literary award an author can receive in the romance genre. Her latest novel is Best Laid Plans.

Alison Littlewood is an author whose latest novel is The Crow Garden, a tale of obsession set amidst Victorian asylums and séance rooms. Her work has been selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and described as ‘perfect reading for a dark winter’s night. Alison’s short stories have been picked for Best British Horror, The Best Horror of the Year and The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy and Horror anthologies.

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren K. Denton now lives with her husband and two young daughters in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. The Hideaway was released in April of 2017 and has since become a USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Charts bestseller. Lauren K. Denton’s second novel, Hurricane Season, released April of 2018 and was listed on BookPage’s 2018 list of Most Anticipated Fiction.

J.M. DeMatteis was a professional musician and rock music journalist before entering the comic book field. He has written almost all of the major DC and Marvel icons—including memorable runs on Spider-Man and Justice League, as well as his own original graphic novels like Seekers Into The Mystery and Mercy. He is also the founder of Creation Point, a story consultation service that offers in-depth guidance for writers.

Ramsey Campbell is an English horror fiction writer, editor and critic. S. T. Joshi commented on Ramsey, “future generations will regard him as the leading horror writer of our generation”. He has continued his prolific output, publishing an average of a novel a year, with his latest entitled Thirteen Days by Sunset Beach. Since 2000; three of his novels have won major awards for best novel.

You’ve met the panel and now it is time to discover their nominations for what they deem must-read books for aspiring writers.

J.M. Dematteis:

There are authors whose stories uplift my vision, nourish my soul and authors whose stories so inspire my Creative Self that, after reading them, I have no choice but to race to the computer and write. And then there’s Ray Bradbury, who operates on both those levels and so many more. Ray B makes me feel better about being a human on Planet Earth and also fills my creative cup to overflowing. So much so that, to paraphrase Bradbury himself, I have to tip myself over and let the stories pour out. It’s impossible to pick one Bradbury book above all others, but I will: Dandelion Wine, simultaneously his most realistic and fantastic novel. Drink deep!

Claire Fullerton:

This novel gave me the first suggestion that one need look no further than one’s own history for inspiration, as all Conroy devotees know that Conroy made a forty-year career of turning his own personal narrative into fiction by writing about his dysfunctional family. The way this best-selling novel is crafted seals the deal. Narrator Tom Wingo urgently leaves his home in coastal South Carolina and spends the summer in New York City confessing the long repressed, woeful tale of his unlucky family to his sister’s shrink, as his sister has recently attempted suicide. I found the use of this premise a brilliant foundation from which to unearth and expose family secrets.

Chigozie Obioma:

My first choice would be Paradise Lost by John Milton. It is the single most definitive text about western civilization. It is a story that is epic as it is cosmic, predating man, and surpassing him. The story is about the fall of ‘man’, in this context, being man in the Biblical first couple” Adam and Eve. Milton bequeaths every character here with a certain eloquence that gives this biblical sequence a poetic energy. It ultimately probes the question of free will—the nexus of which everything from liberal democracy to free speech springs from while also showing us the boundless territories to which art could reach. It is one of the books I try to re-read every once in while.

Ramsey Campbell:

While today’s readers may find this extraordinary, in 1960 there had never been a single British paperback of H. P. Lovecraft’s tales of terror. I was fourteen years old then and found a solitary copy of Cry Horror in a shop window. I read it in one day (skiving off school, I admit), and thought it not merely the finest book of supernatural horror I’d ever read but my new all-time favourite book. I learned first from Lovecraft’s use of prose to convey uncanny dread – the rhythm and selection of language, the careful accretion of detail, the sense of cosmic fear. From slavish emulation of his purplest passages (far fewer than his detractors claim, and generally an aspect of the orchestration of the entire piece) in my earliest published stuff I moved on to appreciating the modulation of language to achieve different effects and the care he took with structure. I’m still learning nearly sixty years later, and I hope not to stop. His work rewards the closest study.

Alison Littlewood:

There are few books for aspiring writers I would wholeheartedly recommend, but this is my favourite – a no-nonsense memoir of the craft that tells how it is from someone who’s actually been there. Even if you’re not interested in the biographical detail, it’s full of useful tips and information about writing. It’s also inspirational – this book acted as a catalyst for me to stop daydreaming about writing and sign up for a local course.

Lauren K. Denton:

More than just a manual on writing, this is a manual on life. Along with giving heaping doses of instruction and advice on the craft of writing, King also tells stories of his childhood, his path to becoming a writer, and his stinging failures and joyous successes. Admittedly, King’s fiction isn’t what I typically read, but this book on writing (and life) made me wish I could take him out to dinner and listen to more of his stories and life experiences.

James Shipman:

This is a modern work of art. For me, this is the best writing I’ve seen in the past twenty years. Each sentence can be studied and there is much to learn from the author not only on each and every page but also in subtle advancement of the plot, foreshadowing, etc.

Brenda Jackson:

When I decided to write a romance novel with the intent of getting it published, I had no idea where to start. During the mid -1980’s, I’d been attending a readers’ convention, Romantic Times for a few years. One of things I enjoyed about attending the convention were the workshops that provided input from the publishers. It was my goal, a challenged that my husband reinforced, to write a book and get it published within a two-year period. Kathryn Falk, the CEO of Romantic Times, decided to write a book titled, How To Write A Romance Novel and Get it Published. That book became my writing bible. After reading it from front to back, I felt inspired and ready to begin. It not only told me how to get started, but also what to do when I was finished. It provided writing tips; interviews with well-known romance authors; and guidelines from editors of top publishing houses. Now, whenever aspiring romance authors contact me and ask how I got started, I always tell them about Kathryn’s book. I am so appreciative to her for writing it.

Chigozie Obioma:

The Palm-Wine Drinkard by Amos Tutuola was the book that made me a writer. It was the first novel by a native African to be written in English, albeit in broken English. But there is a uniqueness to Tutuola’s vision, to the kaleidoscopic range of his characters that this tale of an extremely eccentric man in an odyssey to resurrect his dead tapster is at once highly entertaining as it is philosophical.

Alison Littlewood:

I read this back when I was wondering if I’d ever be able to get my head around writing a novel. I’d read a few ‘how-to’ books and found them formulaic and of no real use. This one doesn’t try to tell you how to plot or structure or pace a novel – it’s more of a giant kick up the ass to make you get on with it, and let your subconscious take care of the rest. It’s written by the guy behind NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, with its emphasis on word count targets, and although it’s not a method I still use, it was an invaluable learning exercise along the way.

James Shipman:

I’d also nominate Sol Stein’s book on writing. Sol is a long time editor with some significant titles under his belt. His book goes much deeper into the art of characterization, figurative language, tension and suspense. I read this book between novels I wrote and I feel it definitely improved my writing.

Ramsey Campbell:

Three years later Lolita overwhelmed me. To invoke history again, in those days Nabokov’s novel still had some reputation as a forbidden, indeed naughty, novel. I bought it partly for that reason, but I’d barely read the famous opening paragraph singing the praises of Lolita’s name when I realised the book was far more than I’d anticipated. Soon I was in awe of the celebration of language, the dark humour applied to the most unlikely themes, the sense of profoundly serious play with words and narrative, the demonstration of how eloquent you could render your material by approaching it from an unexpected angle. It was the beginning of my appreciation of the author, and I bought everything else by him I could find, including the equally extraordinary Pale Fire. All this liberated my style and general approach to writing like the ingestion of a literary drug.

Claire Fullerton:

This classic, coming-of-age story set at a boys New England boarding school taught me the power of strong narrative and the influence of well-drawn characters. Intellectual and introspective Gene tells the story of charming, dynamic, Phineas, in such a way as to lay bare the complications that result from hero-worship. I can think of no other character that left such an impact on my writing career than the charismatic Phineas.

Lauren K. Denton:

The subtitle to this book is The Pleasures and Perils of a Creative Life, and Shapiro covers both so well. Like King’s book, Still Writing is about both writing and life. In fact, most of her best advice about writing can be applied just as aptly to life, whether you’re a writer or not. She divides the book into three sections—Beginnings, Middles, and Ends. And while you can pick it up and read an essay at random, I suggest you read it from the beginning, especially if you’re starting on a new writing project. Her tone is so encouraging and practical, it just may be the thing that helps pull you out of a slump.

J.M. Dematteis:

Of all the books on writing I’ve encountered, there’s none I love more, value more, than Brenda Ueland’s 1938 classic If You Want To Write. Whether you’re a terrified newbie, just embarking upon the writer’s journey, or if you’ve been sailing these creative waters, as I have, for something like forty years, there is much inspiration and wisdom to be found in the pages of this magical book. Ueland’s method is to teach not through criticism and correction but through encouragement and enthusiasm: two precious qualities we need more of in this world.

James Shipman:

For first time novelists, the Snowflake organizational method is fantastic. I used this method for my first published title, Constantinopolis, and I’ve used a modified version of this process since that time. This method helps create a synopsis, your characters, a detailed scene/sequel chart, etc. For those who have a great idea but have no idea how to turn it into a book, this is a must read.

Lauren K. Denton:

Strange choice, I know. But this book remains one of the most important novels to me, both because I love the story and because it was the book that made me itchy to write my own stories. It made me think, “Maybe I can do it too.” Kidd is a master of setting the scene and pulling the reader into the atmosphere she’s created, and as I read (and reread) this book, I was there in Tiburon, South Carolina, among the three beekeeping sisters and Lily and Zach and the honey and hives. It’s a book that comes back to me often.

Chigozie Obioma:

Brilliant and poignant, this is a story of lust for power and the consequences that follow. It is also a commentary on the state of man’s relationship with others and himself. What breaks a man? Can he be broken by himself or only from outside influences? This, I fell, is at the heart of this play about a general who receives a prophesy that he would become king in old England. He seizes on this prophecy and that prophecy in turn destroys him and all that is dear to him by first corrupting him and all that is dear to him.

J.M. Dematteis:

Every Charles Dickens novel is a masterclass in all aspects of storytelling—none more so than David Copperfield—but when it comes to delineation of character, Dickens has no peer. There’s a scene in the novel where young David, exiled from home by his brutal step-father, stops at an inn and encounters a waiter who, with cheerful, oily charm, manages to manipulate the boy into surrendering the majority of his meal. The waiter isn’t an important part of the story, in fact he’s an extremely minor character. The thing is, with Charles Dickens there’s no such thing as a minor character. The waiter is full-bodied, vivid—with a heart, a soul, alife. And he’s remained with me for decades, reminding me that every character in a story, no matter how seemingly insignificant, should live and breathe and be memorable.

Claire Fullerton:

This pre-civil rights, Southern family saga set in Atlanta’s affluent suburb of Buckhead is a literary masterpiece. Narrator Shep Bondurant serves as spectator and commentator to the growth of a city, spawned from the combined efforts of Atlanta’s “old guard” as they stake a place of significant in South’s sun-belt. Bondurant’s own family is riddled with nuanced tragedy, subject as it is to the changing times. Peachtree Road taught me that setting is everything, when used as a backdrop in a profound cause and effect family story.

Ramsey Campbell:

Two years passed, and I bought the first edition of Hitchcock’s Films, the monograph by the great Robin Wood. My view of the cinema was already enlivened by the auteur theory, represented by Movie magazine in England and Andrew Sarris in Film Culture and the Village Voice in America, but Wood’s exegesis was a revelation. It did exactly what I believe both art and criticism ought to do – make us (and that includes the author writing the work) look again at what we’ve taken for granted. It opened up films such as Psycho and North by Northwest to me in ways I would never have thought possible, and I believe it opened up stories that I would write later. Not for nothing does “Concussion”, a story I wrote some years later, use Hitchcock’s Vertigo as a central image, crucially distorted by the protagonist’s vision. Decades after that I praised Wood in Sight and Sound, and I hope that didn’t seem presumptuous of me. Certainly without all three books I’ve discussed I would be far less of a writer.

Alison Littlewood:

A book that makes learning about punctuation fun – what’s not to love? It’s useful for brushing up on correct usage, but also includes such gems as the habit-forming nature of semicolons and the history of the hyphen. Truss cares deeply about the craft of writing and her witty commentary on bad practice is a delight. If a ‘satanic sprinkling of redundant apostrophes’ causes you to wince this is definitely the book for you.

If you enjoyed this reading list, be sure to also check out the best books for aspiring journalists. Which books would you consider must read books for aspiring writers? Comment below and let us know what you feel are the best books for aspiring writers!

Image credit: Zach Mueller (Chigozie Obioma)