For All Writers

Bird By Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life

by Anne Lamott

The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers

by Betsy Lerner

The Situation and the Story: The Art of Personal Narrative

by Vivan Gornick

On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction

by William Zinsser

How Fiction Works

by James Wood

Exercises in Style

by Raymond Queneau

The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present

by Phillip Lopate

What It Is

by Lynda Barry

Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process

by John McPhee

Grammar and Linguistics

Says Who?: A Kinder, Funner Usage Guide for Everyone Who Cares About Words

by Anne Curzan, Ph.D.

Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen

by Mary Norris

Because Internet: Understanding the New Rules of Language

by Gretchen McCullough

Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style

by Benjamin Dreyer

The New Well-Tempered Sentence: A Punctuation Handbook for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed

by Karen Elizabeth Gordon

Reference Books

I’m a bit of a reference book nut. I have several shelves devoted to them, plus floor space for my National Geographic Atlas of the World, which is about one foot wide by two feet tall. In an act of extreme restraint, I’m only going to recommend two here.

The American Heritage Dictionary

The American Heritage Dictionary is indispensable because of its renowned usage notes and “Our Living Language” notes. As Steven Pinker, chair of the usage panel in the latest edition, writes in his introduction, “Rather than dictating matters of usage by ukase (look it up), [The American Heritage Dictionary] discusses them in more than 500 Usage Notes, appearing at the end of various entries. A Usage Note warns the reader about an alleged problem raised by a language maven or style manual, flags a new meaning or pronunciation which has drawn commentary, or identifies tricky issues that arise when using the word. ”

The Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory

by J.A. Cuddon

This one is for poets, fiction writers, and literature majors. Everyone else can probably skip it.

College Essay Guides

College Essay Essentials: A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Successful College Admissions Essay

by Ethan Sawyer

Conquering the College Admissions Essay in 10 Steps: Crafting a Winning Personal Statement

by Alan Gelb

On Writing the College Application Essay: The Key to Acceptance at the College of Your Choice

by Harry Bauld

Write Yourself In: The Definitive Guide to Writing Successful College Admissions Essays

by Eric Tepler

Accepted!: Secrets to Gaining Admission to the World’s Top Universities (Chapter 10)

by Jamie Beaton

Recommended Reading for Writers