March: spring clean your writing skills

Photo courtesy Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay

March is the renewal month, where momentum starts to rise again. Here are some literary events, writer meet ups, and contests to put on your radar!

Workshops & Craft Events
These are excellent for skill development, networking with peers, and getting inspired.

“Artifacts: A Fiction Workshop” – Tuesday, March 3, 6–9 PM
In-person fiction workshop with Clif Travers (Portland) — great for fiction writers working on novels or short stories.

“Into the Unknown” — Generative Writing Workshop – Tuesdays, March 3–24, 6–9 PM
A 4-week online workshop focused on creative exploration and finding new writing voices/styles.

“Intro to Personal Storytelling: Finding Your Voice” – Thursdays, March 5–Apr 16, 6–9 PM
Six-week in-person workshop at Mechanics’ Hall in Portland — useful for deepening narrative craft and storytelling confidence.

“The Smallest of Things: Writing Flash Fiction” – Saturday, March 14, 10 AM–1 PM
Short-form fiction craft focus — great if you want to hone tight storytelling skills.

Spring Fiction Workshop – “Spring Clean Your Story” – Thursday, March 26, 6–9 PM (online, multi-week)
Revise and strengthen stories with guided feedback.

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Community Writing Meet-Ups & Author Conferences
These are informal but valuable for building community and sharing work:

World of Wonders Workshops – Saturday, March 7, 2–4 PM, Camden Public Library
A free multigenre creative writing workshop for writers of all levels.

World of Wonders Workshops – Saturday, March 28, 1–3 PM, Bangor Public Library
Another session of the multigenre workshop hosted in partnership with libraries and creative facilitators.

Mechanics’ Hall Book Discussion Group – Tuesday, March 3, Noon
A discussion group in Portland — good casual meet-up with readers and thinkers.

Maine Crime Wave is an annual conference for crime writers organized by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, featuring numerous authors, notably founded by Brenda Buchanan. It highlights crime fiction, noir, and mystery writers based in Maine, with past participants including Paul Doiron, Kate Flora, Bruce Robert Coffin, and others. Note: the early bird registration ends March 4!

Also: Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance provides “GATHER” meet-ups where writers just talk shop, brainstorm events, and connect (groups in Bangor, Portland, Lewiston/Auburn, Damariscotta, and more). Keep your eyes open for the March 18 GATHER meetups.

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Contests & Deadlines (March)

Plunkett Poetry Festival Contest – Deadline March 1, 2026
Hosted by University of Maine at Augusta — accepts poems of all styles. (Contests labelling specific genres don’t always list dates early, so check periodically for updates.)

Lastly--What's New with DIY Book Marketing for Maine Authors?

After launching in early January, I've now done two free Zoom author sessions on the Do's and Don'ts for Pitching Maine Media and essential marketing best practices for a Maine Author Launch Checklist. The unexpected bonus is that we formed mini communities of Maine writers with each session, who are now dedicated to following each other on social media! Stay tuned, because we’re going to do these free presentations again in the spring at a different time, 5:30 p.m. Go over to this post on our Facebook page and let us know in the comments which times work best for your work schedule!

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New product

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New this month--a professionally designed one pager that works as your book's resume
If you need a polished, professional one-page author sheet, but don’t have design experience—or even a design program, this customizable pink-and-white Canva template helps authors quickly create a clean, industry-standard one-pager that’s also does double duty for media kits, bookstore pitches, events, press outreach, or social media promotion.
Only $10-making it affordable for indie authors! Find it HERE

To access this template, you need to have a free account at Canva (www.canva.com)
It comes with a Word document of instructions.
Ideal for the genres: Romance/Romantasy, Women's Fiction, Cozy, Chick-Lit, Historical, Non-fiction.