http://writers.bbt.info/ is the website for the Vaishnava Writers Community, a Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) project that came into being in February this year. The goals of the community are to help devotees improve their writing skills and to strengthen the voice of ISKCON in mainstream culture.
The welcome statement on the site says that if you identify as a devotee of Lord Krishna and are ready to create original literary work, this is where you belong. The website brings together devotees from around the world and provides resources, support, and guidance for writers in a variety of ways:
In the Forums you can ask questions, join in discussions with other community members, and share your favorite authors, books, and ideas. You can join a writing group focused on a particular goal, such as the “Children’s Literature Group.”
In the Feedback section you can post your writing projects for peer review and help other members by providing constructive criticism of their work.
A group of experienced devotees offer their services as mentors to the writers’ community. You can ask a question by filling in an online form on the site. Mentors are editors, published authors, writing teachers, and others experienced in the writing craft.
Browse the sections on the website and you will find a number of online resources to help with your writing, including links to writing websites, podcasts, online writing classes, and information on how to get published.
To encourage writers, the community will sponsor regular competitions with awards for the best submissions. Your submission may win a cash prize and be published in a BBT print or online publication.
The Vaishnava Writers Community project was created by Krishna Priya Devi Dasi after a suggestion from Kaishori Dasi of the North European BBT. A former college English major who studies literature, Krishna Priya hopes that devotee writers will break the barrier of being published only in-house to write top quality literature embraced by the mainstream.
“I think that the public would appreciate it and gain a lot from it,” she says. “Reading the Bhagavad-gita is powerful, and it can be even more powerful to read about someone’s real life experience in practicing its teachings.”
—Antony Brennan