The Playwrights’ Library is a list of our top picks of books for playwrights. From classic texts, to books on developing your craft, to contemporary plays – your book shopping list is right here!
This list is ongoing, so though it may be small at the moment, expect it to grow as we continually add to it.
This list uses Amazon Affiliate links. If you shop on Amazon through these links (even if you buy something else!), we’ll get a small percentage of the sale at no extra cost to you. So you can treat yourself and support our work at the same time – winner!
- All
- Books On Craft
- Play Texts
The Crafty Art of Playmaking
Alan Ayckbourn shares his tricks of the trade. From helpful hints on writing (Where do you start? How do you continue?) to tips on directing.
The 90-Day Play: The Process and Principles of Playwriting
Through 90 daily lessons and hundreds of writing exercises, illustrated with examples from dramatic literature, this book will help you to explore the richness of your dramatic world and its themes and much more.
How Plays Work
Distinguished playwright David Edgar examines the mechanisms and techniques which dramatists throughout the ages have employed to structure their plays and express what they want to say about the human condition.
The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories
This remarkable and monumental book at last provides a comprehensive answer to the age-old riddle of whether there are only a small number of ‘basic stories’ in the world.
Playwriting: Structure, Character, How and What to Write
Stephen Jeffreys’s remarkable series of workshops shaped the ideas of many of today’s leading playwrights and theatre-makers. Now you too can learn from these acclaimed Masterclasses.
Into The Woods: How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them
We all love stories. But why do we tell them? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke takes us on a journey to the heart of storytelling.
Playwriting: A Practical Guide
Playwriting offers a practical guide to the creation of text for live performance. It contains a wealth of exercises for amateur and professional playwrights.
Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2019
This bestselling guide to publishing and the media is completely revised and updated every year and is packed with advice, inspiration and practical guidance on who to contact and how to get published
Being A Playwright: A Career Guide for Writers
The essential guide to a career in playwriting, from the team behind the multi-award-winning Papatango, one of the UK’s leading new-writing companies
Fleabag
Phoebe Waller-Bridge – The brilliant original.
Barbershop Chronicles
Inua Ellams – One day. Six cities. A thousand stories.