AcWriMo is back again for 2026!

It’s on again! Academic Writing Month (AcWriMo) is back for 2026, bringing fresh energy into your research writing to help you meet your planned goals before the end of the year.

AcWriMo started in 2011. Charlotte Frost, founder of PhD2Published, had been inspired by NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and realised that something similar would benefit research writers. The concept is to set some writing goals and achieve them in November with the help of some company along the way.

I was keen to try it after reading this blog by Inger Mewburn, the Thesis Whisperer and have been experimenting with different formats of AcWriMo since 2013 – see my previous blogs here and here.

Fast forward to 2026, and AcWriMo has become a worldwide phenomenon. Every November, scholars around the world focus on writing, participating in writing groups, nominating their writing goals and recording their productivity. See this version and this one from the UK.

For us in Australia, it coincides very nicely with the end of our academic year. The November focus on writing – when much of the busy teaching is finished and the summer break beckons – is ideal to complete the writing tasks we’d set ourselves for the year. La Trobe has a long history of providing a lively AcWriMo atmosphere; you can see some of our past resources and activities here.

For 2026, the RED team at La Trobe will convene our own dedicated program of carefully curated workshops and activities to help you advance your research writing, culminating in our flagship RED Annual Online Writing Retreat (24-26 Nov).

See the full program of events below. Sign up for what best suits your own schedule and writing goals, enjoy the company of positive, productive writers, and end 2026 with a satisfied sense of “job done”!

Writing Development Program

A carefully curated set of workshops designed by expert facilitators to meet you wherever you are in your research writing journey.

• Plan your Academic Writing Month: Find focus and turbocharge your writing

How to maximise your writing efforts in November.

Fri 30 Oct 10-12 – register here

• What to do with reviewer 2?

Insights into peer review and what your readers are looking for.

Thurs 5 Nov 10-12 – register here

• Thesis Writing: What to Expect

What readers need to see in order to understand your research.

Tues 10 Nov 10-12 – register here

• Managing supervisor feedback on writing

How to get constructive, encouraging advice from your supervisors.

Tues 10 Nov 7-9pm – register here

• Publishing in journals

Insider knowledge about the practicalities and cultures of publishing in academic journals.

Wed 11 Nov 1-3pm – register here

• Write Short

Write less about your research to help your personal voice emerge.

Thurs 12 Nov 10-11am – register here

• Write Reader

Writing for different readers helps clarify your ideas and introduces greater variety and flexibility to your writing.

Tues 17 Nov 10-11am – register here

• Turning your conference presentation into a publication

You’ve done the presentation, now here’s how to work towards a journal article or book chapter.

Wed 18 Nov 1-3pm – register here

• Finding and telling your research story

Framing your research as a story provides a novel way to communicate its significance.

Thurs 19 Nov 10-11:30 – register here

• AI, academic integrity and your thesis: expectations and support

Understand how to use AI tools to ethically support your research writing.

Thurs 19 Nov 12-2pm – register here

RED Annual Online Writing Retreat

Sign up for the ever-popular RED Annual Online Writing Retreat, 24- 26 Nov 2026, 3 days of writing facilitated by the RED team. Registration link below.

RED Annual Online Writing Retreat

Shut Up And Write! (SUAW)

Meantime, boost your writing output by coming along to our weekly Shut up And Write (SUAW) sessions before, during and after November. To join, please email  red.grs@latrobe.edu.au and sign up for the SUAW mailing list.