A former teacher who became a professional writer is hoping to inspire others to pursue their literary dreams.

Deany Judd spent ten years teaching teens at a Glasgow comprehensive before changing careers and becoming a freelance features writer for the national press.

Now, together with a team of published authors, she has launched Literary Chicks – offering online writing courses for wannabe writers.

The web based company, due to launch in the spring, will offer a variety of topical online writing courses for today’s newspaper, magazine and book publishing markets.

Deany said: “Many people dream of becoming a published writer and we aim to show them how they can turn those dreams into reality.”

Literary Chicks writing courses are written and tutored by accomplished writers including bestselling authors and top name journalists working on publications as diverse as The Guardian, Grazia, The Daily Telegraph, Time Out, Woman’s Own, and The Sunday Times.

Chick lit author Kate Harrison, who has just published her eighth novel and is offering a ten week course on writing women’s fiction, is typical of the calibre of tutors Literary chicks has on board.

She said: “I’m really excited about Literary Chicks, as I gleaned so much wonderful information and support myself from the internet when I was starting out.

“Learning via the web is a fantastic opportunity. The aim of my course is to share the knowledge I’ve built up as the author of eight novels, and as a journalist, script-writer and TV development producer. But I also hope that the writers taking part will be able to develop their own voices, stories and styles.”

Deany herself writes regularly for The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph and The Daily Express and has written extensively for The Daily Mail, The Sunday Times and the Sunday Herald as well as Hello! Magazine.

Deany says: “Before I became a freelance writer in 1999, I was an English teacher for ten years. Being an avid reader of newspapers and magazines, I always harbored ambitions to be a writer.

“On maternity leave with my third child, I spotted an advert for a two-day course on how to write magazine articles and signed up. Once there, I knew this was what I wanted to do and within a fortnight I had my first article published in The Sunday Times. I was hooked. Not just on writing, but on writing courses.

“I have since discovered that all sorts of women would like to write about all sorts of things and that there’s a real lack of relevant courses on offer. Enlisting the help of some great writers, Literary Chicks was born – or should that be hatched?”

The courses on offer are contemporary and relevant and cover the following areas:

*Life Love and Louboutins: writing for women’s glossy magazines
*Great Production, Shame about the Review: the Dos and Dont's of Reviewing for Publication
*A funny Thing Happened …How to write for the humour market
*Web writing - the world wide web is your oyster
*An introduction to travel writing
*Introduction to food and wine writing
*How to write radio plays
*writing parenting features
*Writing about interiors
*Health and fitness features

Deany added: “I hope that the contemporary and unique courses on offer, tutored by experienced writers may well spark a whole new career for people.”

To find out more or to book your place on a course, please visit http://www.literarychicks.com