Mentors

We require that each mentor have at least one published book. No formal teaching experience is required, but we do look for responses that demonstrate an understanding of the special nature of a good mentor-mentee relationship, and a willingness to be supportive, responsive, and receptive to learning from the experience. The more detailed you are in your responses to the questionnaire, the easier it will be for us to find great potential matches for you.

If selected as a mentor, we will send you a small selection of mentee applications that we think might be a good fit. You will select your mentee from that selection, and you will make a three-month commitment to your mentee. We ask that you commit at least one hour per week to communicating with your mentee, via any method you prefer.

Mentors volunteer their time and receive a free one-year membership to AWP at the program’s conclusion. We accept mentor applications via Submittable year-round.

Mentees

We accept applications via Submittable. The application includes a questionnaire about you, your work, and your goals for the program, and will ask that you upload a sample of your current work. For fiction and creative nonfiction, we ask to see 10 pages. For poetry, please submit 5-10 poems.

Mentors change each session, and being selected as a Writer to Writer mentee is so dependent on the writers we have serving with us at that time. If you are not chosen for a session, please consider applying again. We have had mentees apply several times before being selected, and they agreed that once matched, they had found their perfect mentor and it was worth the wait.