Healing One Story at a Time
Join us for our Fall 2026 Mentorship!
The Write to Empower Mentorship will pair published writers with emerging authors in order to develop meaningful, mission-driven work through structured 1:1 relationships that support the development of projects aligning with our mission.
Over the course of the two month program (late September-November), mentees will be paired with mentors according to age group and shared identity and/or experiences where possible. To align with our mission, the WE team will offer additional sessions geared toward craft, community building, and self-care when writing on and through difficult topics. These sessions will include presentations (both live & recorded) and virtual write-ins, as well as somatic experiencing and narrative therapy exercises.
This mentorship costs $250 to help support our author volunteers as well as future WE programming such as workshops and retreats. Limited scholarships are available for those in need.
Find more information below in our Program FAQs.
Progam FAQs
When it comes to the Write to Empower Mentorship, our focus is on the mission-driven work of writing stories to transform lives.
Who is this mentorship for?
Emerging authors! Do you write picture books or novels for middle grade, young adult, or adults? We’re covering it all. Mentees (that’s you!) will be paired with mentors according to the age group you’re writing for and shared identity and/or experiences, where applicable.
What can I submit?
Mentees will submit for feedback either up to 2,500 words form a longer work (novel) or one or two picture book manuscripts up to 1,000 words.
How does it work?
Mentors will meet with their mentee(s) twice. Once to offer written and verbal feedback and once to discuss how mentees are feeling about revisions and to answer follow-up questions.
What makes this mentorship different from others?
Over the course of the program, the Write to Empower team will offer additional sessions presented by our team, geared toward craft, community building, and self-care when writing on and through difficult topics. These will be offered live for those able to attend and a recording will be made available.
What does it cost?
The cost of the program is $250.00, but we are offering a limited number of full and partial scholarships available for those who cannot afford to pay. As our organization is run by volunteers, the program fee will be used to compensate our mentors for their time and expertise, as well as to fund future Write to Empower programing, such as workshops and retreats.
When can I apply?
Applications open July 31st and will run through August 24th! We’ll be hosting an Instagram Live Q&A on August 4th at 7pm EST where we’ll be answering all your questions. Watch our social channels for links!
List of Mentors
We are extremely honored to host these fabulous authors who will serve as mentors with us this fall. Check out their websites to learn more about their writing!
Schedule
- Week of Sept 20: Kickoff Meeting w/ narrative therapy exercise
- Week of Sept 27: Receiving Feedback with Lisa M. Bolt Simons
- Week of Oct. 4: Mentor/Mentee meeting
- Week of Oct 11: Write In
- Week of Oct 18: Somatic Experiencing with Azra Rahim
- Week on Oct. 25: Write In
- Week of Nov 1: Querying Comprehensive with Loretta Chefchaouni
- Week of Nov 8: Mentor/Mentee follow up meeting
- Week of Nov 15: Wrap-up celebration w/ narrative therapy exercise
August 4th, 2026
Instagram Live Q&A
Join Azra, Lisa, and Loretta to answer all your questions about our mentorship!
August 24th, 2026
Applications Close
Apply by midnight to get your applications in for first cohort.
Mid September, 2026
Mentor Match
Mentee acceptance emails will go out with mentor match & connection. Payment will be due at this time in order to move forward with the mentorship.
Week of September 20th, 2026
Kickoff Meeting
We’ll kickoff our fall cohort with an introductory meeting and narrative therapy exercise.
October-November
Mentorship Sessions
From late September through mid November, we’ll host moderated sessions for mentor/mentee discussions as well as write-ins and craft workshops lead by the WE team.
WORDS THAT IGNITE
We write to heighten our own awareness of life. We write to lure and enchant and console others. We write to serenade our lovers. We write to taste life twice, in the moment, and in retrospection.
ANAÏS NIN