The Atlanta Writers Club (AWC) is proud to present our 2027 Author Mentorship Program! This unique opportunity provides AWC members with coaching and critique over an 8-month period to help mentees improve their manuscripts (e.g., book-length fiction and nonfiction, short stories, essays, poetry) and take steps toward accomplishing their craft and publishing goals. In addition, the program offers mentors a means of giving back to the AWC and paying forward any help they received when they were working on their early manuscripts.
The enrollment period for the 2027 cohort closed on December 20, 2026.
ELIGIBILITY:
The AWC Author Mentorship Program is open to all current, paid club members (must keep membership active at least until the end of the 8-month mentorship period). To join the AWC or renew your membership, please use this link. If you have a question about when your AWC membership expires, please contact the Membership VP, Christina Gusby.
PROCESS FOR THE PROGRAM:
Those interested in becoming mentors or mentees in this program will submit their application via an online form (see below). The mentorship program will start in January and run for 8 consecutive months through August. The mentor matched with the mentee will provide a mix of writing craft and career advice via mentoring meetings and manuscript editing.
Following the application process (see link at the bottom of this page), prospective mentees will be asked to submit a writing sample (first 10 pages of the manuscript you want edited during the Author Mentorship Program in standard manuscript formatting) for potential mentors’ review.
Every attempt will be made by the AWC to match the mentee with an appropriate mentor based on writing genre and publishing goal/experience. The mentee will have the opportunity to approve or decline the offered match, as will the mentor. If the mentee and mentor each approve the proposed match, a contract created by the mentee and mentor and submitted to AWC Executive Director George Weinstein will set forth expectations for mentor and mentee and define specific goals for the mentee (using their application responses), how often the mentor and mentee will meet, what they are expected to do before, during, and in between meetings, and the start and end dates for the mentoring process.
The mentee shall meet in-person (ideally) or virtually with the mentor for 1 hour every month to discuss the mentee’s work toward their writing goals, answer questions the mentee has about the craft and/or business of writing, and provide guidance and accountability to encourage the mentee to continue to grow as a writer.
Before/between mentoring meetings, the mentee shall submit up to 20 pages per submission–double-spaced, 1-inch margins all around, 12-pt. font–to the mentor via email, totaling 8 submissions. The mentor’s developmental editing will be based on the mentee’s stated needs (e.g., character, story structure, voice/tone, setting/world building), with line-editing provided to flag recurring sentence-level issues. The mentor must allow the mentee to find/develop their own style and voice rather than change that to fit the mentor’s style and voice. Also before the first mentoring meeting, the mentee shall submit a synopsis or chapter outline of the overall manuscript if available or at least a less-detailed summary so the mentor will have an idea of the intended book/story/character arc.
After the 8-month mentorship period has ended, the mentor will not edit additional pages but can address the mentee’s follow-up questions at the mentor’s discretion. The mentor and mentee can agree to renew their contract together for another 4 months at a discounted rate (see Fee/Honorarium section below)
AWC Executive Director George Weinstein will host (1) an orientation and training launch meeting online for each new cohort of mentors and mentees at the start of the program, (2) an online networking/check-in session among mentees, and separately for mentors, at the midpoint and end of the program to share experiences and lessons learned, and (3) periodic, online writing sprints to give mentees and mentors structured times to write.
For mentees: By submitting their application to this program, the mentee acknowledges there are no guarantees that participation in this mentoring program will result in the mentee getting an agent/publisher, being ready to self-publish, or perfecting their writing craft.
For mentors: By submitting their application to this program, the mentor acknowledges their responsibility to provide guidance in the craft and business of writing to the mentee as well as developmental editing and line editing as needed, to help the mentee grow as a writer and advance toward their writing and publishing goals.
MENTEE FEE & MENTOR HONORARIUM:
Any mentee accepted into the program and agreeing to the match with a mentor shall pay the AWC $500 plus 3% credit card processing fee prior to the start of the 8-month mentoring period. Additionally, the mentor and mentee can agree to renew their contract together for another 8 months, with the mentee paying a reduced rate of $400 plus 3% credit card processing fee before the start of the additional 8-month period. Applicants can also request a financial scholarship for a portion of the total fee.
The AWC shall provide the mentor with a $300 honorarium per mentee (limit of 3 mentees), paid after the conclusion of the 8-month mentoring period for each mentee. If the mentor agrees to continue working with a mentee for another 8-month period, their honorarium will still be $300 per returning mentee.
REFUND POLICY:
If the mentor or mentee is unable to complete the 8-month mentorship commitment and cannot resume within 3 months after having to pause in their participation, the mentee will be refunded by the AWC for any remaining months on the contract; the mentor will receive a portion of the honorarium according to how many months of mentoring have been completed.
APPLICATIONS FOR MENTEES AND MENTORS:
In order to be considered for this program, prospective mentees must complete the online application by December 20, 2026: CLICK HERE
Prospective mentors must complete their own online application by December 20, 2026: CLICK HERE
TESTIMONIALS:
“Before I joined the AWC Mentorship Program, I felt lost when it came to my writing. I knew my work wasn’t good (repeated failed querying confirmed that), but I didn’t know how to make it better without cutting into what I liked about my work. Blogs, forums, critique sites, etc. all felt impossible to trust, since everyone said something different, and the advice I’d get often felt cookie-cutter or didn’t make sense. I was defeated, believed I couldn’t improve, and that it was just the way that I wrote that was the problem.
“Since joining the program, I have seen a dramatic improvement not in the way I write, but my ability to actually spot my own weaknesses. Where I once felt like I was editing blindly with the hope I didn’t accidentally cut something good, now I can see what I’m doing wrong. I’ve learned the names of the invisible issues which dragged my story down, and how to get over them. It hasn’t been instant, it hasn’t been easy, but it has been rewarding. My mentor had been where I was, knew how to push me forward, and always called me out on the things I sometimes avoided under the guise of, ‘It’s just the way that I write.’
“I don’t know if I can ever say that my work is or ever will be ‘good.’ But I can say that I am a better writer than I was before. And that is enough for me to wholeheartedly approve of this program.”
– Saif, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentee
“I just wanted to say that my mentor is really great. I am amazed at how strong and thorough his suggestions are without trying to rewrite the story, etc. Also wanted to thank you for putting this program together. I’m going to recommend it to others. It’s incredibly hard to get this quality of feedback.”
– Matthew Johnson, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentee
“I enjoyed my time as part of The Atlanta Writers Club’s mentor program. As a mentor, I got to know my mentee and help with setting writing and publishing goals including what happens after completing his novel. For anyone looking to talk to a working writer, this is a wonderful, laid-back way to do it. I had a great time.”
– Bobby Nash, Award-Winning Author and AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentor
“I had the pleasure of working with a young mother who was expecting her second child. Despite the demands of caring for a toddler and maintaining outside employment, she kept writing. She wrote through constant all-day sickness and exhaustion. She infused our meetings with enthusiasm and creativity. Now that her second daughter is here, she’s planning to extend her contract and commitment to keep on writing. She inspires me.”
– Katherine Nichols, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentor
“I consider this program to be a thoughtfully designed and genuinely impactful experience, one that meets writers where they are and helps them move forward with clarity and purpose.”
– Kat Feiler, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentor
“Because there are so many programs that claim that they will help writers on their publishing journey, I often look for results. During this mentorship program with the Atlanta Writers Club, results were obtained. My mentee came into the program having written manuscripts but never getting a full agent request for a manuscript. After three months of working together, he got just that: a full agent request for the manuscript I was mentoring him on.
“The AWC Mentorship Program yields results, especially for mentees who are willing to edit their writing in accordance with their mentor’s suggestions. For mentors, it offers an opportunity to see if your experiences with writing and publishing are transferable. Like the scientific method, do you have best practices that are flexible and can yield repeated results? For a mentor, there is a great pleasure in knowing that your approach to the abstract and subjective nature of writing and publishing can be passed on to others on the same artistic journey as you are.”
– Todd Sullivan, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentor
“It was so gratifying to mentor two mentees, both of whom are excellent writers. They were receptive to suggestions and changes and have the spark and determination to see their manuscript published. They simply needed reassurance that their words were just right for their subject, I’m thankful that they chose me to be their mentor.”
– Patricia Martin Holt, AWC Author Mentorship Program Mentor
QUESTIONS?
Please direct any questions about the AWC Author Mentorship Program to AWC Executive Director George Weinstein.