Mentorship appointments are now available from August to November 2025. Scroll down for the schedule and Mentor-instructor profiles.
To view availability and sign up for an appointment, please click here. All appointments are in Eastern time. Remember to sign up for only ONE slot so that we can make this program available to as many people as possible.
More appointments will be available next year when the Mentorship Program resumes. Check back in March 2026 for details!
Questions? Please contact [email protected].
Michelle Bowdler is the author of Is Rape a Crime? A Memoir, an Investigation and a Manifesto, longlisted for the National Book Award and named one of the 100 Must Read Books of 2020 by TIME Magazine. She is a recipient of the Barbara Deming Memorial Award and a scholar at the Women and Gender Research Studies Center at Brandeis University. Her second book, The Kids Aren’t Alright, about young people’s mental health with a focus on the college years, will be published in 2026 by Basic Books.
Interests and expertise:Personal essay, book-length memoir, publishing, promotion/marketing, literary journalism; I have sold two books, been to different residencies and have publications in a number of different types of places. My first book is a blend of memoir and research, and I’m teaching a course at Boston University this summer that combines writing with social activism.
Appointments:
- Tuesday, September 30, 2:00-3:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Friday, October 24, 2:00-3:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Camille Cabrera is a national bestselling mystery author. She has published over ten mystery novels and seven short stories. Her works often center around familiar holidays to sharply contrast the familiar and the unknown. Her poetry has also been published in Harvard Medical School’s medical humanities magazine, In Vivo.
Interests and expertise: Children’s literature, young adult literature, long-form fiction and novels, mystery, cozy mystery, suspense, noir, middle grade, romance, and fantasy.
Appointments:
- Sunday, September 14, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Monday, September 22, 6:30-8:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Jacquelin Cangro worked at Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster for more than twenty years. Now an independent developmental editor and book coach, she reviews novel manuscripts in many genres, including historical, YA, women’s fiction, romance, and upmarket. Her short fiction was selected as one of the Saturday Evening Post’s Great American Stories, and her fiction has appeared in The Macguffin, Valparaiso Fiction Review, and Cortland Review.
Interests and expertise: Long-form fiction and novels, publishing, young adult literature, romance, women’s fiction, historical fiction, query letter writing and the traditional publishing process
Appointments:
- Thursday, September 18, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Friday, October 17, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Sarah Chaves is a Portuguese-American writer, editor, and educator based in Boston, MA. She has received support from PEN America, Bread Loaf, Fulbright, and more. Her work has been featured in the Atlantic, New York Times, and Washington Post, among others. You can find her on Instagram @sarita_chaves.
Interests and expertise: Personal essay, book-length memoir, publishing, loss and grief, mental health, womanhood, motherhood, education, cross-cultural identities; LGBTQ+
Appointments:
- Wednesday, October 1, 4:00-5:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Tuesday, October 14, 5:00-6:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Cathie Desjardins has taught writing her entire adult life, promoting connection and self-discovery for all ages from kindergartners to graduate students and seniors. She teaches poetry workshops on craft, various forms, revision, and voice and has published two books of poetry, With Child and Buddha in the Garden. She is the Poet Laureate Emerita of Arlington, MA.
Interests and expertise: Poetry, prose poems, haibun (prose poem hybrid), poetry about nature, healing, calamity, calm
Appointments:
- Tuesday September 23 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
- Tuesday, October 7, 4:30-6:00 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
Lori Goldstein is the author of Romantic Friction (under Lori Gold), one of Zibby Media’s “Most Anticipated Books of 2025” and “Summer Reading Picks.” She is also the author of an adult historical and four YA novels (all under Lori Goldstein). She lives outside of Boston, where she fosters a writing community through her creative writing classes, book coaching, and writing retreats.
Interests and expertise: Long-form fiction and novels, young adult Literature; all fiction but especially book club fiction, contemporary, rom-com, romantasy, light speculative, historical, psychological thrillers.
Appointments:
- Wednesday November 5, 12:00-1:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Judah Leblang is a Boston-based writer, teacher, and storyteller. He is the author of the memoirs, Finding My Place (Lake Effect Press, 2012) and Echoes of Jerry (Red Giant Books, 2019). His essays and commentaries have been broadcast on 200 ABC-radio and NPR stations around the US. He has performed his one-man shows at fringe festivals and community venues in Calgary, Winnipeg, and Edmonton, Canada and in Boston and his hometown of Cleveland.
Interests and expertise: Book-length memoir, publishing, personal essay, flash memoir, short personal essay, book-length essay collections, small press and independent/self-publishing, storytelling and performance/one-person shows
Appointments:
- Wednesday, October 8, 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
- Thursday, October 30, 5:00-6:00 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
A.J. Rodriguez is a fiction writer from Albuquerque, New Mexico. His work has been awarded the Granum Foundation Prize, the Crazyhorse Fiction Prize, and the Kinder/Crump Award for Short Fiction, and received support from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Kerouac Project. His stories have appeared in the New England Review, Passages North, The Common, and elsewhere.
Interests and expertise: Long-form fiction and novels, short or flash fiction, publishing, promotion/marketing, literary fiction, literary realism, historical fiction, Latina/o/e fiction, BIPOC fiction, Indigenous fiction, acquiring an agent, applying to MFAs/grants/fellowships/residencies
Appointments:
- Monday, September 15, 6:00-7:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
- Monday, October 20, 6:00-7:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost for a Mentorship appointment?
Thanks to our generous donors, Mentorship appointments are free to students. We also hope to grow this program in the future. As we are compensating mentors for their time, it’s important that students turn up for their appointments. If you can’t make it for an appointment after signing up, please email [email protected] so that we can release the appointment and someone else can use the time.
Where will Mentorship appointments be held?
Mentorship appointments take place either in person at the Seaport or remotely on Zoom. You will receive a reminder email 3 to 5 days before your appointment with details about the classroom location or Zoom link.
What’s the best way to use these appointments?
We suggest that students prepare a list of questions in advance. It’s best to keep your questions focused and specific, like: “I am having X challenge with my plot/protagonist and have tried these things without breaking through. Do you have suggestions for how I can try to resolve this?”
Students must submit their questions in advance to help their mentor prepare. This will make the meeting more productive.
Please note that the 30-minute appointments are actually 25 minutes; the last 5 minutes are to allow time to transition from one appointment to another.
Can I use my appointment time to get on-the-spot feedback on manuscript pages?
If you choose to use your time for this, sure! However, given that the appointment is for 25 minutes, it may be challenging to get meaningful feedback within this structure. The mentor is not being compensated for any outside work before or after these appointments, and we don’t expect or require them to complete any projects outside of the appointment times.
You might want to consider another program that might be better suited for manuscript reviews. Consider a Muse & the Marketplace Manuscript Mart appointment where you submit work ahead of time for feedback on several pages. Scholarships are available! There are other manuscript consultation programs available at GrubStreet as well.
How many appointments can I sign up for?
Please sign up for only ONE appointment per quarter. If you would like a second appointment in the same quarter, please contact [email protected] with your request.
What if I miss my appointment or arrive late?
If you know you can’t make your appointment, please email [email protected] and let us know. We will release the appointment and another person can use the time. Last-minute cancellations or no-shows cannot be rescheduled. If an unexpected emergency arises, we’ll do our best to reschedule, though we can’t make guarantees.
If unfortunately, you miss your appointment, remember that more Mentorship appointments will be offered later this year, and you can sign up again.
What if I have a suggestion or feedback about my appointment or the Mentorship program?
Everyone will receive a survey within a week of their appointment. If you would like to submit feedback outside of a survey, please write to [email protected].