Mentorship appointments are now available from July to August 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 in the fall – check back in August for details.
Questions? Please contact [email protected].
Lauren Artiles teaches and writes fiction. She holds an MFA in Writing from CalArts and her work has been supported by a Vermont Studio Center Fellowship. She lives in Massachusetts with her wife.
Interests and expertise: Short or flash fiction, long-form fiction and novels, multi-genre/cross-genre/hybrid work, horror, speculative fiction, queer/LBGTQ+ writing, research for creative writing projects, artist statement/bio/program application support
Appointments:
- Thursday, July 24, 5:00-6:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
- Tuesday, July 29, 5:00-6:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
Marilyn R. Atlas is a talent/literary manager and award-winning producer in both film and theatre. She co-produced the audience award Sundance film Real Women Have Curves which is presently a Tony and Dramatist Guild nominated musical on Broadway. She is featured in Write Now! and is the co-author of the novel Dating Your Character.
Interests and expertise: Screenwriting, mystery, thriller, suspense, crime, action/adventure, romantic comedy, comedy
Appointments:
- Wednesday, July 9, 5:00-6:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Friday, July 25, 5:00-6:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Neema Avashia is the daughter of Indian immigrants, and was born and raised in southern West Virginia. Her first book, Another Appalachia: Coming Up Queer and Indian in a Mountain Place, was published by West Virginia University Press in March 2022. She lives in Boston with her partner, Laura, and her daughter, Kahani.
Interests and expertise: Personal essay, essay collections, writing that explores intersectionality, immigration stories, writing about parenthood
Appointments:
- Saturday, July 12, 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Thursday, July 17, 1:00-2:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Kayla Degala-Paraíso (she/they) is a Los Angeles-based, Filipinx-American experimental writer. Her work has appeared in ANMLY, [PANK] Magazine, Okay Donkey Magazine, and elsewhere; and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. She specializes in creative non-fiction/memoir, prose poetry, fabulism, and the uncategorizable. More at kdegalaparaiso.com.
Interests and expertise: Short or flash fiction, personal essay, speculative fiction, prose poetry, experimental writing, fabulism, self- & community-healing through writing, literary writing, blending genres, memoir, developing character/relationships, multiperspectivity, short stories/flash fiction, political writing, spliced writing (fragmented essay, mosaic essay, braided essay), lyrical essay, epistolary form, activist writing, identity/culture writing, grief writing, dystopian writing, mental health/illness writing
Appointments:
- Wednesday, August 6, 7:00-8:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Thursday, August 28, 7:00-8:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Silk Jazmyne is a book reviewer, essayist, and speculative fiction writer. Her work has appeared both online and in print at Black Girl Nerds, Straylight Magazine, The Gateway Review, Serendipity Literary Magazine, Midnight & Indigo, African Writer Magazine and Ekphrastic Exhibition in Tandem: Back | Forth. She holds a MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Tampa and a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from Florida International University.
Interests and expertise: Short or flash fiction, publishing, promotion/marketing, young adult literature, science fiction, Afrofuturism, magical realism, fantasy, cyberpunk, historical fiction
Appointments:
- Monday, August 18, 5:30-7:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Monday, August 25, 1:00-2:30 PM ET (Zoom)
Meghan Lamb is the author of Mirror Translation (Blamage Books, 2025), COWARD (Spuyten Duyvil, 2022), Failure to Thrive (Apocalypse Party, 2021), All of Your Most Private Places (Spork Press, 2020) and Silk Flowers (Birds of Lace, 2017).
Interests and expertise: Long-form fiction and novels, short or flash fiction, personal Essay, literary fiction, nontraditional narrative structures, autofiction, dreamoir, flaneur/wandering narratives, lyric essays, New Narrative, LGBTQIA+ narratives, hybrid writing, uncanny fiction, interstitial fiction, slipstream, literary horror fiction, body horror, embodied writing, performative writing
Appointments:
- Wednesday, July 16, 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Thursday, July 31, 11:00 AM-12:30 PM ET (Zoom)
A lifelong language lover with an MFA in Creative Writing, Vanessa Lewis helps aspiring writers find clarity and confidence in their voice. As a full-time wordsmith, she brings over a decade of experience in coaching, consulting, and editing to support clients who are ready to shape and share their stories.
Interests and expertise: Long-form fiction and novels, promotion/marketing, personal essay, diverse characters, young adult fiction
Appointments:
- Friday, August 1, 4:30-6:00 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
- Saturday, August 16, 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom OR in-person)
Mathew Rodriguez is a Brooklyn-based writer and award-winning journalist. His writing has been featured in Slate, The Nation, The Village Voice and SELF. His essays have been anthologized in A Great Gay Book and A Modern Loss, and his book, Tough Guy, is forthcoming from Abrams Press. He has studied writing at New York University and the CUNY Graduate Center, and has taught at NYU and UCLA.
Interests and expertise: Personal Essay, Book-length Memoir, Literary Journalism; LGBTQ+ Health and wellness memoir/personal essay
Appointments:
- Tuesday, July 15, 5:00-6:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Friday, August 8, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Aimee Suzara is a Filipino-American poet, playwright, performer, and educator. Her book SOUVENIR (2014) was a Willa Award Finalist; her writing is published in Kartika Review, Orion Magazine, Poets.org and Mom Egg Review, among others. Based in Oakland, she teaches college writing and runs a coaching business, Wild Tongues.
Interests and expertise: Promotion/marketing, playwriting, poetry, mothering writers, BIPOC writers, Filipinx and A/PI writers, social justice, performance, women of color
Appointments:
- Friday, August 15, 12:00-1:30 PM ET (Zoom)
- Saturday, August 23, 10:30 AM-12:00 PM ET (Zoom)
Tina Tocco is a Pushcart Prize nominee. A writer of flash and children’s fiction, her work appears in Highlights, Cricket, Potomac Review, Portland Review, Sou’wester, Hobart, Italian Americana, and others. Tina has contributed to multiple anthologies, most recently the middle grade collection The Haunted States of America (Macmillan, 2024).
Interests and expertise: Short or flash fiction, children's literature, young adult literature, publishing; I can discuss submitting to journals and magazines, as well as the basics for getting an agent; for children's/YA, I can talk in general on these genres, but I work in contemporary and historical at the moment; flash fiction is one of my sweet spots as well
Appointments:
- Wednesday, July 2, 11:00 AM-12:00 PM ET (Zoom)
- Tuesday, July 22, 1:30-3:30 PM ET (Zoom)
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].