AWP's mentorship program, Writer to Writer, matches emerging writers with published authors for a three-month series of modules on topics such as craft, revision, publishing, and the writing life. Mentors volunteer their time and receive a free one-year AWP membership. Writer to Writer is free of charge to mentees.

If you have mentored with us in the past, please reach out to us directly at mentorship@awpwriter.org.

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 chosen, we will send you a small selection of applicants, from which you will choose your own mentee. We ask that you dedicate at least one hour per week to communicating with your mentee throughout the twelve-week duration of the program.

As a note: Although we accept submissions year-round, please keep in mind that you may not receive a response immediately. We tend to review applications more actively as we approach the start of a new season and will keep promising applications on file for future sessions if we already have sufficient mentors for the season. Poetry applicants especially tend to experience a delay, as we typically receive a high volume of poetry mentor applications.

We get many wonderful applicants each season. If we think you would be a good fit for the program but we do not have a space for you immediately, then we may reach out to you for a future session.

Thank you for your interest in mentoring through Writer to Writer!

To invite strong HBCU participation within AWP, we will award faculty and student fellowships to attend and participate in the annual AWP Conference & Bookfair. The program will continue into its second year at the 2025 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Los Angeles, California!

The #AWP25 HBCU Fellowships will be offered to two faculty members and four students. The fellowships include:
 

• A $4,000 honorarium for faculty; a $250 honorarium for students
• Paid travel expenses and lodging for the duration of the conference
• Meeting and discussion with Tayari Jones
• Article Publication in the Writer’s Chronicle regarding their #AWP25 experience

In order to be eligible for these fellowships, applicants must be:
 

• Must be an active HBCU faculty (part or full-time) or a current HBCU student (undergraduate or graduate) involved in creative writing
• Must be available to travel and be at the conference on March 26-29, 2025
• If faculty, must be available to serve as a creative writing mentor to 2 student fellowship recipients each for the duration of the conference

If you are a faculty member and a graduate student, you will be required to apply under ONE category only. This is to ensure that every applicant has a fair chance. If you submit an application for both categories, it will not be considered.

To invite strong HBCU participation within AWP, we will award faculty and student fellowships to attend and participate in the annual AWP Conference & Bookfair. The program will continue into its second year at the 2025 AWP Conference & Bookfair in Los Angeles, California!

The #AWP25 HBCU Fellowships will be offered to two faculty members and four students. The fellowships include:
 

• A $4,000 honorarium for faculty; a $250 honorarium for students
• Paid travel expenses and lodging for the duration of the conference
• Meeting and discussion with Tayari Jones
• A complimentary one-year AWP membership
• Article Publication in the Writer’s Chronicle regarding their #AWP25 experience

In order to be eligible for these fellowships, applicants must be:
 

• Must be an active HBCU faculty (part or full-time) or a current HBCU student (undergraduate or graduate) involved in creative writing
• Must be available to travel and be at the conference on March 26-29, 2025
• If faculty, must be available to serve as a creative writing mentor to 2 student fellowship recipients each for the duration of the conference

If you are a faculty member and a graduate student, you will be required to apply under ONE category only. This is to ensure that every applicant has a fair chance. If you submit an application for both categories, it will not be considered.