ABOUT US

Why Onward?

As a child, I had a clear goal in life: become a writer. After trying to find my way via publishing, law, and academics, it became obvious quite quickly that the path is not exactly clear. Over the years, I have grown to rely on my fellow writing colleagues as my first readers. However, I always wished I had a mentor outside of the workshop to whom I could reach out, share works-in-progress, and ask for advice along the way. Writers often speak of their mentors with fondness, many of whom they met in school. But what if you didn’t study creative writing or get an MFA? What if you did and you still don’t have that connection with a writer to whom you can reach out about both what’s on the page and off? The desire to find someone who can help guide you – a mentor – is often challenging because, quite frankly, where and how do you find one? We are here to fill that void.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

You apply to work with your top three choices on a specific Onward program and then we match you with the ideal mentor, subject to availability. Our panel of authors are New York Times Bestsellers, International Bestsellers, have both judged and been nominated for major literary awards, written for popular television series, have been selections for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club and The Today Show Book Club, had their work optioned for film, and have seen their work translated into dozens of languages. Many of them teach creative writing at universities across the country, and all of them are, of course, at work on a new book.

Please take a look at our various programs for more details.

SOCIAL JUSTICE COMPONENT

Because we believe that writing has the power to effect social change, we will also be donating a percentage of our fee to an organization of the mentor’s choosing, so when you are choosing your mentor, you are also choosing to support a specific organization by seeing each mentor’s choice of nonprofit.

The writing life is one without a clear path. Onward Literary Mentoring can provide you with tailored guidance as you navigate your own path forward. Join us. We can’t wait to read you!

Onward,