Mentor/mentee/manatee

So last night was the kick off reception for this year's edition of the MWG's Sheldon Oberman Emerging Writer Mentorship Program.

I was mentored by Melissa Steele via this program ten years ago, so it feels particularly apt that this year, for the first time, I will be mentoring another writer.

Here are the details, mostly because I can't recommend this program enough:

"The Sheldon Oberman Mentorship Program pairs emerging writers with established, professional writers to work together one-on-one for a five month period. During the program, the emerging writer is encouraged to utilize the expertise of the professional writer in the areas of manuscript evaluation, markets and publishing, and grants and employment opportunities.

The Program is designed for emerging writers who have made a commitment to their writing and is not to take the place of a creative writing course. Emerging writers are expected to have been writing for some time and have a body of work. For many emerging writers who have participated in the program, the experience of working with a professional writer often marks the transition from beginning writer to published author."

And so, from January through May, I will be meeting with my apprentice/mentee/manatee (all three terms have been bandied about over the years, the third, not surprisingly, mostly by me...) twice a month.

Melissa liked to meet at Salisbery House on Stafford. And I regularly dropped sheafs of poems in her mailbox. 

I'm looking forward to establishing a similar routine with my apprentice.

Yay! Fun!