Mentor Program
Need a critique? The 2025 MWA-NY Mentor Program Officially Opens On March
1!
The MWA-NY Mentor Program committee invites members of the New York Chapter of MWA, unpublished and published, to submit their work for critique by an active member of the chapter. Get feedback from published professionals to help you hone your work!
Submissions are open March 1, 2025, and close on March 31, 2025.
How it works:
Submit the first 35 pages of a manuscript, or one short story up to 35 pages (a slightly shorter or longer submission is fine if a scene or chapter ends a few pages before or after the 35-page limit).
Pay a small fee (25$) to participate. This goes towards MWA-NY, not the mentors, so that we can put on other programs for all of you!
An active member of the New York chapter will provide constructive feedback in
writing!
If you’re interested, we need three things from you:
1) The mentee application –
Either fill it outline here
OR you can print out the paper form here and scan it (or take a photo) and email
it to Mentors@mwany.org.
2) Payment – you can pay either by check or Paypal! (which includes a fifty cent paypal fee)
To pay by Paypal simply go to this link OR to pay by check, mail a check for $25, payable to MWA-NY to:
SHEILA YORK (ATTN: MWA-NY MENTOR PROGRAM)
49 MORSE AVENUE
BLOOMFIELD, NJ 07003
3) Your manuscript! This will only be accepted via email. Your submission can be
up to 35 pages of a single short story or part of a novel. A synopsis of 500 words
or less (needed to help us match you to a mentor) is preferable for novels. The
synopsis should describe the whole plot for completed novels and what you
know of the plot so far for works in progress. If you do not have a full synopsis
then please add a paragraph at the end of your extract saying how you believe
this story will end.
Please submit your pages as a MS Word documents in .doc or .docx format (no
.pdf or .rtf or anything else), use either a Times New Roman or 12-point Courier
font. Include your name, the title and the page number at the top of each page.
Name your document with your last name as the file name. Example: Smith.doc
Attach the MS Word document to an e-mail addressed to mentors@mwany.org.
Include in the body of the e-mail:
Your full name
Title of Manuscript
Whether Novel or Short Story
Remember to attach your pages!
Critiques will be e-mailed to you as we receive them from the mentors, but no later
than May 15, 2025.
This program does not involve face-to-face discussion or an ongoing relationship between mentor and mentee, unless initiated by the mentor. The active members of the chapter who serve as mentors do so without payment. Their only commitment is to critique the work in writing and help develop new writers.
If you have additional questions, please e-mail mentors@mwany.org – the subject line of your e-mail should be “Mentor Program.”
We look forward to receiving your submission!