“Kathryn was lovely to work with. She was supportive. Her critiques were excellent and pushed me to dig deeper and rewrite more thoughtfully. I feel so lucky to have had the chance to work with her. She was so positive about my writing and this helped me to get excited about it, too.”

“The mentorship helped get me back on track. I was paralyzed in my creativity and just re-hashing changes to my manuscripts. This was a great springboard to re-engaging with my writing. Phyllis was great. She was willing to look at ‘old’ manuscripts and prompted me to come up with something new. She was available and prompt and reassuring but also read with a critical eye, which I appreciated.”

“AMAZING. My mentor’s comments were kind, thought-provoking, and gave me the added boost in confidence I needed to do the work. Being able to read feedback, and then talk through possible solutions to my literary dilemmas-on more than just short sections- was so exciting. This was my favorite part of the program: The individual feedback. All of the mentors were so knowledgeable and brought so much to the table.”

“I absolutely loved working with Shelley. She is exactly the type of mentor I was looking for: someone I was able to bounce ideas off of; someone who listened to my concerns and answered my questions with kindness, patience, and respect; someone who helped me find the best way forward by means of supportive and gentle guidance; someone who encouraged me and expressed enthusiasm for my story. Her skill at finding the heart of the story and peeling away the distracting and unnecessary bits, has been invaluable to my development as a writer.”

“I found the atmosphere really relaxed and welcome to discussion. The course material was rich and insightful. It was an invaluable experience for me. Having an expert review my pages and provide me with constructive feedback wasn’t something I’d experienced before. I loved brainstorming with my mentor about what to do with this story — brainstorming with Gary. D. Schmidt was surreal.”

“Kathy’s comments and our discussions on the first half of the manuscript have helped me see the manuscript more clearly and understand what I need to do to make it better. She pointed out where the story logic wasn’t quite working and made other suggestions in a way that was very supportive to my writing process. We had some wonderful discussions.”

“I loved the mentorship experience so much—I felt held and supported, guided and taught, and given space and encouragement to continue to create. Over the course of the three months, I saw my 120-page work develop and I saw myself develop as a writer. I had in-depth, objective conversations that made my writing better, my story more powerful, and my relationship with my work more invigorating. Shelley was excellent at both rooting for me and being honest about what would and wouldn’t be helpful for me as I finished my draft. It was such a gift to get her eyes and mind on my manuscript—it truly elevated my book and has continued to propel me forward. ”

“Shelly helped me discover and focus on the main storyline and weed out who (characters) and what (subplots) I didn’t need. Her comments were doubly effective in that they pointed out what might need fixing or might not be working, but instead of saying write this or delete that, she allowed me to go through the process of figuring it out for myself. Working with Shelley was wonderful.”

“The morning sessions with Gary and Patti doing one long one shorter presentation was pure gold! Patti and Gary get deeper into the writing process and give perspectives I’ve never heard anywhere else. Every session was a pure delight and such a revelation.
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“Profound. I feel so much more ready and able to write my story to the end now. Patti and Gary have been integral to my writing process all along but this week was particularly special. I feel like something has finally broken free and I am ready to write this story to the end! And the community of fellow writers makes me feel like I have a writing home I cherish. Thank you so much for an awesome week — every detail was perfect.”

“It was wonderful! Both are so positive and encouraging, but also specific and helpful with feedback. I left every meeting knowing exactly what to work on next, but never feeling defeated or like I couldn’t do it … I loved every minute - best workshop I’ve ever done, and 100% worth it. ”

“It was magic. It would be hard to overstate how valuable the insight and input from Patti and Gary were. Having access to their brilliance for a week is an unparalleled situation.”

“I always come away from my one-on-one editing sessions with Gary with renewed confidence; I feel like he understands my writing and what I am trying to do. He can see from one chapter where I may be struggling throughout a novel and explains how to overcome it.”

“Wonderful, kind hospitality. Very giving. A special treat was being with Patti. Gary Schmidt was also amazing! The group contained extremely talented writers. I’m very glad to have been a participant.”