DO YOU NEED A WRITING MENTOR?

Do you need feedback on a manuscript? Could your writing improve with a dedicated coach? The Carnegie Center’s Writing Mentor Service is your opportunity to work one-on-one with a published writer. $30 for a one-hour session; fee assistance available. If you’re interested, call 859-254-4175 or e-mail a mentor below.

Our mentors include:

Frankie Finley
teaches fiction and nonfiction writing workshops at the Carnegie Center, where she has also been involved in the Young Women Writers Project. She served as the first woman editor of the long-standing Appalachian literary journal, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel, from 2006 to 2011. She has worked as a freelance editor, writer, and writing coach since 2001, and works full-time as a writer for an international technology company. Frankie holds a BA in Creative Writing from Ohio University and an MA in English from the University of Kentucky. Her poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction work has been published in literary journals, and she is at work on her first full-length book project, a memoir for which she has received funding from the Kentucky Foundation for Women.

Frankie is mentoring on these topics: Nonfiction, fiction, literary journal writing, basic writing skills. If you are interested in meeting with Frankie, send her an e-mail.

Leslie Guttman-grew up in Lexington and went to journalism school at Indiana University Bloomington. She worked at the San Francisco Chronicle for over a decade as a writer and editor, and her awards include being honored by the Society of Professional Journalists in Northern California for outstanding journalism. Leslie works in multiple formats: print, radio, video and the Web. She is the author of the nonfiction book, Equine ER (Eclipse Press, 2009) and has received a fellowship to Yaddo, the artists’ colony in upstate New York. One of her public radio essays is featured in the book, This I Believe: Life Lessons (Wiley, 2011). She has taught nonfiction writing and publishing at the Carnegie Center. Website: http://www.leslieguttman.com.

Leslie is mentoring on these topics: Nonfiction, publishing, basic writing skills. If you are interested in meeting with Leslie, send her an e-mail.

JD Lester- is a Lexington native and an award-winning children’s picture book author. Her books, published by Random House/ Robin Corey Books, include: Mommy Calls Me Monkeypants (2009); Daddy Calls Me Doodlebug (2010); and Grandma Calls Me Gigglepie (2011). Prior to publication, JD was the classic ‘new mom with a funny story idea’ that she wrote for her own child, and suspected might have market potential. To find out, she researched the industry avidly – in fact, every time her own infant “monkeypants” napped. She learned that the children’s book market is complicated, diverse, and always-changing, probably much like any other thriving international business. But, what remains constant, she is convinced, is that children are worth the best stories we can spin for them, and they are worth our best efforts to succeed. Whenever she is asked, JD explains that everyone’s publishing story is a little bit like everyone’s “falling in love” story. That is to say: no two are alike, and your journey to publication will be uniquely your own. If you are determined to share your work with young readers, JD is the first to tell you: the effort is so very worth it!

JD is mentoring on these topics: Picture-book writing, picture-book publishing. If you are interested in meeting with JD, send her an e-mail.

Bianca Spriggs-is an Affrilachian Poet, Cave Canem Fellow, and multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Lexington. Currently a doctoral student at the University of Kentucky, she holds degrees from Transylvania University and the University of Wisconsin. Named as one of the Top 30 Performance Poets by TheRoot.com, Bianca is a recipient of both an Artist Enrichment Grant and an Arts Meets Activism Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. In partnership with the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association, she is the creator of “The Swallowtail Project” a creative writing workshop dedicated to the women inmates at the Federal Prison Camp, and the creator and Artistic Director of the Gypsy Poetry Slam featured annually at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. Bianca is the author of Kaffir Lily (Wind Publications) and How Swallowtails Become Dragons (Accents Publishing), and her work may be found in many anthologies. She currently serves on the editorial board for TORCH: poetry, prose, and short stories by African American Women, and is the Managing Editor for PLUCK! The Affrilachian Journal of Art and Culture.

Bianca is mentoring on these topics: poetry, academic writing, basic writing skills, reading poetry or prose in public. If you are interested in meeting with Bianca, send her an e-mail.

Katerina Stoykova-Klemer- grew up in Bourgas, Bulgaria, and immigrated to the U.S. in 1995. A former software engineer, she received a Masters in Fine Arts from Spalding University in 2009. Her poems and stories have appeared in numerous literary publications in the United States and in Europe, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net Award and AWP Intro Award. Katerina’s first book of poetry, The Air around the Butterfly published by Fakel Express, was released in 2009. Her first chapbook, The Most, was published in Finishing Line Press. Katerina is the founder and organizer of poetry and prose workshop groups, which meet regularly in Lexington. Katerina is the host for Accents – a Radio Show for Literature, Art and Culture, which airs on WRFL 88.1 FM, Lexington, 2-3pm every Friday. In January, 2010, Katerina started Accents Publishing, an independent press for brilliant voices.

Katerina is mentoring on these topics: Poetry, publishing, basic writing skills. If you are interested in meeting with Katerina, send her an e-mail.