Writing Mentor Service

Hourly Mentoring Services: $65 Per Hour

The one-on-one, pay-as-you-go, mentoring service is scheduled one hour at a time. Mentoring sessions may involve brainstorming, problem-solving, and informal discussions about chunks of a work-in-progress. Writers have the option to schedule more meetings, if desired, at the end of each meeting. Payment is required in advance of each meeting with the mentor.

Perfect For Writers Of All Levels Looking For:

Personal interaction/conversation/consultation with a writing coach
Information and instruction through one-on-one discussion
Suggestions, instruction, information, and brainstorming
Feedback on a small excerpt of a work-in-progress
Flexible scheduling that matches your personal schedule and process
Pay-as-you-go meetings requiring no long-term commitment
Help with beginning, continuing, or completing a work-in-progress
Assistance with the business of writing including building a platform, marketing, and formatting manuscripts for submission to traditional publishers or for self-publishing

Things To Know Before You Solicit Services:

The hourly Mentoring Service is not intended for complete Manuscript Reviews which require a higher level of engagement, time, and input by a reviewing consultant. Find out more about Manuscript Review Service.
Mentors and consultants make every effort to help the author strengthen the current manuscript but they, and the Carnegie Center, make no guarantees that the author’s manuscript will be acquired by a publisher, or that it will achieve a specific level of sales.
Mentor, consultants, and the Carnegie Center have no ownership interest in the author’s work; the author retains all rights, including copyright.
Opinions, feedback, critiques, and reviews reflect the experiences and preferences of the mentors and consultants. The author determines what content in the sessions resonates with their project and writing style.
The Carnegie Center is not responsible for mentor or consultant comments or the content of sessions and reviews.

How To Schedule A Mentor Session

CHOOSE YOUR MENTOR
Browse bios of Carnegie Center below.

CONTACT YOUR MENTOR
Contact your chosen mentor by email with a brief description of your project and the type of mentoring help you are seeking. You can find a mentor’s email address in their bio.

PAY FOR SERVICES
Once you have scheduled the meeting, pay for your session online. Please specify your mentor in the ‘notes’ section during checkout.

SCHEDULE MORE SESSIONS
If you schedule additional hourly sessions with your mentor, be sure to pay in advance for each session.

Fee Reduction Request

If you would like to request a reduction of fees based on financial need, you may send your request via email to Program Director Z Valentine at zjackson@carnegiecenterlex.org. Include a brief explanation of your financial need in the body of the email.

Writing Mentors

Sylvia Ahrens

Bio

Sylvia Ahrens is the author of seven collections of poetry as well as The Family Tree Cozy Mystery series. She and her family spent almost four decades homesteading in south central Kentucky. A retired English professor, Sylvia has degrees in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Women’s Studies. She loves working one on one with students to help them reach their goals. She writes under the name Allison Thorpe.

Ashley Blooms

Bio

Ashley Blooms (they/she) is the author of two critically acclaimed novels, Where I Can’t Follow and Every Bone a Prayer. Their work has been nominated for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize, Weatherford Award, and Judy Gaines Young Book Award, and they have been named a South Arts State Literary Fellow for Kentucky. Her fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Year’s Best Dark Fantasy & Horror, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Strange Horizons, The Oxford American, Reactor, and elsewhere. They received their MFA as a John and Renee Grisham Fellow at the University of Mississippi and have been awarded residencies and scholarships from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Clarion Writers Workshop, Appalachian Writers Workshop, and others.

Laurie Calkhoven

Bio

Laurie Calkhoven, an Author Accelerator Certified Book Coach and former publishing professional, is the author of more than 50 books for young readers ranging from beginning readers to YA. In addition to her own novels in the Boys of Wartime and Roosevelt Banks series, she has authored six novels for American Girl, worked as a ghostwriter for people more famous than herself, and penned many books of nonfiction. Laurie is a frequent workshop leader at the Highlights Foundation and at regional SCBWI conferences. Laurie is available for mentoring in all aspects of children’s writing and revising.

Laurie is based in New York and unavailable for in-person meetings.

Liz Carey

Bio

An award-winning journalist in Ohio, Kentucky and South Carolina, Carey has been an in-depth/investigative reporter, a beat reporter covering government, education and features, and now is a freelance writer contributing to nationwide news outlets. Carey also serves as an instructor for the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning, and is the co-founder of the Blah, Blah, Blah Writers’ Group. Currently, she covers the 250Lex year-long celebration of Lexington, Ky for the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Whether it’s writing about the stripper mistress of a former city treasurer who embezzled millions to support his girlfriend, “Hauntrepreneurs” (people who create haunted houses for a living) or the impact of Covid-19 on rural communities across the country, Carey has worked to help bring the interesting and the informative to life. As an author, Carey has written several books including her children’s book “My Little Zombie, a collection of historical stories in “Hidden History of Anderson County” and a look at tales we tell about the weird and unknown in “Rural Monsters, Myths and Legends.” Carey is also a ghostwriter, and has penned more than a dozen books for people across the country.

Originally from Versailles, Kentucky, Carey lives in Lexington, with her dog and cat just steps away from the University of Kentucky. You’ll often find her on her porch, lounging in her swing, sipping an okay wine and reading whatever good book she can get her hands on.

Bill Carman

Bio

Bill Carman is an award-winning outdoor writer, and hunting and fishing guide. His
stories have appeared in numerous outdoor magazines, and he won the national Outdoor
Life Book Club short story contest. He has written three books of hunting and fishing
essays and authored a true crime book, Saving Noah, set in a small town in Kentucky. His
latest book, Fishing with Daniel Boone, takes the reader on a fly fisherman’s journey to
the rivers and streams of Daniel Boone’s life. Bill regularly conducts outdoor skills
workshops, and he teaches outdoor writing and self-publishing at the Carnegie Center. He
and his wife live in Lexington, Kentucky where he is teaching his grandchildren the ways
of the woods.

Sarah Combs

Bio

Sarah Combs has led writing workshops at the Carnegie Center for more than 20 years and is the author of the YA novels Breakfast Served Anytime and The Light Fantastic (both published by Candlewick Press).

Tony Crunk

Bio

Tony Crunk‘s first poetry collection, Living in the Resurrection, was the 1994 selection in the Yale Series of Younger Poets. He has published numerous subsequent collections, as well as additional work in fiction, non-fiction, and children’s books. He has held fellowships from the National Writer’s Voice and the Centrum Center for Education and the Arts, and he has taught creative writing and literature at the Universities of Virginia, Montana, and Alabama, as well as in a number of community education programs, including Hellgate Writers, Inc. (Missoula, MT) and Magic City Community Writers (Birmingham, AL). He also served for nine years as Teaching Writer-in-Residence in the Writing Our Stories program in the Alabama state juvenile correctional system. He welcomes opportunities to work with, and learn from, writers of any level of experience (or inexperience).

Amanda Davis

Bio

Amanda Davis is a teacher, artist, writer, and innovator who uses her words and pictures to light up the world with kindness. Amanda is the author of the award-winning picture books, 30,000 Stitches: The Inspiring Story of the National 9/11 Flag, and Moonlight Memories. Her author-illustrator debut, Sometimes Stormy, releases in fall of 2025 and she has three more books on the way. She also has poetry and illustrations featured in The Writers’ Loft Anthology: Friends & Anemones: Ocean Poems for Children and Gnomes and UnGnomes.

Tracee de Hahn

Bio

Tracee de Hahn is a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. A frequent instructor in topics related to writing, editing, and “getting published,” she enjoys helping writers identify their path and set a course for success. She has experience across the gamut of publishing, from Big 5 and Indy houses to self-publishing. She has also created, authored, and edited a range of magazines for major universities. Her latest book is A Well-Timed Murder, the second in the series from St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books. Currently, she is working on a mystery set in Kentucky.

Writing Mentor Service Topics: YA and adult fiction, writing for magazines, and topics in non-fiction (arts and humanities)

Jessica Handler

Bio

Jessica Handler is the author of the novel The Magnetic Girl, winner of the 2020 Southern Book Prize and a nominee for the Townsend Prize for Fiction, a 2019 “Books All Georgians Should Read,” an Indie Next pick, Wall Street Journal Spring 2019 pick, Bitter Southerner Summer 2019 pick, and a Southern Independent Bookseller’s Association “Okra Pick.” Her memoir Invisible Sisters was also named one of the “Books All Georgians Should Read,” and her craft guide Braving the Fire: A Guide to Writing About Grief and Loss was praised by Vanity Fair magazine. Her writing has appeared on NPR, in Tin House, Drunken Boat, Full Grown People, Oldster, The Bitter Southerner, Electric Literature, Brevity, Creative Nonfiction, Newsweek, The Washington Post and elsewhere. Honors include the Ferrol Sams, Jr. Distinguished Writer in Residence at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia and the Kenyon Review Peter Taylor Fellowship. She is a visiting faculty member at West Virginia Wesleyan College’s low-residency MFA, a member of the faculty at Etowah Valley MFA at Reinhardt College, and a mentor with PocketMFA. Her novel, The World To See, is forthcoming from Regal House Press. Jessica lives in Atlanta with her husband, novelist Mickey Dubrow.

Marcia Thornton Jones

Bio

Marcia Thornton Jones is the author/co-author of 137 traditionally published books for children with sales totaling more than 45 million copies worldwide. Her books include the mid-grade novels Woodford Brave and CHAMP, picture books The Tale of Jack Frost and Leprechaun on the Loose, and seven chapter book series including the bestselling The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids. Marcia is the co-author of Writing for Kids: The Ultimate Guide and a former columnist for Writer’s Digest Magazine. Marcia’s latest books are the Graphix Chapter Books Ghosts Don’t Eat Potato Chips, Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots, Frankenstien Doesn’t Plant Petunias, and Dragons Don’t Cook Pizza.

Marcia is available for writer mentoring, manuscript reviews, and as an Author Academy mentor for writers of picture books, early chapter books, chapter books, midgrade novels, and young adult novels.

Mary Knight

Bio

With an MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University, Mary Knight is the author of Saving Wonder, a middle grade novel published by Scholastic and winner of the 2017 Green Earth Book Award, as well as the author of the mixed-genre novel, What the Seahorse Told Me, also nominated for a Green Earth Book Award. Mary loves working with writers who are committed to their craft.

Karen Leet

Bio

Karen Leet has sold hundreds of stories and articles as well as several books including co-authoring Civil War Lexington, Kentucky: Breeding Ground of Power (The History Press) and a historical novel for middle grade Sarah’s Courage: A Kentucky Frontier Kidnapping (THP). She mentors writers of children’s and religious/inspirational material. See her Facebook pages for her books.

Claudia Love Mair

Bio

Claudia Love Mair Claudia Love Mair is the author of 13 books, including Mourning Pages: Working Through Grief the Write Way. She holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University and is the coordinator for the Carnegie Center’s Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative. Claudia Love lives with her daughter, and two cats, Batman and Gizmo, in Lexington, KY.

Writing Mentor Service Topics: Fiction, Memoir, and Inspirational Writing

William “Bill” McCann

Bio

William “Bill” McCann is a playwright, poet, and essayist. He is a former arts columnist for the Winchester Sun and a 2024 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with an MFA in creative writing. Mr. McCann was nominated for the 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his chapbook God Hires Gardeners (Finishing Line Press, 2023). He has two more books forthcoming in 2025: Yearnings: A Memoir in Prose and Poetry (Cyberwit.net) and The New Adventures of Jesus (Finishing Line Press). He was commissioned in 2023 to write a play for the Pikeville, KY Bicentennial. That play “Fiddlesticks and Dynamite” premiered at the Appalachian Center for the Arts in Feb. 2024; in December 2024 a radio drama version was produced and broadcast on WEKU (88.9 FM) as part of Eastern Standard’s Theatre of the Mind series. His full-length play :”Boats Against the Current” premiered at Flashback Theatre, Somerset, KY in 2019.

Stephanie Mojica

Bio

Stephanie Mojica is a writer, editor, and mentor with extensive experience in content writing, copywriting, editing, and public relations. She holds a Master’s in International Human Rights Law and is currently completing a Master’s in Technical and Professional Writing. She is a Guest Lecturer and Online Writing Center Specialist at Westcliff University in Irvine, California. She has edited and proofread hundreds of books and mentored people through their writing projects, traditionally published books, self-published books, theses, and dissertations. With over 25 years of experience, she mentors people in English, writing, and academic research, specializing in project completion accountability, self-publishing mentorship, and agent-finding guidance.

Stephanie is available for virtual meetings only.

Laverne Zabielski

Bio

Laverne Zabielski can guide authors through projects of poetry, prose, and creative nonfiction, focusing on the vision of their project. She’s also available to assist with submissions, guide writers through indie publishing, and help organize a body of work for publication including digitally preparing files. Laverne has been writing and publishing for over forty years. She received her MFA in writing from Spalding University in 2004. Her poems and stories have been published in numerous journals. She has performed and taught writing nationally and internationally. She feels an urgency to write what she has experienced and says, “It’s strange that sharing what is real is perceived as courageous. I believe it’s necessary.”

Christine Van Zandt

Bio

Christine Van Zandt is a professional freelance editor with 12+ years experience helping writers achieve their publication goals. Her skills include all levels of editing and author coaching. She’s there for you from creation to publication. Working from Hollywood, California, she knows what it takes to succeed in today’s marketplace. Her education includes a master’s degree in English literature with a specialization in children’s literature. Christine is also an award-winning author; her traditionally published work for adults and children includes a nonfiction picture book, fiction short stories, and both fiction and nonfiction articles. Find out more at WriteforSuccessEditing.com and ChristineVanZandt.com.