Our Mentors

The First Five Workshop is free each month to writers of Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction who want to jumpstart their careers as aspiring authors.

The workshop features a different guest mentor every month. These are all people with experience in traditional publishing, who have been through the query, submission, editorial, and review trenches with literary agents and publishers and have tested and honed their writing. They generously offer up their time to read each of the five submissions through the full three weeks of the workshop, providing feedback not just on the initial entry but also on the two revisions so that the workshop participants can get feedback on how they've applied suggested changes.

A different literary agent each month also steps in for the final week to let the participants know how they've done and offer feedback. The literary agents read and comment on all the final revisions.  It's a fabulous opportunity for five fortunate writers to give their book a flying start in the crucial five pages, which are often the only pages a literary agent, editor, bookstore buyer, and potential customer will ever read.

In addition to our guest authors, we have a dedicated staff of permanent mentors who shepherd one submission each month through the initial entry and the two subsequent revisions.

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WORKSHOP LEADERS

Martina Boone, the workshop founder, loves reading and writing romantic books set in magical places for adults and young adults. She is the award-winning author of COMPULSION and the Southern Gothic HEIRS OF WATSON ISLAND trilogy for young adult readers from Simon and Schuster/Simon Pulse, and the Celtic Legends Collection for adult readers, including LAKE OF DESTINY and BELL OF ETERNITY. She is also the principal blogger at our sister site, AdventuresinYAPublishing.com, a three-time Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers site, and the founder of YASeriesInsiders.com. 

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Erin Cashman, the workshop coordinator, is a YA author whose debut fantasy novel, THE EXCEPTIONALS, was named a Bank Street College of Education Best Children's Book. Her second novel, UNCHARTED, a contemporary fantasy, will be published in fall of 2018. She primarily writes YA and middle grade fantasy while eating chocolate and drinking tea. She lives in Massachusetts with her husband, three children, and very energetic rescue dog.

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Lisa Gail Green, workshop co-founder, writes paranormal and fantasy. She is the author of THE BINDING STONE, the first novel in her DJINN series, and SOUL CROSSED, the first book in the OF DEMONS AND ANGELS series. She would most definitely have a werewolf for a pet if she weren't allergic.



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PERMANENT MENTORS

Holly Bodger is the author of  5 to 1 (Knopf, May 2015). She was a finalist in the YA category of the 2013 RWA Golden Heart and has been the logline guru for Miss Snark’s First Victim for several years. She owns too many hats, eats too much cheese and spends too much time complaining about the Canadian weather. She is represented by Lauren MacLeod of The Strothman Agency.

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Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than fifty novels in a diverse range of genres and categories. She's been honored with multiple awards from RT Booklovers Association and the Texas Library Association, and was honored with two spots on the 2012 "Most Favorite Books of UK Schoolchildren" list. In 2003 she launched into the urban fantasy genre under the name Rachel Caine. She created the Morganville Vampires series in young adult, and premiered the TLA-listed novel Prince of Shadows in 2015, and the new Great Library series with Ink and Bone in 2016.  In 2017, she began writing thrillers with the smash bestsellers Stillhouse Lake and Killman Creek


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Melanie Conklin is a writer, reader, and all-around lover of words and those who create them. Her debut novel for middle grade readers, COUNTING THYME, was published by Putnam & Sons in April, 2016. She lives in South Orange, New Jersey with her husband and two small maniacs.

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Katya de Becerra was born in Russia, studied in California, lived in Peru, and then stayed in Australia long enough to become a local. She was going to be an Egyptologist when she grew up, but instead she earned a PhD in Anthropology and now works as a university lecturer and a researcher. Katya is a short version of her real name, which is very long and gets mispronounced a lot. Her debut What The Woods Keep was released in 2018, and her second novel Oasis is forthcoming in 2020.

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Kelly deVos is a third generation native Arizonan, Kelly deVos can tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about cactus, cattle and climate. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from Arizona State University. Kelly is represented by Kathleen Rushall of the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Her debut novel, FAT GIRL ON A PLANE, will be published on 6/5/18 by Harlequin Teen and her work has been featured in Normal Noise and 202 Magazine. Kelly is also a passionate advocate for body positivity and fat acceptance. 
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Brenda Drake grew up the youngest of three children, an Air Force brat, and the continual new kid at school. She hosts workshops and contests such as Pitch Wars and Pitch Madness on her blog, and holds Twitter pitch parties on the hashtag, #PitMad. When she’s not writing or hanging out with her family, she haunts libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops, or reads someplace quiet and not at all exotic (much to her disappointment). She is the New York Times Bestselling author of the YA Fantasy novels  THIEF OF LIES, GUARDIAN OF SECRETS, and the forthcoming ASSASSIN OF TRUTHS, from the LIBRARY JUMPERS series, as well as TOUCHING FATE, CURSING FATE and THUNDERSTRUCK, all from Entangled Teen.

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Pintip Dunn is a New York Times bestselling author of YA fiction. Her first novel, FORGET TOMORROW, won the RWA RITA® award for Best First Book. In addition to the FORGET TOMORROW series, her other books include THE DARKEST LIE and GIRL ON THE VERGE. The paperback of her novel REMEMBER YESTERDAY released September 5th. Her next novel, SEIZE TODAY (Forget Tomorrow, #3) released October 3rd, 2017.

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Candace Ganger is a mother, blogger, contributing writer for sites like Teen Vogue, TWLOHA, Bustle, Romper, XO Jane & Hello Giggles. She’s also an obsessive marathoner and continual worrier (yay!). Her debut YA novel, THE INEVITABLE COLLISION OF BIRDIE & BASH, is out now via St. Martin’s Griffin, and she’s part of a YA mental health anthology, LIFE INSIDE MY MIND, out April 10th, 2018 via S&S. Her forthcoming YA novel (from St. Martin’s Wednesday Books), FALLEN LOVED ONES AWAITING TRANSFER (#float) doesn’t have a pub date yet, but will soon!

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S. D. Grimm’s first love in writing is young adult fantasy and science fiction. She is represented by Julie Gwinn of the Seymour Agency and author of SCARLET MOON and the forthcoming SUMMONER. She currently has four books under contract, including the remainder of her YA fantasy series Children of the Blood Moon. When she’s not writing or editing, Sarah enjoys reading (of course!), practicing kickboxing and Brazilian jiu jitsu, training dogs, and binge-watching shows with great characters. Her office is anywhere she can curl up with her laptop and at least one large-sized dog.

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Stasia Ward Kehoe is the author of YA novels THE SOUND OF LETTING GO and AUDITION, both published by Viking. She grew up performing at theaters along the eastern seaboard, then shifted from stage to page and has been writing fiction, marketing copy and educational materials for almost two decades! She holds a BA in English from Georgetown University and MA in Performance Studies from New York University, is represented by Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management, and still enjoys choreographing the occasional musical.

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Christina June's debut novel, IT STARTED WITH GOODBYE, was released in May 2017, and a companion, EVERYWHERE YOU WANT TO BE, will be available in 2018. She was also part of the anthology NEVER BE YOUNGER, collection of short stories based on the works of Shakespeare.

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Sheri Larsen is a writer, reader, and Maine-iac ice hockey fan, who has watched more hockey games than she could ever count. She loves books that open up secret passageways and hidden worlds to inspire and challenge the heart. Her debut novel for middle grade readers, MOTLEY EDUCATION (Leap Books) is now available, and her debut young adult novel, MARKED BEAUTY, is set for release October, 2017; both are written under S.A. Larsen.

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Kimberley Griffiths Little is an award-winning author of several Middle-Grade novels with Scholastic. The novels of her Young Adult FORBIDDEN trilogy, FORBIDDEN,  BANISHED, and RETURNED, are available now from HarperCollins after selling in a "significant" pre-empt. She grew up in San Francisco, but now lives in an adobe house on the banks of the Rio Grande with her chaotic, messy family.

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Lisa Maxwell is the New York Times bestselling author of SWEET UNREST, GATHERING DEEP, UNHOOKED, and THE LAST MAGICIAN. When she's not writing books, she's an English professor at a local college. She lives near DC with her very patient husband and two not-so patient boys.

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Shannon M. Parker, author of YA novels THE RATTLED BONES and THE GIRL WHO FELL and contributor to WELCOME HOME, an anthology of short stories focused on adoption, has also collected 37 stamps in two passports, hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and to the top of the Andes, and has degrees from Saint Michael’s College, University of Massachusetts at Boston and University of Southern Maine. When she’s not writing, she helps at-risk families gain literacy and citizenship skills. She likes you and chocolate chip cookies.
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Heather Petty has been obsessed with mysteries since she was twelve, which is when she decided that stories about murders in London drawing rooms and English seaside villages were far superior to all other stories. She is the author of the Lock & Mori series, a Sherlock Holmes origin story told from the perspective of a sixteen-year-old, female Moriarty. The third novel in her LOCK & MORI series, FINAL FALL is due out in November, 2017. She lives in Reno, Nevada with her husband, daughter, and three hopelessly devious cats.

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Stephanie Scott writes Young Adult for teens and those young in spirit. Her debut ALTERATIONS is set for release by Bloomsbury Spark. Her writing is also featured in WELCOME HOME, a YA anthology focused on adoption themed stories. Stephanie is an active member of Romance Writers of America and its online YA chapter YARWA, and a current writing mentor in online pitch contests. She enjoys dance fitness and cat memes, and Pinterest is driving her broke. One current life goal is to cosplay Hoth Leia from The Empire Strikes Back. Born and raised in Kalamazoo where there are no zoos, she’s a Midwest girl at heart. She now lives outside of Chicago with her tech-of-all-trades husband.
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Ron Smith is the author of the Middle-Grade novel HOODOO, awarded the Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe New Talent Award, and THE MESMERIST, both from Clarion Books.

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Wendy Spinale is the author of EVERLAND and UMBERLAND, both from Scholastic. She's a published professional journalist with the AOL/Patch Media’s Pleasanton Patch and an active member of both the California Writers’ Club and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. A former Disneyland Cast Member, she is familiar with the world of "make believe."

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Beth Turley was a 1st 5 Pages participant! She's also a graduate of the MFA in creative and professional writing program at Western Connecticut State University. She lives in southeastern Connecticut and teaches writing as an adjunct. If This Were a Story is her first novel.

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Rob Vlock is an author trapped in the body of a struggling jazz musician who, in turn, is trapped in the body of another, somewhat shorter author. (It’s complicated. And kinda crowded.) Rob’s debut middle-grade action/comedy series kicks off with SVEN CARTER AND THE TRASHMOUTH PROTOCOL, which comes out on October 3rd. (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin). When he’s not writing, Rob can be found somewhere in the greater Boston area trying to make his trumpet sound like something other than a dying goose. It’s a work in progress.

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1st 5 PAGES MANAGERS

Melissa Frost is young adult historical fiction author from Ohio. She has been writing for 16 years, or half her life, and is a former winner of the First Five Pages Writing Workshop. She is an avid lover of American History, San Francisco, expensive coffee, cats, and maps. When not writing books, she’s pressing other books she has loved into people’s hands at her local library system while spending far too much time lingering in the young adult section. She is a published author of several short stories, including a dystopian she pitched as “The Giver” meets “Into Thin Air.” She never imagined it would see the light of day.

Charlotte Gruber has loved to read her whole life. Growing up, she hoped to live the exciting life of a protagonist. Instead, she found herself working as an exercise jockey, women’s apparel buyer, Registered Nurse, and auctioneer. She brings this checkered past to her crime fiction novels. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. A third-generation Texan, Charlotte lives in Dallas with her, daughter, two very crazy dogs, and a new kitten named Veronica.

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PAST WORKSHOP GUEST MENTORS

September 2015: JJ Howard
August 2015: Lori Goldstein
July 2015: Ava Jae
June 2015: Shaun Hutchinson
May 2015: Diana Renn
April 2015: Becca Puglisi
March 2015: Patricia Dunn
February 2015: Chelsea Pitcher
January 2015: Lisa Gail Green
December 2014: Peter Salomon
November 2014: JR Johansson
October 2014: Paula Stokes
September 2014: Melissa Gray
August 2014: Laurisa Reyes
May 2014: Tracy Clark
April 2014: Lori Goldstein
January 2014: Geoffrey Girard
December 2013: Kelly Barson
November 2013: Stephanie Kuehn
October 2013: Maureen Lipinski
September 2013: Leila Rasheed
August 2013: Sherry Ficklin
July 2013: Susan Dennard
June 2013: Nancy Kress
May 2013: S.T. Underdahl
April 2013: Lauren Bjorkman
March 2013: Tracy Deebs
February 2013: Nikki Loftin
January 2013: Kimberly Sabatini
December 2012: J. Anderson Coats
November 2012: AC Gaughen
October 2012: PJ Hoover
September 2012: Nancy Holder
August 2012: Leah Cypess
July 2012: Sarah Ockler
June 2012: Elana Johnson
May 2012: Kat Zhang



Note: If you're looking for personal coaching or mentoring, at a fee, of course, many of our guest mentors--and other writers in general--offer limited access for promising students. Check their individual websites for more information.