News, events, resources and opportunities
Spark Mentoring: whether you want to work with one of our experienced mentors on a monthly or one-off basis, we provide an affordable and flexible set of options to help you get the help you need to elevate your manuscript.
6-week chapter book course with Clare Helen Welsh: starts 20th May. Learn how write and perfect your chapter books with input from Clare and a literary agent.
I am in Print writing competitions: wide range of genres/age categories. Closing 14th May, 2026.
The Times/Chicken House Children’s Fiction Competition (full-length novel for readers aged 7-18) and The Broken Binding Prize (YA sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction) - Both prizes open for entries on 9th January and the deadline for submissions is 1st June 2026.
Featured Spark Mentor
Ashley is the author of middle grade fantasy adventures The Boy to Beat the Gods and Spirit Warriors. His work has been shortlisted for the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, the Jhalak Prize, the Branford Boase Award and The Week Junior Award for Breakthrough Book. He is also an editor of 17+ years, and lives in Manchester with his partner and a greedy cat.
“With me you’ll be teaming up with someone who knows the industry from both sides as an experienced editor and as an author. I’ve worked in publishing for the majority of my career, most recently acting as a senior editor and mentor at Storymix where I supported new authors through their writing and first experience of an editing cycle with trade publishers.
I run sessions for university students, at festivals and at industry roadshows to help demystify the publishing industry and the editorial process. I’ve also been exactly where you are now! My writing journey wasn’t straightforward and I wrote two manuscripts that never found an agent, before everything came together with my third and I signed with my first-choice agent. I have a wealth of experience to share with any writer looking to query in the near future.”
Hub Calendar (all times GMT/BST)
April
Agent Q&A Tuesday 21st 7pm with Gill McLay
PB Chat Thursday 23rd 7pm with Clare Helen Welsh
Pitch Hero Friday 24th - pitches on Thursday 23rd - with Gill McLay
Meet the Author Thursday 30th 7pm with Kit De Waal
May
Monthly catch-up Monday 4th 8pm with Melissa
YA Chat Tuesday 5th 7pm with Melinda Salisbury
MG Chat Thursday 14th 7.30pm with Vashti Hardy
PB Chat Thursday 21st 7pm with Clare Helen Welsh
All sessions are recorded and available to watch back, so don’t fret about being there ‘live’. This is just a few of the many sessions/opportunities that happen every month in the Hub and are all available on catch-up if you join now.
What is the Hub?
The WriteMentor Hub is a group chat you actually want to be in. Writing club meets social hangout, here we cheer each other on, share knowledge and advice, level up our skills, and have fun doing it.
Everyone’s invited and our doors are open all year round. From absolute beginners to multi-published authors, we all have something to share and something to learn. No gatekeeping, no cliques, no secret handshakes. Just a welcoming crew of writers who understand that success is not about perfection, pressure, or pretension. It’s about connection, collaboration, and community.
More than just a space to chat, the Hub is a creative playground of inspiration: live talks and workshops, structured courses, and an ever-growing library of resources to help you hone your craft. Join critique groups for honest, constructive feedback, take part in interactive writing sprints to boost motivation, or pitch your work to agents in our monthly contests.
Whether you’re looking for advice, accountability, or a creative spark, join the Hub today.
The Final Word
By Kate Emilie
Kate Emilie is the author of the upcoming YA speculative novel, Seven Dishes to Fall in Love, which was longlisted and a readers’ favourite in the 2025 WriteMentor Picture Book and Novel Awards, and shortlisted in the 2025 WriterMentor Idea Idol competition. Shortly after, Kate received 14 offers of representation and her debut novel went on to be acquired in the UK by HarperCollins in a four-way auction, in the US by Random House Children’s Books in an eight-way auction, and sold in nine other foreign deals to date. Kate is here today to tell us more about her experience.
1. Tell us about your writing journey to date.
I’ve always loved writing, but it wasn’t until my MA in Writing for Young People in 2017 that I realised it was a craft that could actually be studied and honed. However, I still needed time: time to develop as a writer, to go through other life stages, to figure out my voice. So I spent another eight years starting and abandoning manuscripts, trying and failing to get an agent, and quietly wondering if this dream had an expiration date.
The turning point came in October 2024 when I gave myself an ultimatum: one year to write a book and attempt to get an agent, or de-prioritise writing until my kids were older. That deadline changed everything. I finished my first draft by May 2025, completed edits by August, and started querying. Within days, I had over 20 full manuscript requests. Over the course of a fortnight, I met with 14 agents, received 14 offers of representation, and signed with Hellie Ogden at WME. A week later, we went on submission and, another two weeks later, I had a two-book deal with two Big Five publishers. Within my one-year commitment, all my dreams started coming true.
2. Why did you decide to join the WriteMentor Hub?
I won my membership as part of being longlisted in the 2025 WriteMentor Novel competition! But even before that, I’d been engaging with WriteMentor through their competitions and found the community incredibly supportive. When I won the Hub membership, I was really excited to connect with fellow writers, and to access a wealth of industry events and resources.
3. What’s your favourite thing about being a Hub member?
The community! Writing is a solitary act, but it doesn’t have to be a lonely one. I loved the writing sprints that kept me accountable, the competitions that introduced me to writers at similar stages, and the talks from industry professionals. Events like PitchHero give writers real opportunities to put their work out there. After being listed in both the Novel competition and Idea Idol, I reached out to other listees and we’ve been supporting each other ever since. There’s something powerful about being surrounded by people who truly understand the highs and lows of this journey—people who celebrate your wins and sit with you through rejections.
4. Can you tell us about your upcoming book?
Seven Dishes to Fall in Love is a YA speculative novel that The Bookseller called “a standout YA novel at Frankfurt Book Fair.”
Seventeen-year-old Zoe Hart has never been in love, now it’s the one thing that might save her life. Set in a retro diner suspended between life and death, Zoe is given a menu of seven dishes, each allowing her to revisit a moment in her past. With time running out to save her own life, Zoe must confront who truly holds her heart…
Publishing in July 2027, Seven Dishes to Fall in Love is a speculative YA love story that blends the emotional depth of Before the Coffee Gets Cold with the bittersweet urgency of They Both Die at the End.
5. What is your best piece of writing advice?
Treat it like a job. I know that sounds unromantic, but it’s the advice that helped me most. We romanticise the idea that books arrive in flashes of creative genius, but the reality (at least for me) is they require discipline: clear deadlines, showing up, and sometimes just staring at a wall while mentally working through plot problems.
I’d also say: own your dream! I can confidently say that I would not be where I am right now if I had been quiet about my dream. It would have felt too easy to walk away when it got hard. Being surrounded by people who understood kept me going.
You can read more about top tips in my recent Substack, 7 Things I Did To Go From Aspiring Writer to Agented Author.
6. Why do you think it’s important for writers to be part of a community?
This journey is hard, why do it alone? Through writing communities like WriteMentor, I found accountability, encouragement, opportunities, and genuine friendships. It’s simply easier to persevere when you have people supporting you.
If you’re still chasing your dream wondering if it’ll ever come true, remember: just because it hasn’t happened yet, doesn’t mean it won’t. Keep going!
If you want to follow Kate: @protagonistkate on everything but the main platforms are Instagram, TikTok, and Substack.
Writing can be lonely, but it doesn’t need to be
May the Force be with you!
Stuart, Florianne and Melissa