STEPHANIE BISHOP
I offer bespoke literary mentorship, working closely with writers to help their work flourish. The mentorship is open to anyone, at any stage of development, whether you are just starting out, or working with a completed manuscript. You might be exploring an idea, stuck at the halfway point, or ready to revise and polish a draft.
I’m an experienced teacher and coach and have worked extensively with authors in Australia and the UK. Many of the writers I have mentored have gone on to publish their work, receiving both critical and commercial recognition.
My aim is to create a thoughtful, supportive space in which you can take your writing further: developing the possibilities of the work while helping you find greater clarity about what you want it to become.
How it works:
The mentorship is tailored to your needs, with each session lasting one hour. We begin with an initial conversation to discuss your writing and your goals, and to identify the areas where you would most like support during the mentorship.
For each mentorship session, you can submit up to 5,000 words (standard mentorship) or 10,000 words (intensive mentorship) of your work in advance.
The mentorship combines one-to-one discussion with detailed written feedback. Your work will be read with care and attention, and our conversations will focus on the possibilities, strengths and challenges present in your writing. Each session is accompanied by annotations and a written report, giving you practical points to work with.
Sessions can explore any aspect of your writing, including style, voice, character, description, dialogue and structure. We can also discuss creative problem-solving, the broader ambitions of your project and any challenges you may be encountering as a writer. The focus is always tailored to your needs, combining thoughtful discussion with targeted editorial guidance and practical feedback.
The aim is not simply to edit the work, but to help you develop as a writer, making confident and exciting decisions about your project.
I work with a small number of writers at a time. For initial inquiries, please email: penandink777@gmail.com
Testimonials
'Stephanie's support was invaluable on my journey to publishing The Make-Believe. Being read by her I felt I was being taken seriously as a real writer, and her sharp-eyed, compassionate feedback both challenged and encouraged me. She's very kind, very smart, and immensely perceptive. Being taught by her was truly inspiring. Her statements of wisdom on the craft of writing and the industry of publishing are lessons I return to again and again.'
– Hannah Murray, author of Sunday Times bestselling The Make-Believe
'Stephanie’s guidance is quite simply the only reason my book ever found its feet. Her mentorship is invaluable; she is unbelievably caring, thorough, perceptive and able to see and understand crucial elements of my work that I could never have even noticed myself. This kind of editorial and writerly attention is incredibly rare — to be read as closely and as generously as I have been by Stephanie has been career-altering for me. It has allowed me to feel incredibly seen and understood as a writer, to be challenged when I need to be challenged and encouraged when I need someone I admire to lift me up. Stephanie is an extraordinarily good teacher, and any work of fiction will be incalculably better as a result of her input. I wouldn’t be the writer I am without her.'
– Lucia Osborne-Crowley, author of I Choose Elena, My Body Keeps Your Secrets and The Lasting Harm
I loved my time working with Stephanie while she was my mentor during my MA at UEA. She had that rare ability to see what my manuscript was trying to become, to see what I was aiming for before I could see it myself. She took such care with my work and took my messy manuscript so seriously that it increased my confidence in myself as a writer. Also, her reading recommendations based on my work were invaluable. She listened so well during our zooms, it was like the best kind of therapy. After I finished working with her, I sold my novel in a two-book deal to HarperCollins in the UK and Hachette in the US. If you get the chance to work with Stephanie, grab it!
– Sheena Cook, author of All the Things We Buried