The Porch Year is an online, immersive one-year manuscript mentorship program designed for committed writers. With a maximum of 12 participants, this fiction cohort offers personalized feedback, accountability, goal-setting, and community needed to brainstorm, write, revise, and complete a manuscript draft, all from the convenience of an online setting. It’s an ideal option for both local and remote writers looking to work closely with peers and an experienced instructor. Email hello@porchtn.org with any questions.
Registration: Applications open on October 7 - January 11. Limited spots available!
program benefits:
One-on-one meetings with your mentor
Perfect for the writer who has a completed draft of their manuscript and needs a professional beta reader. This option provides the writer with an editorial letter, as well as comments within the manuscript, to help direct the editing process for the writer moving forward. This option is available for manuscripts of all genres and sizes—novels, memoirs, stories, essays, and poetry.
Cohort meetings throughout the year
We’ll gather over Zoom for a weekly, three-hour session, where you’ll have dedicated time to workshop excerpts from your manuscript. In these meetings, we’ll dive deep into narrative arcs, key craft elements, and larger project goals. Some meetings will focus on page-by-page feedback—sometimes we’ll zero in on overall structure or a specific scene, allowing for tailored discussions that propel your project forward. Workshopping one writer’s piece can also provide invaluable insights for others, fostering a rich, collaborative learning experience. Other meetings will discuss your writing goals, challenges, successes, general questions, and offer some generative exercises.
Guest writers and visiting publishing professionals
- Leigh Anne Couch
- Kevin Wilson
- And more to come!
Free access to all write-ins and meetups and digital community
In between sessions, you’ll stay connected through a shared Google Drive and Class Padlet, where you can engage with one another, share resources and upcoming opportunities, submit drafts, and offer feedback to your peers. You’ll also have the option to engage in additional check-ins or discussions, whether through written feedback or brief (15 minutes) one-on-one meetings. This flexible structure ensures continuous progress on your manuscript, while still providing opportunities for personalized guidance and accountability. You'll also have free access to all our write-ins and meetups.
Exclusive access to events and readings
Throughout the year, The Porch will invite visiting writers and publishing professionals to meet with each cohort as special guests. Guests in 2027 may include visiting writers such as Rebecca Gayle Howell and Aimee Nezhukumatathil.
Full manuscript critique
Up to 250-300 draft pages that your teaching mentor will review and give feedback.
Key Dates & Info
- Location: Online via Zoom with optional in-person and Zoom write-ins and productivity sessions
- Free, Virtual Info Session: October 19 at 5-6:30pm–come learn about the program, meet the Teaching Mentor, and see if your fiction project is a fit for the cohort!
- Instructor: William Henry Lewis
RSVP For Free Info SessionApplication Info:
- Application Opens: October 1, 2026
- Submission Deadline: January 11, 2026
- Notifications sent: January 2026
Program Dates:
- Program Duration: January 2027 - December 2027
- Class Time: Mondays from 7-9pm CT
- First Day of Class: Monday, February 1, 2027
- Manuscripts Due: Monday, December 6, 2027 (Last Class)
- Final Reading & Celebration: Monday, January 11, 2028
Cohort meetings throughout the year
Over 78+ hours of classroom instruction:
- Throughout the twelve-month program, the instructor and cohort members will meet in 2-hour sessions on craft lectures, workshop, discussion, writing time, and more. Guest writers, publishing professionals, and speakers are invited to join the cohort throughout the year and will speak to various topics.
- The full syllabus, reading list, and scheduled meeting dates will be available by the start of the course.
Financial Info
How to Apply
- Total Tuition: $4,800
- Tuition Assistance Info: We are able to offer 1 Merit Award seat in each cohort, assuming a minimum enrollment threshold is met. If tuition is a barrier for you and you identify as someone from a low-income, rural, or marginalized background, we encourage you to apply. The optional and brief application is attached at the end of the standard program application for your convenience. Please be prepared to answer narrative questions about community, statement of need, project, and provide a writing sample.
- Submit application and pay $500 non-refundable registration deposit to secure your spot in the cohort. We will schedule a meeting between you and the cohort mentor to ensure your project is a fit and the cohort experience is right for you.
Apply HereWhat You'll Gain
- Dedicated, individualized mentorship and personalized feedback on your work-in-progress. Whether focusing on a single excerpt or discussing your manuscript’s larger structure, you'll receive tailored insights on your manuscript drafts.
- Supportive writing community and accountability with the guidance and mentorship of a published and accomplished writer-teacher.
- 32 weekly online cohort meetings with craft discussions, workshop, community, and feedback (over 78 hours of cohort meeting time!). We’ll explore elements like narrative drive, character development, or revision strategies that elevate your writing.
- Free access to online Zoom classroom space and Porch House for write-ins, accountability sessions, and more
- One-on-one meetings with mentor
- Visiting guest writers, publishing professionals, and editors
- Together, we’ll set personalized goals, holding each other accountable and ensuring you maintain steady progress.
- Exclusive access to Porch Visiting Writer Series events
- Includes a Porch 1-year membership ($300 value)
- Unlimited access to Webinars
- Final public reading and celebration
By the end of the year, you’ll not only have made substantial progress on your manuscript but also have a deeper understanding of your own writing process and the tools needed for future revisions.
Meet the Instructor: William Henry Lewis
William Henry Lewis has published fiction, poetry, and non-fiction in many publications, including The Washington Post, O Magazine, Higher Issues In Education, Colorado Review, New Letters, African-American Review, Blackbird, Callaloo, Kenyon Review, and Ploughshares. His work has featured in conjunction with exhibitions at the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn and the Baltimore Museum of Art, and his stories have been reprinted in several anthologies, domestic and abroad. Hank's work has been honored by the Hurston/Wright Foundation, the American Library Association, Fellowship of Southern Writers, National Endowment for the Arts, Best American Short Stories, and as finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Prize. He is the author of two books of stories, In the Arms of Our Elders (Carolina Wren Press; three printings), and I Got Somebody in Staunton (HarperCollins; two printings), which was listed among Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2005, and selected as the city of Richmond's Go Read book for 2006.
His work has been praised by David Eggers, Nikki Giovanni, Peter Matthiessen, Marita Golden, Edward P. Jones, and his work has been acclaimed by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, TimeOut, and The Washington Post. The Los Angeles Times Book Review praised his fiction as "beautifully written and carefully crafted," while the Boston Globe noted his work as "moving, but unsentimental, these are stories of hard-won wisdom, potent intelligence, and compassion for the cadence of everyday life, establishing Lewis as a writer to be appreciated and admired."
From Your Instructor:
- written feedback on up to 250-300 pages of your manuscript by the end of the cohort year, along with suggested readings;
- optional lighter feedback on weekly drafts; generative exercises for inspiration for each weekly meeting
- craft-based readings for deepening your knowledge on various craft issues, with conversations about these readings during our live Zooms
- 4+ one-on-one Zooms during the twelve months we work together
- Optional hosted “write-ins” where we write together on Zoom (minimal conversation, focused on drafting)
From Yourself:
- accountability: together, as a group, we will set goals at the start of the year for how often people will share work in our Google Drive
- community: option to host a ‘write-in’ for fellow group members (on Zoom)
- encouragement: you’ll be responsible for giving feedback to your peers during our live Zoom workshops and asynchronously (we will make this responsibility manageable based on group size)
From Your Peers:
- caring, honest feedback on work-in-progress
- encouragement when you’re feeling stuck or down on your work
- a safe and supportive community and a sense of shared purpose
- We are able to offer 1 Merit Award seat in each cohort, assuming a minimum enrollment threshold is met. If tuition is a barrier for you and you identify as someone from a low-income, rural, or marginalized background, we encourage you to apply. The optional and brief application is attached at the end of the standard program application for your convenience. Please be prepared to answer narrative questions about community, statement of need, project, and provide a writing sample.
Refund Policies
- If you need to cancel a workshop for any reason, the following refund schedule applies:
- More than three weeks before start date: A cancellation fee of 10% of the total workshop cost applies.
- Less than three weeks before start date: 15% cancellation fee applies.
- Less than one week before start date: 25% cancellation fee applies.
- 48 hours or less before class start: No refund is available.
- PLEASE NOTE: It is best to register early to help our teaching artists prepare and ensure the class does not get cancelled. Classes that do not meet a minimum enrollment may be canceled a minimum of 2 business days prior to the first class meeting with full refunds for all registrants.
- We are unable to consider refunds or credits if the experience was not to your liking, although we always appreciate thoughtful critical feedback in an effort to improve our offerings. There are no refunds or prorated tuition available for missed sessions.
- Visiting guests are subject to change depending on availability, schedule, and programmatic need.
- Membership benefits are valid for a year after the date of purchase. Membership benefits may not be applied retroactively. The Porch reserves the right to refuse a registration for any reason and/or to remove a student at the instructor or administration’s discretion.
