Mentorships

I am available to mentor writers working on projects, either big and long-term or small and short-term. I’m interested in mentoring people who are writing poetry, short stories, short story cycles and novels. Over the years, I have supervised nine postgraduate students at UTS and UNSW and all of these students were writing novels. I have also mentored two poets as part of the Australian Society of Authors mentorship scheme and a short story writer for the NSW Writers’ Centre. Privately, I have mentored people writing non-fiction, novels, poetry and children’s fiction. To discuss your project and mentorship rates you can get in touch with me: akissane[at]iprimus[dot]com[dot]au

Here’s what people who have worked with me have said:

“As a recipient of an Australian Society of Authors Emerging Writers mentorship I have just completed 12 months of work, creating a collection of poetry, with Andy Kissane as my mentor. Working with Andy has been a delightful and beneficial experience that I would recommend to any emerging author. As a regionally based writer it is often difficult for me to access the kind of supportive and critical conversations that are essential for the development of any writer’s work. This is where the mentoring process had its greatest value. Andy introduced me to new influences, encouraged me to trust my own voice, and through editorial suggestions and discussions helped sharpen my use of language, making me a more astute editor of my own work. Most importantly, he was always happy to discuss not just the words on the page but also the ideas, the doubts, and the theory. These insightful conversations where the key to realising the goals I set for my writing.” —Chris Armstrong

“I was extremely fortunate to have Andy as my supervisor when I was writing the opening chapters of my novel. He understood precisely where I wanted to go with the text even when it was only a first draft, and was able to give me remarkably effective practical advice on how to improve it. He was one of those rare supervisors who could say ‘I think this is what you are trying to do, but this is how it is coming out, therefore… etc’” —Luther Uthayakumaran