update fall/ winter 2023: I have some room on my plate for new clients. please complete the contact form at the bottom of this page if you’re interested and I’ll get back to you.
I’ve had a small, eclectic writing coaching practice since 2018. my focus is on working with disabled and neurodivergent queer and trans/ BIPOC/ working class and poor writers and cultural workers. there is little (ok, almost no) mentorship out there to teach you how to have a disabled/ND working class, BIPOIC writing/ cultural/ artist life. I think of what I do is sharing information tools and practices I’ve learned, older brown ND crip art cousin advice. with some occasional tarot card pulls.
I share nuts and bolts info about “do I need an agent/ how do I write about my family/community/ex without dying/ how much do I ask for?” I support people when they’re stuck, whether it’s at the beginning of a project or any other point. I help people envision their work and get clearer about it. I also can offer some strategizing when you are facing community conflict or structural fuckery that’s placing you at a crossroads about how to move forward.
I work both on a one-off or occasional capacity and have clients I have worked with for the duration of a book project, or monthly for years. Besides my independent coaching practice, I’ve worked for the Ontario Arts Council to mentor emerging queer writers of color, and worked as a mentor to rising disabled writers at Crip Camp’s K’tay D. Davidson Emerging Disabled Artists Mentorship Program.
what I bring/ who am i to do this? as of this writing, I’ve been writing for publication for over 25 years. I’ve written or co-edited ten books published on independent presses and have written for a wide variety of anthologies, magazines and online platforms. I’ve also been self-publishing chapbooks and zines since I was 16. I’ve been paid nothing, paid modestly, paid well, and occasionally and recently scored high-paying essay contracts on major publishers. I’ve won awards and built a body of work. I have figured out how to make a life writing often from bed and the heating pad.
in short, I have a successful disabled brown queer writing career on my own terms, without an agent, a major press or a secret trust fund/parents/partner paying for everything. I had to figure out a lot on my own; I am also beyond grateful for the mentorship of other working-class, disabled and BIPOC writers who taught me how much to ask for, how to read a contact, the hacks and techniques they used to write about small community, survivorhood and other hard business. If we’re a good fit, I’d like to support you in a similar fashion.
I’ve written and sold books when it took years to get a press to say yes and most of them said that queer people of color didn’t exist or read books, and I’ve figured out how to sustain a writing process through times when I was totally broke, times when I was working five jobs, and times when the world was ending and everyone around me was dying. I’m a Lambda Award winner, a five time short-listed Publishing Triangle finalist, a 2020-2021 Disability Futures Fellow, 2020 YBCA 100 member, and a 2020 winner of the Jean Cordova Award “honoring a lifetime documenting the complexities of queer of color/ femme/ disabled experience.” I’ve learned as much or more about writing, editing and publishing before I had those fancy things in a bio as after, when I was writing in a basement apartment on a Mac Classic, and I’m still learning.
I started doing this work because I got asked a lot of questions about publishing, agents, money, how to set up a writing practice when you have two jobs and two chronic illnesses and how to write about shit that your family or community may literally try to kill you for. I look forward to sitting with you and your challenges and questions, helping doula or resource your writing practice and move with you in support as you birth your books. I want more of our work in the world and I’m happy to help you get there.
Stuff I help people with (among others):
- Strategies for writing about trauma and abuse and small communities, ethically and in a way that is supported/ you are able to enter into.
- Making an accessible writing practice as a poor/working class/ disabled/ BIPOC artist.
- Learning about publishing on big, medium and small presses, agents, book proposals, queries and contracts.
- Dealing with and learning from imposter syndrome.
- Visioning your book or project.
- Navigating crossroads, community conflict, being kicked out of a job or gig because of racism.
- Bringing spirit into your work. I am also an experienced tarot card reader/ intuitive with almost 30 years experience, and occasionally I can pull some cards or bring some divination to your work.
Stuff I don’t do:
- Line-edits of whole books or essays.
- Sensitivity reading (I can refer you to friends and colleagues who do this.)
- Ghostwriting.
- Academic writing (I am not an academic and don’t have the skillset to edit your thesis)
- Copyediting or proofreading (trust me, you do not want me to do this.)
Testimonials
“Leah is a wonderful mentor because she understands the artistic struggle on many levels. Along with helping me create a detailed, logistical plan for my work, she also supported the broader, conceptual development I needed to feel confident and driven in my creative process. In a time of creative murkiness navigating the confusing terrain of the publishing process, Leah helped me reconnect with my deeper values around art-making, which truly helped my artistic success. Leah’s excited about meeting her clients where they are at and letting them lead; she listens to them figure out where they want to be, and helps them get there. I would, without a doubt, recommend Leah as a mentor to anyone searching for artistic clarity, discipline, and inspiration.” – Syan Rose, author of Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance
“Working with Leah is transforming my writing practice. Leah’s approach to coaching is rooted in disability justice, a nuanced understanding of the intersecting identities, complex histories and accountabilities each writer brings to their work and a deep knowledge of craft. I come away from each coaching session with new ideas, questions and creative invitations that enable me to be a better writer, and to write in way that feels more pleasurable, embodied and sacred.”- Zena Sharman, author of The Care We Dream Of and editor of Persistance: All Ways Butch and Femme and The Remedy.