Services — Mentorship, Tutoring & Publishing with James Mulhern

A Note from James

Eight Ways We Might Work Together

This season: college application essays for high-school seniors, in time for November and January deadlines.

I am a novelist and poet, and for thirty-five years I taught English and writing in colleges, secondary schools, and vocational centers across Massachusetts and Florida. I have also been an editor at publishing houses in Boston, New York City, and Western Massachusetts, and I worked for Ploughshares at Emerson College. My novel Give Them Unquiet Dreams received a starred review from Kirkus, and in 2015 I was awarded a fully funded writing fellowship at Oxford. The services below draw on that experience. Each one states what is included and what it costs. If something here is close but not quite right, write to me and we can discuss an appropriate arrangement.

Looking for courses, salons, or memoir consulting rather than a one-to-one service? Visit the teaching hub—one page for the whole of the teaching work. All live teaching is in person in the Philadelphia region.

His fiction and poetry have been honored by Kirkus Reviews, the Wishing Shelf Book Awards, and the Aesthetica Creative Writing Award, among others—a record gathered on the Reviews & Recognition page.

This Season · For High-School Seniors

College Application Essays

Is there a senior in your house staring at a blank Common App prompt? Many early deadlines fall on November 1 and November 15, and most regular deadlines come in early January. We can get the essay written, and written well, in time.

What you are purchasing

Finding the story: a first session to draw out the experience only this student can write about
Shaping the draft: structure, opening, and the turn that makes an admissions reader remember it
Two rounds of revision, with written comments between sessions
A final line-by-line polish of the personal statement
Help with one or two supplemental essays as time allows

The essay stays the student’s own: I ask questions, point, and cut; I do not write it. Sessions are in person in the Philadelphia region, and parents are welcome at the first meeting.

Essay Review: $75one hour · one draft
Personal Statement: $350five hours · save $25
Full Application: $650ten hours · statement + supplements

Typical timeline: Two sessions a week for two to three weeks for the personal statement; start by mid-October for a November 1 deadline.

Book a First Session

Service 01 · For Writers

Book Mentor & Manuscript Coaching

Have you been carrying a novel, a memoir, a poetry collection, or a book of stories—and need a steady reader to work through it with you? We can meet page by page to discuss the manuscript.

What you are purchasing

One-to-one editorial mentorship from a novelist. In each hour, I read your pages in advance and meet you in person to offer feedback on:

Structure, pacing, and scene shape
Voice, point of view, and prose-line craft
Character development and dramatic logic
Revision strategy—what to cut, what to grow, what to leave alone
A clear, written next-step plan after every session

For writers in the middle of a manuscript who want sustained feedback and a regular reading partner. This is not a copy-edit or proofread; for those services, see Silver Current Press below.

Single Hour: $95per hour
Six-Session Arc: $525six hours · save $45
Full Manuscript Mentorship: $2,800flat · ~30 hours over 4–6 months

Typical timeline: Weekly or biweekly in-person sessions. Single hours can be booked one at a time; the six-session arc runs over six to eight weeks; the full mentorship spans four to six months from first reading to final pages.

Begin a Conversation

Service 02 · For Students

English, Writing & Standardized-Test Tutoring

Is there a high-school or college student in your house who could use a patient, experienced reader? Whether it is a college essay, an AP exam, the SAT, or a stubborn paragraph, we can work on it one hour at a time.

What you are purchasing

One-to-one tutoring from a teacher with thirty-five years in English classrooms, and a former AP English Consultant for the College Board and the National Math & Science Initiative. Sessions cover:

Essay writing—analytical, argumentative, personal, college-application
Grammar, sentence craft, and revision habits
Close reading of literature (novels, poetry, drama, nonfiction)
AP English Language & Composition exam preparation
SAT and ACT Reading & Writing sections, plus the essay
Study skills, annotation, and how to plan a long paper

Sessions are 60 minutes, held in person. Parents are welcome to sit in on the first session.

One-on-One: $75per hour
Small Group: $35per student, per hour · min. 4
10-Hour Package: $675flat · 1-on-1 · save $75
Test-Prep Bootcamp: $825flat · 12 hours over 6–10 weeks

Typical timeline: One 60-minute in-person session per week. Many tutoring plans run six to eight weeks; AP, SAT, and ACT preparation generally runs eight to twelve weeks ahead of the exam.

Inquire About Tutoring

Service 03 · For Curious Adults

Adult Small-Group Literary Seminars

Would you and a few friends like to spend a season inside a great book, a strange poet, or the craft of writing itself? Gather four or more—round a kitchen table—and I will lead the seminar.

What you are purchasing

A privately convened seminar for your group, designed around whatever you want to read or learn. I prepare the syllabus, the discussion questions, and any short writing prompts. You bring the curiosity and the wine. Sample seminars I have led or designed:

A close reading of one major novel—Beloved, Middlemarch, The Great Gatsby
A poet in depth—Yeats, Bishop, Heaney, Plath, Dickinson
The personal essay or memoir, as a writing workshop
Short-story craft for new and returning writers
“How to read a poem”—a four-session crash course
Any topic in literature or writing you would like to design with me

Minimum four participants. Typical seminar runs four to six weekly sessions of 75–90 minutes. Custom topics welcome.

Adult Seminar: $65per person, per hour · min. 4
Four-Session Series: $220per person, flat · four 90-min sessions
Private Single Talk: $400flat · one 90-min session for the whole group

Typical timeline: One 75- to 90-minute session per week. A four-session series runs about a month; a six-session deep-dive runs about a season. Syllabus and reading list delivered one week before the first meeting.

Gather Your Group

Service 04 · For Schools & Teachers

AP English Language & Composition Consulting

Are you a department chair, an AP Lang teacher, or a school leader reviewing your program? I have spent decades working with AP English Language & Composition; we can look at your course together.

What you are purchasing

Consulting from a former AP English Language & Composition Consultant for the College Board and the National Math & Science Initiative, and a two-time English & Social Studies Department Chair. Engagements focus on the AP English Language & Composition exam and may include:

AP English Language & Composition course audit and redesign
Rhetorical analysis, argument, and synthesis-essay pedagogy
FRQ scoring norming and rubric calibration for teachers
Multiple-choice strategy and stimulus-text selection
Mock-exam design and post-exam data review
Vertical-team planning that feeds AP Lang from grades 9–11
Coaching sessions for new AP Lang teachers

Available remotely or, for schools within reach, on-site. Half-day and full-day flat rates available on request.

Consulting Hour: $185per hour
Half-Day PD: $1,450flat · up to 4 hours · whole department
Full-Day PD: $2,400flat · up to 7 hours · whole department
Annual Coach Retainer: $4,200flat · 24 hours over the school year

Typical timeline: Single consulting hours scheduled within two to three weeks; PD days delivered on a date you choose, with planning calls in the prior four to six weeks; annual retainers run August through May with monthly touch-points.

Request a Consultation

Service 05 · For Programs & Educators

Curriculum Design

Do you have an English course, a creative-writing program, or a humanities sequence that needs to be built from the ground up or revised? We can design it with clear learning goals, a coherent sequence, and appropriate materials.

What you are purchasing

Custom curriculum design drawing on experience as a novelist, English teacher, and former Department Chair. Deliverables typically include:

A semester or full-year scope-and-sequence document
Unit plans with essential questions, texts, and assessments
Reading lists curated for your students and your aims
Sample lesson plans and signature assignments
Aligned rubrics for writing, reading, and discussion
Optional teacher-facing pacing guide and PD session

Available for independent schools, public-school departments, homeschool co-ops, and adult learning programs. Project-rate quotes are available after a free 20-minute scoping call.

Design Hour: $150per hour
Full Unit Plan: $1,100flat · 3–4 week unit
Semester Course: $3,800flat · full semester scope & sequence
Full-Year Course: $6,800flat · year-long course with PD

Typical timeline: Unit plans delivered in five to seven weeks; semester courses in ten to fourteen weeks; full-year courses in fourteen to eighteen weeks, with a midpoint draft review and one round of revisions included in every flat-fee project.

Start a Project

Service 06 · For Authors

Publishing & Editorial Services

Have you finished a manuscript—or nearly so—and need editorial guidance? Manuscript evaluation, developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading are available through my imprint.

What you are purchasing

Editorial services through Silver Current Press, the literary imprint I founded. Each project is read by an editor, with feedback tailored to the manuscript and its agreed scope.

Starting at $650 for a full manuscript evaluation, with developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading priced per word. Full deliverables, inclusions, and exact rates for every service are kept current on the Silver Current Press site—the single source for pricing, so you always see the same number in both places.

Detailed scope, exact rates, and a free quote are available on the Silver Current Press site.

Visit Silver Current Press →

Service 07 · For Departments & Faculty

Campus Visits & Faculty Support

Are you building a reading series, supporting a teacher, or finishing a book of your own? Campus visits and faculty support can include teaching, readings, and manuscript discussion.

What you are purchasing

Time on your campus, or in your department’s meeting room online, from a writer and former classroom teacher with more than thirty years of experience. Every engagement is planned with the chair or program director and can include:

Semester-long or year-long mentoring for one teacher, meeting monthly
A visiting craft workshop for your students, sixty to ninety minutes
A department craft lecture or reading, with real time for questions
A four-session seminar series for an MFA or graduate cohort
A close read of a colleague’s book proposal, with revision notes
A full editorial pass on a journal article before it goes out

Available on campus or remotely. Travel within the Philadelphia region is included; beyond it, we agree on costs before anything is booked.

Teacher Mentoring · Semester: $1,650flat · 14–16 weeks · monthly sessions
Teacher Mentoring · Full Year: $3,200flat · 9–10 months
Visiting Craft Workshop: $650per session · 60–90 minutes
Department Lecture or Reading: $550per session · 45 min. + Q&A
MFA Cohort Seminar Series: $1,850flat · 4 sessions · up to 12 students
Book Proposal Review: $725flat · full read + revision notes
Journal-Article Review: $475flat · single article · full editorial pass

Typical timeline: Craft workshops and lectures need four to six weeks of lead time; seminar series and mentoring engagements are planned a semester ahead. Book proposals come back in three to five weeks, journal articles in two to four.

Invite Me to Your Department

Service 08 · For Students & Emerging Writers

Mentorship, Applications & First Publications

Are you applying to an MFA, sitting the AP exam in May, or trying to place your first poem? I can help you prepare materials and plans for these next steps.

What you are purchasing

One-to-one attention from a writer who has read thousands of student pages. James Mulhern has been published over 300 times in literary magazines, journals, and anthologies in the United States and around the world. Depending on the scope, an engagement may include an essay, portfolio, submission list, or a revised manuscript plan.

A three-month craft mentorship, meeting every other week
Preparation for the AP English Language or Literature exam, with materials
College admissions essays, from the first idea to the final draft
A complete MFA or graduate application—statement, writing sample, and school list
A submission strategy for literary journals, with a ranked list and cover letters
A poetry chapbook selected and sequenced, ready to send out

Sessions run in person in Philadelphia. Every engagement begins with a free conversation, because some of these you may not need at all—and I would rather tell you so.

Three-Month Mentorship: $1,150flat · 12 weeks · bi-weekly sessions
MFA Application Package: $895flat · statement, sample & school list
AP Exam Preparation: $595flat · 6 sessions + materials
Journal Submission Strategy: $520flat · 4 sessions + submission plan
Admissions Essay Coaching: $495flat · 3 sessions + 2 rounds of edits
Chapbook Curation: $425flat · selection & sequencing consult

Typical timeline: The mentorship runs twelve weeks. Exam preparation and application packages want eight to ten weeks, so count backward from your deadline and write to me early. Admissions essays take four to six weeks, submission plans six to eight, and a chapbook consult three to five.

Start With a Free Conversation

An Honest Word About Rates

These rates reflect the preparation, reading, and meeting time involved, along with more than thirty years of teaching, two department-chair roles, a fully funded Oxford writing fellowship, a Kirkus-starred novel, and work as a College Board consultant. If a rate is genuinely out of reach and the work matters, write to me anyway. We can discuss what may be possible.

To begin any conversation: [email protected]