The opening pages of any book are critical for capturing the reader's attention and keeping them engaged as your story unfolds. Submit the first 2k words and a synopsis of your manuscript and have a 30-minute call to get personalized feedback from a mentor of your choice!
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
I am interested in fiction with compelling main characters (ordinary people who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances), and plots with something tangible and consequential at stake. I like stories with simple, straightforward plots, as well as stories with complex narrative structures and multiple interwoven plot lines. Analyzing narrative structure is one of my specialties.
John Pipkin is the Director of the Undergraduate Creative Writing Program at the University of Texas-Austin, where he is also a professor in the English Department and teaches 19th-century British Poetry. He also teaches in the low-residency MFA Program at Spalding University in Louisville, KY. Originally from Baltimore, MD, he holds a Ph.D. in 19th-century British Literature from Rice University, and he is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels: Woodsburner (Nan A Talese/Doubleday 2009) which won the New York Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, and The Blind Astronomer’s Daughter (Bloomsbury 2016).
He is currently working on a novel about the Tour de France during WWII. He has received fellowships to MacDowell, Yaddo, Dobie-Paisano, and the Gullkistan Center for Creativity in Iceland. He is also the recipient of the 2021 Harry Ransom Award for Excellence in Teaching at UT-Austin.
After registering, you will receive instructions on how to submit your material in your order confirmation email. After submitting your material, please allow about 3-4 weeks to receive proposed times for scheduling your call with the mentor. If you haven't heard from your exec by the 3-4 week mark about scheduling, please email terra@roadmapwriters.com so we know to check in with them on your behalf about their proposed dates/ETA for you.
Be sure to familiarize yourself with Roadmap's Code of Conduct.
Questions? Email terra@roadmapwriters.com
Cancellation Policy: You may cancel your registration for a refund or Roadmap gift card if you have not yet submitted your material for review. However, once your material has been received by Roadmap, your registration cannot be canceled. Having revised material or a desire to retroactively apply a discount or gift card code are not grounds for cancellation, refunds, or gift card credit. Once your material has been submitted, the only acceptable grounds for cancellation and a refund or gift card credit is an unforeseen, ongoing emergency on the part of either the writer or the exec resulting in more than 6 weeks without any scheduling update from the exec via direct contact or Roadmap, or a sudden change in the exec's ongoing availability. In the instance of an irreconcilable scheduling issue, the writer may still receive a written feedback report from the exec. In this case, the writer is not entitled to a refund or gift card credit as the exec has read the submitted material and provided written feedback in lieu of the call.