‘Probably the best Creative Writing teacher in the world’
– Harpers Bazaar.
Would you like me to help you write your novel? Every year I take on around five mentees – writers with a work in progress – and work with them on their novels, memoirs or autofiction. We meet via Zoom or in person in Ely or London. Application is very easy, just send me an enquiry here: with a small sample of your work, up to 5,000 words. I choose based on the writing I like and my sense that you are fully up for the experience!
The fee is £5250 for the full mentoring, which takes up to two years, or £2700 for the half mentorship. These prices include VAT and are paid up front. My mentoring is bespoke. There are six sessions. See ‘How Mentoring works’ below, for a rough outline: I adapt it to suit you and your novel within those parameters.
Mentoring generally takes around a year. We might include Tarot if you would like to (I am a certified Tarot reader, see more here.) We might meet once a month, or further apart; it can be mornings, afternoons or evenings (my mentees are based all over the world) The best days for me are Mondays and Tuesdays or Wednesdays in London. However, once you have signed up and I have committed to you, I am flexible and accommodating.
I have helped many writers on their path to publication whether through mentoring or the creative writing courses I’ve taught. These include many who have become published authors: Harriet Tyce, Sarah Vaughan, Viola Van-de-Sandt, Jo Morey, Rosie Nixon, A Y Chao, Kathleen Whyman, James Scudamore, Emma Claire Sweeney, Liz Silver, Stephen May, Margaret Meyer, Jane Rusbridge and Alex Hourston. Of course, I cannot promise to get you published. My track record compares very well with expensive MA and MFA course. I cherry-pick the writers whose work I like and help them all I can and I am sure that makes the biggest difference.
Email golddustwriters@gmail.com to apply
The mentoring experience is different every time. Here’s what some previous writers have said about it:
‘I wanted to email to thank you for your mentoring with my previous book. It’s all finally worked out and I’ve got a publisher now – Wildfire. I should have emailed sooner to say thank you – it’s been very overwhelming and I’m only getting my head round it a bit now. Anyway, I really appreciate your support and it’s great to have got to this point!’
– Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange.
‘When I sent the first pages of my first novel to Jill back in 2016, I remember feeling tremendously nervous. Sharing something as personal as that with someone else – an accomplished writer who’d written such gorgeous novels herself! – is daunting. Eight years later, however, I am absolutely sure that I could not have found a better mentor.
‘Jill’s warm and intelligent humanity encouraged me from the very beginning not to shy away from that feeling of vulnerability, and to share with her the best writing I could deliver. From her first emphasis on the craft itself – teaching me about structure, character, plotting, and how to actually write a novel – to slowly guiding me in my submission to agents, and finally to preparing me for this new phase: becoming a published author.
‘I am in no doubt at all that I would not have come this far without the expert help, guidance and friendship of Jill.’
– Viola van de Sandt, author of The Dinner Party.
‘Jill Dawson is a phenomenal mentor and was supportive, encouraging and motivating both during my mentoring and afterwards. Jill was able to pinpoint the exact elements of my writing that needed improving. Her way of mentoring is truly inspirational. After every session I was on a high and couldn’t wait to get back to my desk to continue writing. Jill worked with me on my debut novel, Wife Support System, which has now been published with Hera Books. I wrote my next novel, Second Wife Syndrome, alone (although I wish I could have done it with Jill) and it was much easier to write than the first, which I credit to the knowledge Jill gave me during my mentoring.’
– Kathleen Whyman, author of four novels including Wife Support System.
‘Jill taught me to nurture creativity, practice commitment, and above all, to have confidence and to persevere. From my first joyous dip into the writing waters to the cathartic experience of writing Shanghai Immortal during lock down, to now hitting #1 on the Sunday Times Bestseller list, these foundational lessons in writing life have had a lasting positive impact on how I approach writing and the space I carve for myself as a writer.’
– A.Y Chao, now author of four novels including Shanghai Immortal.
‘Back in 2013, when my first novel was little more than a twinkle in my eye, I decided to attend a writing retreat in Morocco. I went on my own and felt pretty nervous as I joined my group of fellow attendees at Marrakesh airport. I had just a few thousand words on my laptop and a hefty dose of self-doubt. Celebrated novelist and writing tutor Jill Dawson was the tutor on this retreat, and wow, did I luck out. Jill’s brilliant tuition taught me so much about creating compelling characters, plotting storylines, and crafting vivid dialogue in my novel, and I really believe it is thanks to her that I left that retreat feeling as though I could – and most importantly, would – write my first novel. Jill and I have remained friends ever since.’
– Rosie Nixon, author of four novels including The Stylist.
Email golddustwriters@gmail.com to apply
How Mentoring Works
Six meetings, one-to-one, either online or in person in Ely or London – you choose – and a combination of online and in person is absolutely fine! This can be discussed once you sign up.
First meeting
Discussion of your goals, dreams and hopes for your novel. Putting all the dates in so you stay on track. Tarot – if wanted – there is no pressure! But it can really help us to focus.
Second meeting
Feedback. Struggles and blocks, confidence. Tarot card – working to go beyond our limits.
Third meeting
Potagonist/characterisation. Feedback on around ten thousand words.
Fourth meeting
Research, finding your voice. Place, setting. How is it working? How to keep going!
Fifth meeting
Structure, where is it going? Feedback on ten thousand words. How to get to the end!
Sixth meeting
How to write a cracking synopsis, agent submission, Jill’s advice for agent choice. Then: continuing, keeping going, and Tarot Sun card (vitality, energy, success!).
The fee includes VAT and (for the full mentorship) six hours of Jill’s time to read your work. Jill will also discuss with you suitable agents and offer her help (from her decades of publishing experience and insider advice) on finding and applying to the right agent.
Fee for Magic Mentorships: Full mentorship £5,250. Half mentorship £2,700 for four sessions (you can choose sessions from the list above). Start and end date can be flexible.
A bit about me
Alongside my own writing and publishing, I have taught writers – or rather encouraged them to find their voice and write the way they want – for nearly forty years. Some of the many places I’ve taught include: the Arvon Foundation; the Faber Academy; Guardian Masterclasses; Amherst College, Massachusetts; Times Online; Sunday Times and Oxford Creative Writing School; the National University of Singapore and the University of East Anglia’s famous MA in Creative Writing, where I was the Royal Literary Fund Fellow and the Creative Writing Fellow in 2002. I have led writing retreats in Bali, Marrakesh, Iceland, Singapore and Portugal. I learned from my teaching at the University of East Anglia that I did not like marking creative work, nor the peer review workshop model, nor the academic status anxiety, or departmental meetings. So I set up Gold Dust Mentoring in 2008 which helped many more writers reach publication, and involved mentors such as Louise Doughty, Tim Pears, Shelley Weiner and Andrew Miller. You can read about it here.
Email golddustwriters@gmail.com to apply
‘Jill’s intuition on every level is astounding. Her delicately balanced comments have given me the confidence I’d always hoped for.’
– Ruby Speechley, now a bestselling psychological thriller writer. Vanished, her tenth novel, is published 15th July 2026.
‘Epic thanks again for your incredible and wise thoughts and friendship. I could not have got here without you, and Gold Dust.’
– Jo Morey, author of The Night Lagoon.
You can be a published author, or an absolute beginner, I’m happy to work with both. What I enjoy most is to help you grow a book length project from some rough ideas or early seeds. Currently I offer this course online: Seven Secrets – more here. Interested in mentoring? Contact me here.
