Writers Voice PRO

Getting serious about your writing? Go PRO!

Writer's Voice PRO is a two-year program for writers who are serious about developing their writing and want to be part of a rigorous, personalized writing community. 

During PRO, you'll share your work each month with a writing mentor, who will get to know your work and your writing goals and will give you feedback. You'll also take advanced workshops with our other PRO students and connect with writers and publishers in our Writers Voice community, including our Visiting Author Reading Series, which brings in amazing writers from around the country. PRO gives all the dedication, guidance, and community of an MFA program without the high cost.

Apply to the Writers Voice PRO for 2025 with this online application or by completing and mailing this paper application. 

Applications for Writers Voice PRO will be open for submission beginning December 1st, 2024. 

Learn more about PRO by reading the Writers Voice PRO Handbook.

"The [Writers Voice] PRO program is where I began to look at my poetry with a critical eye; without it, I would not have developed a necessary faith in my work."

-- Jessica Cuello, 2010 graduate of the Writers Voice PRO and author of By Fire (2016), Pricking (2016), Hunt (2017), Liar (2017), and Yours, Creative (2023).

"I didn’t know that I could realize this type of growth outside of an MFA program. The academic rigor, depth of knowledge, craft exercises, readings, and writing prompts have equipped me with the skills to make me a better writer. I encourage anyone who fancies themselves a writer to give the Writers Voice a shot.”  

--Chris Travis, 2024 graduate of the Writers Voice PRO

What to Expect from the Writers Voice PRO

Everyone who wants to be a writer deserves that opportunity. Writers Voice PRO offers writers the time and attention they need to develop their writing practice. PRO is a two-year program for anyone serious about their writing and aspiring to write and publish a book in either poetry, fiction, or nonfiction.   

During these two years, you will share work with several writing mentors, who will give generous feedback on your work and help you refine your strengths as a writer, based on their understanding of your writing and goals. PRO connects you to the Writers Voice of CNY, a literary community that has been growing together for over twenty-five years, and PRO gives you the flexibility to choose craft classes and workshops that align with your writing goals. 

Benefits of the Writers Voice PRO

The Writers Voice of CNY is based in Syracuse, NY and is Central New York's largest community literary organization. We've offered small, accessible writing workshops for over twenty-five years. We also have a Visiting Author Reading Series and an international literary and photography magazine, Stone Canoe. Welcome!

When you join PRO, you also get the following benefits through the Writers Voice of CNY: 

• Discounts on Craft Classes. We offer 75+ writing workshops each year and PRO writers can take any workshop for 25% off the non-member rate.
• Priority Registration for Classes. PRO writers can sign up early for classes and are guaranteed a spot in any of our workshops. 
• Conversations with Visiting Writers. PRO writers can meet and talk with professional writers from our Visiting Author Reading series. 
• Reading with Stone Canoe. PRO writers can be readers for our literary journal that is published twice a year- in the Fall and the Spring. 
• Social Gatherings & Networking. Each season, PRO writers and others from our community meet to talk and get practical guidance on how to promote and publish their work.
• Graduation Celebration. PRO writers will celebrate their work and read as part of our Visiting Author Reading series. 

Finding the Right Kind of Student

We're looking for writers who are ready to commit to their writing practice and who want to create (or finish) a project worthy of publication. We’re also looking for writers who are curious to learn more about how and why writing works (i.e. the craft of writing) and are willing to stand up for their writing. This also means being willing to put in the work and reliably meet deadlines and writing goals. Finally, we’re looking for writers who can describe where they are as a writer and where they want to be, while understanding that their goals will change as they complete the program.

Finding the Right Kind of Mentor

We’re looking for published writers who enjoy helping others become better writers. This means, among other things, fluency in talking about writing (what works and what doesn’t work), but also a keen sense of what it means to guide and teach. We’re looking for writers who are friendly, reliable, and proficient with virtual meeting platforms such as Zoom. Finally, we’re looking for writers who are doing interesting things in their own writing and can translate their own curiosity into potential classes that can be shared with students at the Writers Voice.