Mentoring Youth Writers: Six Strategies to Bring Out the Author in Every Student by Williams, Wendy R.

How can teachers bring out the author (or graphic novelist, filmmaker, songwriter...) in every student? Mentoring Youth Writers outlines six strategies to engage and inspire secondary students and guide them into writing as an authentic and meaningful practice:

• exploring multimodal forms of writing;
• inviting choice;
• building community;
• honoring student knowledge and experience;
• nurturing students as writers; and
• connecting writers to opportunities beyond the classroom.

Readers will go inside the Young Authors' Studio program to see examples of mentoring in action. In addition, experienced teachers discuss how they have used these six strategies with secondary students. Learn why a mentoring stance is needed in education today and how this work aligns with NCTE's Position Statement on Writing Instruction in School (2022) and other research and theory in English education. Classroom-ready activities are provided to bring ideas to life in schools and community programs. Principles in Practice imprint

Author: Wendy R. Williams
Publisher: National Council of Teachers of English (Ncte
Published: 09/30/2025
Pages: 207
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.90lbs
Size: 9.13h x 7.32w x 0.55d
ISBN: 9780814102534

About the Author
Wendy R. Williams is an associate professor of English education at Arizona State University. This is her second book. She is also the author of Listen to the Poet: Writing, Performance, and Community in Youth Spoken Word Poetry (2018) and numerous articles and chapters. Her current projects address visual and multimodal storytelling and food studies in English language arts. Williams is co-chair of the ELATE Commission on Arts and Literacies and past editor of English Journal's Teaching Creative Writing column. At her university, she has organized community writing events, designed new academic programs, and developed and taught courses on narrative research, visual narratives, Studio Ghibli films, children's literature, and food writing. Before becoming a professor, she taught high school and middle school English for nine years. She is a cellist, certified Maricopa County Master Gardener, and classically trained chef.