Work with Laura

If interested, please query for details and availability.
All services can be tailored for individual needs.

Creative Mentorship

Is your writing/creative life at a stand still, and you wish you had some one-on-one personal guidance? Would you like to have reading suggestions, generative exercises, discussions about the creative life and your work? Do you want regular feedback on your drafts and ideas?

As your mentor, through an hour-long phone call, I come to understand your goals and desires and create individualized suggestions based on your needs. Together we build a relationship where we have monthly exchanges, initially for three months, with the possibility of continuing long term.

  • In-person or virtual
  • $150-$300/ month depending on depth of the exchange

Manuscript Consultation

Are you looking for detailed feedback on your poems? Do you have a batch of 5-10 poems, a chapbook length manuscript, or a book-length manuscript?

As your consultant, I provide full, deep-level consultations that include feedback on strength of manuscript as a whole, sentence-level edits, suggestions for possible publication and a one-hour phone call. Alternatively, I offer global consultations (that do not include line edits) at an estimated hourly rate.

I work with beginning and established writers. Suggested pricing:

  • $150 flat fee for feedback on batch of 5-10 pages of poems
  • $450-$600 Chapbook-length work (18-30 pages)
  • $1000-$1500 Book-length collection of poems (50-80 pages)

“Laura Van Prooyen is both insightful and kind. Her critique was illuminating. After her global reading, I felt like I had the awareness I needed to take this work to the next level. I highly recommend working with her!”

Kelly Fordon, client and author of two short story collections I Have the Answer and Garden for the Blind (Wayne State University Press) and a poetry collection, Goodbye Toothless House (Kattywompus Press).

Virtual or In-Person Writing Workshops

Are you looking for an engaging experience for your group? I work with all ages and all levels, designing workshops based on your needs. Workshops can be generative, discussion-based, or designed toward a specific goal, such as developing a book-length collection.

Workshops also available for expressive writing toward healing and wellness (for veterans, active-service members, trauma survivors, retirement communities, and other interested groups).

Suggested pricing based on workshop design and needs. To start that discussion, Contact me.

“Laura Van Prooyen has taught the Martha Spoor Young Writers’ Workshop each summer since 2015. I am impressed by the quality of the workshop when I see the students in action during the session and in the writing they read at the culminating reception. As an audience, we are always moved by their pieces and by the joy they obviously experienced in the workshop with Laura. These middle-school students really connect with her. They feel safe to explore themselves in both playful and significant ways. The workshop is a great success!”

Frank E. Alfaro, Ed. D., Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services
Alamo Heights ISD, Alamo Heights, TX

Workshops for Teachers

Poetry for STAAR

Gretchen Bernabei and I have put together a wonderful new process to “pop the hood” on a poem to discover what makes it work, using text structures to unlock the engine of a poem. Teachers will participate in the modeled lessons, reading and re-reading a poem closely, to identify the author’s craft and text structure of the poem, and to leverage what they have learned to write their own evocative poems. All lessons are TEKS-aligned, and teacher’s will participate in creating text-based questions using STAAR stems. Book required for participants: Text Structures from Poetry.

Teacher Training in Reading and Writing Poetry: Grades 3-12

I individually design workshops for schools, districts, and regional education service centers, based on client needs.

Query me for workshop fees and availability.

“Amazing, insightful, and enjoyable! I loved being able to experience lessons just as students would, so I know how they feel and what to anticipate. It was a lovely mix of STAAR-helpful prep and authentic creative writing. Thank you!”

Elizabeth Bartels, 4th grade ELA Teacher, Southwest ISD

Readings

I am available to read my poems (and teach workshops) and at universities, in schools, and within community settings. I also can accommodate small groups for readings/discussions of my work.

“Laura Van Prooyen is an outstanding writing consultant. She’s both honest and encouraging in her remarks, pointing out what works and offering practical suggestions for improvement. She also has a strong talent for looking at a manuscript through the eyes of an acquisitions editor, explaining how to arrange the material so the reader is hooked from the very first page. I fully recommend Laura for writers who want to take their craft to the next level.”

Richard Cole, client and author of Catholic by Choice (Loyola Press), The Glass Children (University of Georgia Press) and Success Stories (Limestone Books)

“The perfect workshop! I am “wowed” by Text Structures from Poetry, the steps we went through, and the strategies I am walking away with. My brain is running with ideas for my students. You inspired me to dig deeply and write about issues I thought were gone.”

Michelle Russo, 12th Grade English Teacher, Cornerstone Christian Schools

“During our workshop, Laura created a cocoon of creativity for all. Despite the looming demands of the week before school, our teachers were 100% engaged in reading, analyzing, and writing poetry. Laura tailored each session for the age level of our students and provided practical easy-to-use materials that have transformed poetry instruction at our school.”

Dee Susong Special Education Teacher, Bryker Woods Elementary, Austin, TX
“Reading and Writing Poetry for Teachers Workshop” grades K-6

“I had the privilege of having Laura as a mentor in the Miami University Low-Res Creative Writing Program and my MFA thesis advisor for a collection of poetry. Laura approached my work with care and attention, and it was obvious she was rooting for my success. Her feedback throughout that process was thoughtful, pointed, and encouraging. Her facilitation in workshops fostered a serious, professional environment that still allowed for humor and fellowship. Laura’s warmth and personality make her approachable, and I always felt comfortable asking questions or seeking additional help. My poetry is more intentional, and my teaching more thoughtful, because of Laura’s influence.”

Alex McIntosh, MFA in Poetry, 2019

“I work in an Intensive Outpatient Program with service members who have a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. In October 2014, Laura joined our group to lead the narrative component of the treatment process. Laura’s goal, from the beginning, was not to transform these wounded warriors into writers; rather, she offered them a creative way to express emotions related to the trauma of war they’ve been trying to avoid for years. Her work with the soldiers has been successful beyond all expectations. During each six-week cohort, the patients eagerly anticipate Laura’s weekly session. This is a tough group to penetrate, but Laura, using a simple approach, is helping these heroes to express and release their emotions through writing. She is a vital part of our treatment team.”

Roy Gissendanner, Psychology Technician
Intensive Outpatient Program, Clinic of Behavioral Medicine at Brooke Army Medical Center