Are you a changemaker ready to publish your book?
A Unique Writing Cohort for Organizers and Thought Leaders
2025 Changemaker Authors Cohort Applications Are Currently Closed.
The 2025 Changemaker Authors Cohort application period is now closed. We will announce when applications for our next cohort are live.
The Changemaker Authors Cohort supports those working towards racial, economic, and social justice to write and publish books that create durable narrative change. This can include books that are about communities establishing and using their power through organizing and activism, as well as those contributing to the plurality of voices in the broader artistic and cultural discourse. Visit the cohort pages for 2022 and 2024 to get a sense of some of the projects supported within this program.
This 12-month virtual program begins on March 1, 2025 and supports cohort members to make significant progress with their project at the end of each 4-month term. This can include manuscript completion or having a submittable manuscript or proposal ready for an agent or publisher, through coaching, regular writing cafés, craft talks, and resources about crafting stories and the publishing industry.
A virtual information session with Q&A about the program will be held on Friday, June 14, 2024 at 8pm ET/5pm PT. You can also watch last year’s info session on YouTube in English and in Spanish.
Please note: Attending or watching an Info Session is required to apply for the program.
Please email (changemakerauthor@narrativeinitiative.org) for any additional questions about the Changemaker Authors Cohort application or the program.
The Changemaker Authors Cohort is a partnership between Narrative Initiative and the Unicorn Authors Club, and is partially resourced by the Ford Foundation.
Changemaker Authors Cohort
The Changemaker Authors Cohort is a yearlong intensive coaching program supporting full-time movement organizers and social justice practitioners to complete books that create deep, durable narrative change to restructure the way people feel, think, and respond to the world.
To help create new networks of opportunity, Narrative Initiative partnered with the Unicorn Authors Club to offer this unique writing cohort for Changemaker Authors.
El período de solicitud de la Cohorte de Autores Vanguardistas de Cambio 2025 ya está abierto. Se aceptan solicitudes hasta el 15 de agosto de 2024.
La Cohorte de Autores Vanguardistas de Cambio apoya a las personas que trabajan por la justicia racial, económica y social para que escriban y publiquen libros que generen un cambio narrativo y duradero. Esto puede incluir libros que traten sobre comunidades que establecen y ejercen su poder a través de la organización y el activismo, así como también aquellos que contribuyen a la pluralidad de voces en el discurso artístico y cultural más amplio. Puede visitar las páginas de la Cohorte 2023 y 2024 para hacerse una idea de algunos de los proyectos que se apoyan en esta iniciativa.
Este programa virtual de 12 meses inicia el 1 de marzo de 2025 y apoya miembros de la cohorte para que logren avances significativos en su proyecto al final de cada período de 4 meses. Esto puede incluir completar tu manuscrito o tener listo un manuscrito o una propuesta para presentarlo a un agente o editorial. Te brindaremos apoyo a través de sesiones de coaching, talleres regulares de escritura (“cafés de escritura”), charlas sobre técnicas literarias y recursos sobre la creación de historias y la industria editorial.
Se realizará una sesión informativa virtual con preguntas y respuestas sobre el programa el viernes 14 de junio de 2024 a las 8:00 pm hora del Este (ET)/5:00 pm hora del Pacífico (PT). También puede ver la sesión informativa del año pasado en YouTube disponible en inglés y en español.
Por favor tenga en cuenta: La asistencia o visualización de una Sesión Informativa es requisito para postularse al programa.
Las Preguntas Frecuentes (FAQs) sobre el próximo año de la Cohorte las puede encontrar aquí.
Para cualquier pregunta adicional sobre la solicitud o el programa de la Cohorte de Autores Vanguardistas de Cambio puede enviar un correo a (changemakerauthor@narrativeinitiative.org).
La Cohorte de Autores Vanguardistas de Cambio es una iniciativa conjunta entre Narrative Initiative y Unicorn Authors Club, y cuenta con el apoyo parcial de la Fundación Ford.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the upcoming Cohort year
No, there is no fee to apply nor will any monies be requested at any time for those accepted into the Cohort.
August 15, 2024 at 11:59pm Pacific Standard Time.
Fifteen (15) Cohort members will be accepted into the 2025 program.
Yes. In the first year of this program, two Cohort members collaborated on one project. If you are applying with a co-writer, you should both fill out applications with the same project details and note this is a collaborative project.
Absolutely. The prime means of candidacy are working in the movement/activist/organizing space. If you are a full-time writer with no activist experience or have not been active in organizing or movement work, this program may not be right for you.
Not at all. The project can be in any genre (fiction, creative nonfiction, memoir, graphic narrative, poetry, or hybrid work) that explores and interrogates social or racial justice issues. For example, if you identify as disabled, your project does not need to be about disability rights. You can view the project summaries of this year’s Changemaker Authors Cohort to see their projects and scope: unicornauthors.club/changemakers
Organizing is not one thing; it is an array of areas from being an educator to an active parent or citizen in council meetings to leading a nonprofit organization on housing rights to being an activist arts administrator and more. There’s no one definition and we do not want to limit the scope of what organizing entails.
This program is open to those who reside in various regions. We do our best to work with people’s schedules, however, we do have a fixed calendar of required events. We try to consider Pacific and Eastern standard time zones when planning events. We also record important events like craft talks to make them accessible for people who are not able to attend.
While we want to make the program as accessible as possible for all applicants, the majority of our team and our members reside in the U.S., and our event hours reflect that.
The 5-day retreat is a requirement and is held over 5 consecutive days. It is virtual and will be several hours each day as a time for writing. For the 2025 Cohort, we anticipate this will be held in summer 2025, but dates will be solidified with the incoming Cohort. (You can see the previous year’s requirements of the program via the Submittable application here.)
Not at all. In the first and second years of this program, a Cohort member worked towards completion of their manuscript under contract. We welcome applications from all stages of the publishing process whose work fits into the parameters of the program.
Yes, we will accept a writing sample in Spanish and will have a book coach who can work with Spanish-language manuscripts. But please note that the Cohort activities and community events will be primarily in English.
There is no word count. Ten pages of text—please make sure the font is no less than 12-point–or 10 images (for illustrations) with a script for graphic narratives are the max. The writing sample should be the project you are going to work on within the Cohort. You can provide links to previous publications separately in the application.
All applicants will be notified in late December. Up to thirty (30) finalists will be chosen and asked to schedule a 30-minute Zoom (or phone) interview with 2 Changemaker team members. Interview candidates will be contacted to schedule a meeting in October/November.
Based on the number of applications received, we are unable to provide individual feedback. We do invite those who may not get into the Cohort this year to apply again should the program meet your needs.
The Program
Narrative Initiative’s goal is to nourish and grow long-term progress for social justice by equipping changemakers with the necessary tools, relationships, and resources to build power and share ideas through collections of stories.
This fully remote program lasts up to a year and will follow a three-term structure, in which Story/Skills/Sanctuary concepts are adjusted for the different stages of the writing process. Each term will have a clear focus and each writer will develop outcomes and goals for both their process and craft.
The Changemaker Authors Cohort offers support toward making significant progress with your book project (i.e., a full-length manuscript or book proposal) including:
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Program Orientation
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Assessment and Goal Setting
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Access to Curriculum Materials
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Peer Circles for Accountability and Support
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Monthly Craft Meetings
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Individual Coaching
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Five-Day Intensive Writing Retreat
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Information on the Publishing Process and Preparing a Submission Packet (depending on genre)
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Presentations and/or Panels with Publishing Professionals and Authors
Synchronous full-group events follow a monthly cadence, while a community platform offers a depth of resources for individual learning as well as asynchronous discussion.
The Changemaker Authors Cohort provides many different opportunities for support and community. Each writer discovers their own sustainable writing pace amid the collective momentum toward finishing their books. Apart from the mandatory monthly craft & cohort meetings and the five-day writing retreat, cohort members are free to avail themselves of the program’s offerings in accordance with their own needs and established commitments to their writing.
If you have any questions about the program, please contact us at: changemakerauthor [at] narrativeinitiative dot org.
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