Chief Writing Officer (Volunteer)

Mentor A Promise is a New York City–based nonprofit serving children and youth (ages 5–18) experiencing housing instability, grounded in the belief that every child is a Promise—full of potential, dignity, and possibility. We deliver consistent, high-quality programming across mentorship, literacy, social-emotional learning, and creative expression in shelters, schools, and community spaces, creating structured environments where students can grow, be seen, and build lasting skills. Through signature experiences like The Imagination Studio, The Kitchen Table, The Sound Lab, and The Story Space, we nurture academic development, emotional well-being, and creative voice, all within a trauma-informed, culturally responsive, and accessibility-centered framework. Our work prioritizes dignity-protective storytelling, consent-driven engagement, and deep community partnership, ensuring that how we serve is as intentional as whom we serve. We are not only addressing immediate needs - we are building pathways to confidence, belonging, and long-term opportunity, so every child has the support and foundation to carry their promise forward.
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Chief Writing Officer (Volunteer)
PromisePages | Creative Writing, Literary Development & Storytelling
Organization Mentor A Promise (MAP)
Division PromisePages
Location Fully Remote — United States, with NYC collaboration as needed
Type Volunteer Executive Creative Leadership Role
Commitment Approximately 5–10 hours per week
Minimum Commitment 6 months; 12 months preferred
Reports To Chief Executive Officer
Leads PromisePages
Directly Oversees Senior Director of PromisePages, Writing Directors, Editors, Writers, and designated literary teams
Works Closely With PromiseStudios, PromiseVoice, PromiseBrands, PromisePrograms, PromiseLearning, PromisePublic, and other MAP divisions
About Mentor A Promise
Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, education, enrichment, creative expression, career development, advocacy, and community-centered opportunity.
We believe stories can help young people imagine possibilities, understand themselves and others, develop their voices, and experience worlds beyond the circumstances immediately around them.
PromisePages is where MAP turns that belief into written work.
About PromisePages
PromisePages is MAP's creative writing and literary division.
It brings together writers, editors, storytellers, and other literary creatives to develop original books, stories, scripts, poetry, youth-centered writing, and other narrative projects.
PromisePages is not MAP's communications department.
It is a creative division.
Its purpose is to create meaningful written work with artistic integrity, strong storytelling, distinctive voices, and the potential to reach children, families, and broader audiences.
Role Overview
MAP is seeking an exceptional Chief Writing Officer to lead PromisePages and serve as the organization's senior creative executive for literary and written storytelling.
The Chief Writing Officer establishes the creative vision for PromisePages, develops its writers and editors, oversees its portfolio of literary projects, strengthens storytelling and editorial quality, and builds the systems necessary to move original ideas from concept to completed work.
The CWO should be equally comfortable discussing the emotional arc of a character, the structure of a manuscript, the development of an emerging writer, and the long-term creative direction of an entire literary division.
The central question is
What stories should MAP help bring into the world—and how do we tell them exceptionally well?
Creative Writing Vision
Establish the creative and literary vision for PromisePages.
Develop standards and direction for
Storytelling
Narrative development
Character
Voice
Dialogue
Worldbuilding
Structure
Pacing
Theme
Tone
Genre
Audience
Literary quality
Originality
Emotional authenticity
The goal is not to make every PromisePages project sound the same.
The goal is to make every project feel intentional.
Literary Development
Lead the development of original literary projects, which may include
Children's books
Picture books
Middle-grade stories
Young adult concepts
Short stories
Poetry
Graphic narratives
Creative nonfiction
Scripts
Serialized storytelling
Digital stories
Experimental literary projects
Help determine which concepts should advance and what development they require.
Not every good idea needs to become a book.
Strong creative leadership knows which ideas deserve deeper development.
Story Development
Guide projects through a disciplined creative process
Idea → Concept → Audience → Story Development → Outline → Draft → Editorial Review → Revision → Final Manuscript → Production
Ask the questions that make stories stronger
Who is this story about?
What does the character want?
What stands in the way?
Why should the reader care?
What changes?
What is the emotional journey?
What is the story really about beneath the plot?
What should remain with the reader after the final page?
Writers & Creative Talent
Build and develop an exceptional community of writers.
Responsibilities include
Recruit writers.
Identify emerging creative talent.
Assign writers to appropriate projects.
Mentor developing writers.
Support experienced writers.
Create constructive critique practices.
Establish writing workshops.
Develop writing teams.
Encourage experimentation.
Build future literary leaders.
Create pathways for writers to take increasing ownership.
The Chief Writing Officer should not become the person who writes every important story.
The Chief should build a division full of people capable of writing extraordinary ones.
Editorial Development
Work closely with PromisePages editorial leadership to strengthen manuscripts without erasing the writer's voice.
Guide developmental editing involving
Story structure
Character development
Narrative arc
Theme
Pacing
Dialogue
Point of view
Continuity
Worldbuilding
Emotional clarity
Audience appropriateness
Overall manuscript development
Editing should help a writer discover the strongest version of their story—not turn the story into the editor's.
Children's & Youth Literature
Help PromisePages develop writing that respects the intelligence, imagination, complexity, and emotional lives of young readers.
Stories for children should not automatically become lectures disguised as fiction.
Young readers deserve
Interesting characters
Humor
Adventure
Mystery
Imagination
Emotion
Wonder
Conflict
Discovery
Joy
Complexity
A story may carry meaning without announcing its lesson on every page.
Youth Voice & Creative Participation
Explore appropriate opportunities for young people to participate in creative writing and storytelling.
This may include
Writing workshops
Poetry
Story development
Youth publications
Creative prompts
Collaborative projects
Youth-authored work
Writing mentorship
Literary showcases
Youth participation must follow MAP's safeguarding, privacy, consent, and intellectual-property standards.
Young people's voices should not simply decorate adult-created projects.
When young people are invited to create, their contribution should be respected as creative work.
Originality & Creative Integrity
Build a culture where PromisePages develops original work rather than imitating whatever is currently popular.
Writers should understand genre and audience expectations without becoming trapped by them.
The Chief should encourage teams to ask
What have we seen before?
What feels predictable?
What perspective is missing?
What makes this story ours?
Why does this story need to exist?
The goal is not originality for originality's sake.
It is storytelling with a reason to exist.
Literary Portfolio Leadership
Oversee PromisePages' portfolio of projects.
Establish clear stages such as
Concept → Development → Writing → Editorial → Revision → Approved Manuscript → Production → Publication / Release
Maintain visibility into
Active manuscripts
Writers and editors
Development stage
Creative decisions
Dependencies
Deadlines
Revision status
Production readiness
Creative freedom and accountability can coexist.
Cross-Divisional Storytelling
PromisePages stories may become larger creative worlds.
Collaborate with PromiseStudios a

Work arrangement
No