Parallel Words

Parallel Words is a boutique literary mentoring platform founded by award-winning bilingual author Yan Ge. We offer one-to-one mentoring and developmental editing for fiction writers at different stages of their writing lives.We believe literary mentorship is a form of attentive companionship, one that supports the writer in discovering their artistic individuality while honing every aspect of their craft to bring out their unique voice in the best possible way. Our mentorship aims not only to provide structural and creative guidance in the development and polishing of their manuscript but also to empower the writer to explore and strengthen their literary identity and philosophical vision.Guided by this ethos, Parallel Words works with a small, carefully selected cohort of writers at any given time. This allows us to maintain the highest standard of care and to ensure our mentoring is always deeply personalised and of exceptional quality.At the same time, we are committed to widening access to literary mentorship. Each year, we award at least one fully funded place and two subsidised places, and we offer free support to any admitted writers who wish to seek public funding for their mentorship.

What to expect

Parallel Words provides two types of services: one-to-one mentoring and developmental editing.In one-to-one mentoring, the tutor carefully reads and studies each submission in depth, providing detailed annotations on elements such as narrative clarity, pacing, point of view, and characterisation. The tutor offers thoughtful guidance on revising and developing the work. For every submission, the writer also takes part in a one-hour tutorial, where practical issues and creative blocks are discussed, and tailored strategies and exercises are suggested to address them. The tutor is available to answer writing-related questions and works with the writer to establish both short-term and long-term creative goals.Developmental editing is suited to writers seeking to polish a specific piece of work, as well as those who require close, sustained attention at the sentence level. The tutor will line-edit the manuscript and provide insightful notes that help the writer understand the deeper workings of language when used as a literary instrument.

The mentorship

The mentorship takes place online over a period of 16 weeks. Each admitted writer works closely with the tutor through a structured yet flexible process designed to support sustained creative development.A typical timeline is as follows:Week 1
Initial tutorial (30 minutes)
The writer and tutor meet for the first time to discuss creative goals, expectations, and the overall schedule of the mentorship.
Week 3
First submission from the writer (maximum word count: 5000 words)
Week 4
First tutorial (1 hour)
Written feedback: The writer receives detailed notes from the tutor, along with edits if they are enrolled in the developmental editing service.
Week 7
Second submission from the writer (maximum word count: 5000 words)
Week 8
Second tutorial (1 hour)
Written feedback: The writer receives the tutor’s notes and edits.
Week 11
Third submission from the writer (maximum word count: 5000 words)
Week 12
Third tutorial (1 hour)
Written feedback: The writer receives the tutor’s notes and edits.
Week 15
Final submission from the writer (maximum word count: 5000 words)
Week 16
Final tutorial (1 hour)
Written feedback: The writer receives the tutor’s concluding notes and edits.

Testimonials

‘I took Yan Ge's short fiction workshop in 2023 and really enjoyed studying with her. I found her approach to narrative theory both clear and practical. She has a strong grasp of the formal demands of the short story form, which helped me better understand how to approach my own work. In particular, her insights on narrative distance, the relationship between narrator and writer, provided useful tools for thinking critically about the craft of fiction. Her teaching is grounded and accessible, making theoretical ideas directly applicable to the writer's project.’

‘I have attended two creative writing courses taught by Yan, and have been consistently impressed by her razor-sharp observations on what a story needs to reach its full potential. Yan’s teaching has helped me improve my fiction writing at every level, from structure to sentence craft. Her feedback is always detailed and insightful, and I’ve gained knowledge about narrative that will benefit me throughout my writing career. Under her guidance, I published my first short story in an American literary journal. I’d recommend her to any writer serious about improving their craft.’

'Yan Ge’s Parallel Words programme has been invaluable to my growth. Yan is exceptional at addressing both broad patterns in my work that prevent a smooth readerly experience along with detailed, line-by-line, manuscript-specific feedback. I left our sessions feeling energised, motivated, and with clear steps on how to improve my work, not just as the line level, but in the wider ecology of my novel. Her advice is concrete, clear, and balanced—she’s able to say with evenness what worked and what didn’t work, which makes receiving feedback feel easy and all together relaxed.Yan’s understanding of narrative is unparalleled, and she’s able to teach and explain otherwise elusive or complicated readerly experience in such a way that makes craft easy to understand. Her skill as a reader, writer, and teacher is unmatched. She’s able to see exactly where narrative threads need cutting or pulling out further. Often it feels like she’s addressing subconscious thoughts or concerns that I was too lazy or stubborn to listen to and address. Having her as a sounding board and first reader makes important these quiet questions to myself that would otherwise go unaddressed. Leaving the programme, I feel I have greater intuition on how to craft a strong story both at the line and in a novel’s wider structure.I’d highly recommend this programme to anyone struggling to understand the impact of their work on a reader, their weak spots as a writer, and overall how to develop cohesive, robust craft skills and an engulfing story. '

How to apply

To apply, please send us a cover letter of up to 500 words along with a writing sample of up to 1,500 words. You can email your materials to [email protected]All submissions should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced.We read every application with care and aim to respond within two weeks. If you’re offered a place, we’ll be in touch with a letter outlining the service(s) we feel would best support your work, along with the associated fees.To ensure the scheme is accessible to all, there is no application fee.

About the tutor

Yan Ge is a fiction writer in both Chinese and English, and is the author of fourteen books in Chinese, including six novels. She has received numerous awards and was named by People’s Literature magazine as one of the twenty future literature masters in China. Her work has been translated into eleven languages, including English, French and German. The latest English translation of her novel, Strange Beasts of China, was one of the New York Times Notable Books of 2021.Yan’s English writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Irish Times, Granta (online), the Stinging Fly and elsewhere. She has an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia where she was the recipient of the UEA International Award 2018/19. She was a MacDowell fellow in 2022. Her English language debut short story collection Elsewhere was published by Faber in the UK and Scribner in the USA in 2023 and was one of the New Yorker Best Books of the Year. Yan lives in Norwich.Throughout the years, Yan has taught creative writing courses and master classes at institutions such as the Arvon Foundation, Moniack Mhor, the National Centre for Writing, the Stinging Fly, the University of East Anglia, the University of Leeds and Trinity College Dublin, among others.

Publications

English
Elsewhere, short story collection, 2023, Faber (UK)/ Scribner (USA)Translated into English from Chinese
Strange Beasts of China (2020/21), novel, tr. Jeremy Tiang, Titled Axis Press (UK)/ Melville House (USA)
White Horse (2019), novella, tr. Nicky Harman, HopeRoad Press (UK)
The Chilli Bean Paste Clan, novel, tr. Nicky Harman, Balestier Press (UK)Chinese
Pingle and the County Annuals (2023), novel, SDX Joint Publishing Company
The Melancholic Stories of Pingle Town (2015), short stories, Guangxi Normal
University Press
The Chilli Bean Paste Clan (2013), novel, Zhejiang Art Press
The Observer of Clouds (2012), essay collection, Zhejiang Art Press
What Rises Earlier Than the Sun (2011), short stories, Sichuan Art Press
The Orchestra of Sounds (2011), novel, Tianjin People’s Press
May Queen (2008), novel, Chongqing Press
Spring in Tao Le (2007), short stories, Tomorrow Press
The Strange Beasts of China (2006), novel, Zhong Xin Press
Moments of Bliss (2005), short stories, Changjiang Art Press
The Funeral on the Seventeenth Month (2004), short stories, Nan Hai Press Ltd.
The River Guan (2004), novel, Nan Hai Press Ltd.
Lantana of Marmara (2003), short stories, Chinese Workers’ Press

awards and Recognitions

In the UK, Ireland and USA
Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize (Elsewhere)
Longlisted for the Story Prize (Elsewhere)
The New York Best Books of 2023 (Elsewhere)
The New York Times Notable Books of 2021 (Strange Beasts of China)
The New York Times Editors’ Choice (Strange Beasts of China)
Runner up for the Warwick Prize for Woman in Translations 2021 (Strange Beasts of China)
Shortlisted for the Warwick Prize for Woman in Translation 2020 (White Horse)
English PEN Translate Award 2019, 2018 (Strange Beasts of China, The Chilli Bean Paste Clan)
Longlisted for the Irish Book Award short story award 2019 (How I Fell in Love with the Well-documented Life of Alexander Whelan)In China (a partial list)
Young Writer of the Year 2023 (One Way Street Awards, Beijing, 2023)
Best Five Novels of the Year 2023 (Harvest Magazine, Shanghai, 2023)
Best Ten Fiction of the Year 2023 (Southern Metropolis Daily, Guangzhou, 2023)
Best Ten Fiction of the Year 2023 (Southern Weekly, Guangzhou, 2023)
Best Ten Fiction of the Year 2023 (Asian Weekly, Hong Kong, 2023)
The New Talent Award of Mao Dun Literature Award (China Literature Foundation, China, 2016)
Best Ten Fiction of the Year 2015 (Asian Weekly, Hong Kong, 2015)
Sichuan Literature Award 2015 (Sichuan Writers Association, Chengdu, 2015)
Best Novella of the Year 2015 (People’s Literature, Beijing, 2015)
Chinese Literature Media Awards – Best Young Writer (South Media Group, Guangzhou, 2013)
The National Promising Novel Fellowship of 2012 (Chinese Writers Association, Beijing, 2012)
Top 20 Future Literature Masters (People’s Literature Magazine, Beijing, 2012)
Top 10 Young Models of the Year (PepsiCo. Sichuan Branch, Chengdu, 2011)
Ba Jin Literature Prize – Novel of the Year (Sichuan Writers Association, Chengdu, 2010)

Parallel Words Award 2026

A four-month mentoring opportunity for an emerging fiction writer

We are delighted to launch the Parallel Words Award, a new annual award created to support an emerging fiction writer who works in either English or Chinese and is facing financial barriers.
The Award offers one writer a fully funded, four-month mentoring programme with PW’s tutor, the award-winning bilingual author Yan Ge. It is an opportunity to devote time and attention to your writing, develop your craftsmanship and your creative vision while receiving personalised guidance from our tutor.
Over the course of the programme, the winner will work closely with Yan on their writing project. They will have the opportunity to submit up to 20,000 words in total and receive detailed manuscript annotations, one-to-one tutorials, and ongoing creative support.Applications are now openWe are looking for a writer with a strong voice, a distinctive fiction project, and a genuine need for the mentoring programme at this stage of their writing journey.To apply for the Parallel Words Award 2026, please submit:
a 500-word personal statement introducing yourself and your proposed writing project;
a 5,000-word writing sample; and
a 500-word financial statement explaining the circumstances that have led you to apply for the Award and how the mentoring programme would support your writing.All applications should be formatted in Times New Roman, 12-point font, and double-spaced.There is no application fee.Please send your application to [email protected] by 11:59pm on 30 September 2026 (UK time).Applicants can expect to receive the result within four weeks of the application deadline. The winner will be announced in early November 2026.We look forward to receiving your applications.