A mentorship circle · one to one · six months

The next step,
in someone else's longhand.

Longhand pairs mid-career creatives with a senior mentor for a six-month, one-to-one commitment. Two hours a month, a shared notebook, a short list of questions that matter.

Apply for a mentor How it works
How it works

Four steps, no subscription.

We open for applications three times a year. Each cohort is matched within four weeks, and starts together.

Apply

A short, honest form. Twenty minutes; no CV.

Matched

A Longhand host reads every application and proposes two possible mentors.

Meet

A 30-minute conversation with each. Either of you can say no; no hard feelings.

Six months

Two calls a month, a shared notebook, a closing dinner with the full cohort.

Meet the mentors

Twenty-eight senior creatives, volunteering their time.

Mentors are paid an honorarium of £250 per six-month match — a gesture, not a fee. They keep one or two mentees at a time; no more.

Ruth Sellers

Editorial direction · 22 years

Former design director at two national weekend magazines; now runs a small studio in Bristol and teaches at the RCA.

EditorialPublishingStudio-buildingMid-career pivots
6-month commitment2 of 2 mentees

Osei Jenkins

Product strategy · 18 years

Scaled three design teams from two to forty. Now an independent advisor to founders; co-runs a climate-tech studio.

ProductTeam-buildingFounderClimate
6-month commitment1 of 2 mentees

Catalina Aznar

Writer & director · 15 years

Two novels; one play; an ongoing career as a documentary director. Mentors writers making a first move to long-form.

WritingFilmLong-formMid-career pivots
6-month commitment0 of 2 mentees
See all 28 mentors (applicants only)
The six months

A rough shape to lean on.

Matches are loose enough to move with the pair, but anchored by a shared cadence across six months and a closing dinner.

1

Set up

One long call. The shared notebook.

2

Listen

Your mentor mostly listens. You mostly speak.

3

Experiment

The one bold thing you agreed to try.

4

Refine

A quiet month. Re-read, re-think.

5

Decide

What, specifically, is next for you.

6

Close

Closing call. Cohort dinner. You're off.

Two calls a month, same time

The first call is ninety minutes, about the bigger picture; the second is forty-five, about whatever came up in the week.

  • First-of-the-month call · 90 minutes, video
  • Mid-month call · 45 minutes, voice-only
  • One shared notebook (whatever tool you both prefer)
  • Off-the-clock emails kept to once a week

A closing dinner

In the last week of the six months, the whole cohort — mentors & mentees — comes to London for a Friday-night dinner. Twenty-eight chairs, twenty-eight stories.

  • Held in a private room in central London
  • Dinner on the house
  • No speeches, no slides
  • A single round of "what I'm walking away with"
What members say

Two notes, from two cohorts ago.

“I thought I was coming for a career pivot. I left with the opposite — the clear sense that what I was already doing was the right thing, and just needed me to stop doubting it. Worth the six months ten times over.”
Maya J.Cohort 04 · matched with Ruth S.
“A proper structured relationship, not just coffee — that's what made it. Two hours a month, on the same day every month, for a full half-year. The cadence does half the work.”
Daniel N.Cohort 05 · matched with Osei J.
Apply for a mentor

The next cohort opens in May.

Applications open three times a year — February, May and September. Twelve mentees are accepted each round. The fee is £180, which covers matching, the closing dinner, and the mentor honorarium.

  1. 1
    You're mid-career. Roughly 6–18 years into your field, making or seriously considering a change.
  2. 2
    You can commit two hours a month. The same time every month, for six months.
  3. 3
    You're happy to be matched carefully. Match refusals are free and normal. We want both sides certain.