Every writer needs a reader, and good writing gets better with thoughtful feedback. 

This fall, four members of the Good Contrivance Farm Board of Directors are opening their books to writers and donating their expertise to support the mission of Good Contrivance Farm.

Through this special fundraising initiative, interested writers will make a $200 contribution to Good Contrivance Farm and, in return, will receive thoughtful, professional feedback and consultation on their work from Nate Brown, Liz Hazen, Nguyên Nguyễn, and Khaliah Williams, four accomplished writers, editors, artists, educators, and mentors whose collective experience spans literary publishing, university teaching, comics and visual storytelling, and college admissions.

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Short Fiction Review

Nate Brown, an award-winning fiction writer, essayist, and senior lecturer at Johns Hopkins University whose work has appeared in One Story, the Iowa Review, Literary Hub, and Publisher’s Weekly, among other publications, will offer consultations in short fiction. Brown started his publishing career at Random House and is currently the editor-at-large of American Short Fiction magazine and an advisory editor at the Hopkins Review. 

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Poetry Review

Liz Hazen, an award-winning poet and author of three full-length collections of poetry—including Chaos Theories and Girls Like Us—will provide feedback on poetry submissions. A writer and longtime educator, Hazen has published work in numerous literary journals and publications including Best American Poetry, Epoch, Shenandoah, Southwest Review, and more.

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Comics & Graphic Storytelling Review

Nguyên Nguyễn will review comics, graphic narratives, and other visual storytelling. A multidisciplinary artist, musician, and lecturer at the University of Baltimore, Nguyễn’s work has appeared in the New Yorker, McSweeney’s, the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, and many other journals and venues. He is the 2026 Stevenson University Artist-in-Residence whose awards include a Baker Prize in literary arts, a Rubys Artist Grant, and an Independent Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.

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Camp Completion: Writing the College Essay
Sept. 20, 9 a.m. – Noon at Good Contrivance Farm

Are you (or your child) looking for help on a college admissions essay? Would you like to support a great cause at the same time?

Camp Completion is a college essay workshop designed to help students find their voices in the noisy and competitive world of college admissions. In this three-hour session students will develop the skills necessary to write a first draft of the college essay. During the course of this workshop, students will generate an essay topic, write a first draft, and receive feedback from instructors with more than twenty years of experience.

For a $250 charitable contribution to Good Contrivance Farm, students gain admission to this generative 3-hour workshop with board members Khaliah Williams and Liz Hazen.

When & Where:

Camp Completion will take place on Sept. 20th from 9 a.m. – Noon in the Schoolhouse at Good Contrivance Farm, located at 2015 Emory Rd, Reisterstown, MD 21136

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How Your Support Helps Us Thrive

Best of all, 100% of the funds raised through these consultations will support Good Contrivance Farm and its nonprofit mission. Your contribution helps preserve this historic Maryland farm while sustaining the literary community that has grown there—including the Good Contrivance Writer’s Retreat, free craft talks and farm suppers, affordable writers’ residencies, and other programming intended to grow and sustain writers and readers in the greater Baltimore region.

Bring us your stories, poems, comics, or college essays, and you’ll receive expert editorial feedback. In turn, your charitable contribution will help keep Good Contrivance Farm a place where literature, history, and community flourish.

Even if You Don’t Have Work for Review, Your Support Matters

Of course, as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving our historic farm property for future generations while also hosting incredible literary programming, every contribution helps us meet our mission. We couldn’t do the work that we do without the generous support of our friends, neighbors, foundations, and the public. Even if you don’t currently have work to submit for this manuscript review fundraiser, you can make a charitable contribution to Good Contrivance Farm here.

Thank you for supporting Good Contrivance Farm!