The AF Writing Fellows Program Helped Me Land My Dream Job

After participating in America’s Future’s Writing Fellows Program last summer, I cannot recommend it enough to anyone in the liberty movement looking to sharpen their writing skills, network with professional writers, and get published.

I applied to the program from a somewhat unorthodox position. At the time, I was a law fellow for a trade association. Though I wrote for a couple of blogs on the side, writing was certainly not my full-time job. But with my fellowship coming to an end, I was hoping to shift from law to a career where I could use my writing to influence public thought on law and policy.

Applications for the Summer 2019 term of the Writing Fellows Program are now open! Apply here before April 26!

To be frank, that summer was a stressful time for me; I wasn’t quite sure what I was doing next or where my life was headed. And while writing was something I knew I enjoyed, I felt like three years of law school had sapped me of my creativity. So I applied to the program and hoped for the best.

Less than a year later, I’ve found myself working full-time writing and editing op-eds for a right-leaning think tank in Washington, DC, I could not be happier with my new career, and I credit AF’s writing program with helping me get to where I am now.

AFF’s writing program is run by Jason Russell, the contributors editor for the Washington Examiner. Hearing insider views on the editorial process from a working editor was invaluable. And because Jason is what I would consider a “near-peer” mentor, I felt that his career advice was especially relevant to my own experience. The same was true of the advice from other younger authors, reporters, and industry-insiders who came to speak and answer our questions during each session.

That’s not to say that the program’s veteran media speakers were useless. To the contrary, these speakers offered the kind of advice that can only come from those with decades of experience in journalism and related industries. It was a real treat to talk to these men and women about where they started and what advice they would give their younger selves.

The speakers also come from a variety of backgrounds and work in all sorts of fields. Regardless of whether you’re interested in writing op-eds, reporting, authoring a book, drafting speeches, or pursuing another writing-related activity, AF’s program has something to offer. In fact, I was surprised at how much I learned from the speakers whose career paths seemed very different from the one I was hoping to pursue.

Thanks to the AF writing fellows program, my writing skills improved dramatically. Not only that, I gained valuable insight into the editing process, which helped me land my ideal job. Obviously I can’t guarantee the same for all program participants. But what I can guarantee is that you will develop better writing skills, you will get the chance to talk with seasoned writers in a small-group setting, and you will learn far more over the course of six weeks than you thought possible.