Rachel Weaver

Rachel Weaver is the author of the recent memoir Dizzy (2026), called "an arresting new memoir" by Maureen Corrigan on NPR's Fresh Air, and the novel The Last Run, published in June to rave reviews. Her previous novel, Point of Direction, was named a Top Ten Book to Pick Up Now by Oprah Magazine, and won the 2015 Willa Cather Award for Fiction. She is on the faculty at Wilkes University’s low-residency MFA program in addition to teaching Lighthouse, where she won the Beacon Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018. Rachel’s fiction and nonfiction have appeared in The Sun, Gettysburg Review, Blue Mesa Review, River Teeth, Southeast Review, CutBank, Linden Review, and Gulf Coast among others. Rachel earned a Certificate in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University, and currently runs Lighthouse's Body of Words program for writers with disabilities and chronic illness. 

What Rachel looks for in a Book Project mentee: My own writing career began in the isolation of remote Alaska which has shaped my teaching philosophy. I believe there are times when isolation is necessary, but I also believe a strong writing community as well as mentors that are available to help guide and problem solve as you go along are essential to a productive writing life. My cohort follows a comprehensive two-year curriculum that focuses on plot, characterization, dialogue, flow, overall structure, readability, point of view, scene work, character motivations, conflict and dramatic tension, cohesive themes, cohesive chapters, and a solid story arc. I believe the individual magic of a manuscript is released when the craft is broken down into its essential elements so that a writer can truly grasp each and use them in the way that fits their project best. I’m interested in working with a diverse group of novelists and memoir writers who are struggling to get their books working as a whole. Within the world of memoir, I’m particularly interested in working with illness and disability narratives.