Sprinng Writing Fellowship 2025 Report

In January 2025, Sprinng, in collaboration with MasterClass, announced an expansion of its Writing Fellowship resources by providing mentees, mentors, and alumni with one year of free access to the MasterClass platform. This partnership significantly enriched the fellowship experience, offering writers long-term learning opportunities beyond the fellowship and the flexibility to learn at their own pace while engaging with world-class instructors across writing, storytelling, and creative disciplines. Fellows shared that the platform deepened their understanding of craft, complemented mentor feedback, and renewed their confidence in their creative voices. We are deeply grateful for this generous support and for a partnership rooted in a shared commitment to nurturing African writers and ensuring their continued growth and success.

In 2025, we received a total of 1,335 applications from young African writers in Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, and South Africa. Most importantly, 70 contemporary writers agreed to serve as mentors this year, the majority of whom were active in the fellowship, which ensured backup mentors were available to step in when another mentor was unavailable. This year, 59 mentees were accepted into the fellowship, and 49 completed the program with their certifications, achieving an outstanding 83% graduation rate.

Every year, as we review the mentees’ feedback forms, we are deeply grateful for the invaluable resources that enable mentees to have a truly meaningful and transformative experience. These resources empower mentees to actualize their creative writing goals and unlock their full potential. Our mentees, through the exceptional teaching, guidance, commitment, and encouragement of their assigned mentors, have honed their creative skills, expanded their knowledge, and built their sense of self and confidence. Mentors have also equipped these fellows with vital soft skills for career development and future creative-writing success, as documented in this report. We are especially grateful to our mentors for believing in our mission. Their willingness to say yes when approached and their dedication to sharing their time, exceptional talents, and knowledge continue to honor and elevate our vision of empowering African writers.

In 2025, we also had a group of 10 mentees who served as peer captains, managing the distribution of resources, such as weekly airtimes and contest prizes, to their peers. This allowed the Sprinng team and the mentees to be more efficient in their collaborations and strengthened our connections. We are deeply grateful for their service to others in this journey!

Facts and figures from the 2025 mentees and mentors of the fellowship:

• The average rating for the overall experience in the fellowship, on a scale of 1 to 5 (with 1 being the least and 5 being the most), is an impressive 4.41.

• 100% of the mentors said enough thought was put into the fellowship.

• 100% acknowledged that the weekly airtime was useful in supporting them during the program.

• 84% of the mentors said they wanted to be mentors again.

• 94% noted that group chats were helpful for expressing concerns and asking questions.

• 98% found the contest motivating in their fellowship experience.

• 84% of the mentors found the manual sufficiently detailed and equipped them for their roles.

MasterClass Usage (within 6 Months):

• 29,763 total learning minutes

• 2,735 total lessons watched

• Top Skills: Creativity, Communications, Leadership, Personal Growth, Strategy

• Top Courses: 

• Creative Writing by Margaret Atwood

• Writing and Performing Poetry by Amanda Gorman

• The Art of Short Story by Joyce Carol Oates

• Storytelling and Writing by Salman Rushdie

• Reading and Writing by Billy Collins

• Writing for Social Change by Roxane Gay

• Poetic Thinking by Joy Harjo

• Writing for Television by Shonda Rhimes

• Fantasy and Science Fiction Writing by N. K. Jemisin

• Creating Outside the Lines by Issa Rae

Fellowship completion timeline:

• 6.1% of mentees completed the fellowship in 7 weeks.

• 34.7% of mentees finished the fellowship in 6 weeks.

• 55.1% of mentees completed the fellowship in 5 weeks.

• 2% of mentees completed theirs in 4 weeks.

• 2% of mentees completed theirs in 3 weeks.

Sprinng will continue to stay true to its mission of fostering a thriving network that empowers diverse African writers, amplifies their voices, and celebrates their literature. 

Thank you all for your support and keep on Sprinnging!

Sincerely,
Oyindamola Shoola
CEO, Sprinng