This essay considers the critical need for pre-service and in-service basic writing faculty to define and enact a professional identity, specifically within the context of faculty development and graduate course settings. The essay describes a graduate course in teaching basic writing offered primarily online with four in-person weekend workshops. As a result, the course has faculty development implications. Key features of the class are professional mentoring through participation in the Council on Basic Writing discussion list, which offers visibility for students as emerging basic writing professionals; creation of Composition Frequently Asked Questions wiki material on basic writing, which serves as a kind of intermediary "publication"; and encouragement to present at conferences and submit manuscripts. The essay also explores the issue of faculty development generally for emerging and current basic writing professionals who are often working as contingent faculty and asks how a professional identity can be developed given these realities.