The 2026 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship
The 2026 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship closed to applications on October 29, 2025. Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their applications no later than December 19, 2025.
The Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship, which is a component of QWF’s Fresh Pages Diversity Initiative, is designed to help an aspiring writer or playwright working in English who is Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour to develop their literary writing.
Over a period of four months, the selected writer receives one-on-one guidance and support from a professional writing mentor. At the end of the mentorship period, there is a public reading at which the mentee will present their work in progress.
The selected writer receives an $800 honorarium and a free one-year membership in QWF.
Mairuth Sarsfield (1925-2013) was born and raised in the Little Burgundy district of Montreal. She achieved distinction in every arena she entered: as a best-selling novelist and a journalist; working for Canada’s External Affairs Department at home and abroad; serving as press secretary for the Canadian delegation to the United Nations and as a senior information officer for the United Nations Environment Programme based in Nairobi, Kenya. She also served on the Board of Directors of the CBC. Among the many awards and honours she received are the Chevalier à l’Ordre National du Quebec, the National Congress of Black Women Foundation’s First Literary Award for her novel No Crystal Stair, and the declaration of “Mairuth Sarsfield Day” by the City of Cleveland for her work on the “For Every Child a Tree” environmental campaign, which led to thousands of tree-planting projects around the world.
These accomplishments were nothing short of remarkable for any woman in twentieth-century North America. The fact that Mairuth Sarsfield achieved them, and more, as a Black woman, ensures her role as an inspiration for all future generations of young people from marginalized communities. With this mentorship program, the Quebec Writers’ Federation is proud to shine a spotlight on Ms. Sarsfield’s life and contributions to her city, her country, and the world.
Eligibility:
- Applicants must live in Quebec, write in English, and be Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour.
- Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in the selected genre
- Applicants must be able to devote at least 15 to 20 hours a month to their writing from February to May 2026.
- There is no age or publication requirement.
- Preference will be given to those who are not currently enrolled in a graduate writing program or working with a professional editor or publisher.
2026 Timeline:
- Call for applications: September 16, 2025
- Deadline for applications: October 29, 2025, 4:59 pm ET
- Notification of results (latest): December 19, 2025
- Mentorship period: February 1, 2026 to May 31, 2026
- Public reading: June 2026
The 2026 Mentor: Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch
Eli Tareq El Bechelany-Lynch is a mixed-Arab writer, editor, and translator living in Tio’tia:ke. Their first book, knot body, was published by Metatron Press in 2020. Their second book, The Good Arabs, published by Metonymy Press in 2022, was granted the honorary mention for poetry by the Arab American Book Awards, received the Khayrallah Prize honorary mention, and won the Grand Prix du Livre de Montréal. Their translation of Gabrielle Boulianne-Tremblay’s La fille d’elle-même from the French, Dandelion Daughter, was published in 2023 and was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award. With co-editor Samia Marshy, they edited El Ghourabaa, an anthology of queer and trans writing by Arab and Arabophone writers, published by Metonymy Press in June 2024. In October and November 2024, they were the writer-in-residence at the Arab American National Museum.
Past Mentorship Pairs
2025 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Spoken Word
Mentor: Kama La Mackerel
Mentee: Afreina Noor
2024 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Young Adult Literature
Mentor: Raquel Rivera
Mentee: Santiago Eastman Herrera
2023 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Screenwriting
Mentor: Alain Zaloum
Mentee: Victoria Platel
2022 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Non-Fiction
Jurors: Rana Bose, Randy Kritkausky, Anahita Jamali Rad
Mentor: Tara McGowan-Ross
Mentee: Chanel M. Sutherland
2021 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Fiction
Jurors: Oonya Kempadoo, Dimitri Nasrallah, Robert Edison Sandiford
Mentor: H. Nigel Thomas
Mentee: Lynda Bailey
2020 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship in Poetry
Jurors: Tanya Evanson, Kaie Kellough, H. Nigel Thomas
Mentor: Gillian Sze
Mentee: Faith Paré
As the mentorship draws to a close, I reflect on all I’ve learned in these past four months. Tara has been so generous with her time as a mentor, friend, therapist, comedian, philosopher, marketing expert, and career advisor – there was no topic off-limit. Tara was always ready and willing to help me with whatever writing-related task that was at hand, and each time we met was a rich, energetic experience that added to my craft and overall confidence as a writer. I genuinely believe I struck gold with this mentorship, and I am so grateful to work with Tara.
Chanel M. Sutherland, 2022 Mairuth Sarsfield Mentee
