QWF Writing Mentorships
Deadline: October 14, 2022
The QWF Writing Mentorships are designed to help promising emerging writers and translators make the transition to the next stage of their careers. This call for applications is for both prospective mentors and mentees.
Emerging Quebec writers of English-language fiction, non-fiction, poetry (including spoken word), plays, screenplays, and children’s or young adult literature are invited to apply to be mentored by an established author over a period of four months (February 1, 2023 to May 31, 2023). They should also be available for a public reading in Montreal in June.
Mentees should expect to commit 15 to 20 hours a month to the program. The only cost to mentees is a $25 non-refundable submission fee. Selected mentees must also be members of QWF throughout the mentorship period. In exceptional cases of financial need, QWF will consider offering selected mentees a one-year complimentary membership as part of their mentorship upon request.
Established professional Quebec dramaturgs and writers who work in the above-mentioned genres and who wish to be mentors are invited to apply at this time as well. Mentors must be professional members of QWF throughout the mentorship period. Over the four-month period, mentors should expect to devote 35 to 40 hours to reading and responding to their mentee’s work and to giving guidance towards the goal of publication or production. Remuneration for mentors is $2000.
Both mentors and a short list of potential mentees will be selected by an independent jury. The mentors will choose the person they work with from the short list. There is no guarantee that all genres will be included in the final pairings. Depending on geographical location and public health requirements in the winter/spring of 2023, the mentorships may be conducted primarily or exclusively by email and Zoom.
The QWF Mentorship program provides mentorships for writers of fiction, non-fiction, poetry, plays, screenplays, and children’s and young adult literature.
If you are a writer who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour, you may also be eligible for The Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship program. Click here to go to the Mairuth Sarsfield Mentorship webpage.
If you are a translator of literary work into French, you may be eligible for The Jean Antonin Billard LTAC/QWF Mentorship in Literary Translation. Click here to go to the LTAC/QWF Mentorships in Literary Translation webpage.
To Apply for a Mentor:
Eligibility criteria
Quebec-based aspiring or emerging writers working in English are invited to apply. Authors working with a professional editor/publisher and those who have already had a QWF mentorship are not eligible for this program. All interested candidates are invited to apply; however, the selection process may favour projects and applicants not currently being mentored or edited in another form or through another program or course of study.
Those selected for the QWF Writing Mentorships must be QWF members in good standing throughout the mentorship period.
While applicants are encouraged to apply simultaneously to multiple mentorship programs, please note that successful applicants will only be allowed to pursue one mentorship at a given time. In other words, applicants selected for more than one mentorship will need to choose one to accept. This allows our programs to support the greatest number of emerging writers.
NOTE: The 2023 LTAC/QWF Translation Mentorship will go to a French-language translator. A separate call for submissions will follow.
How to apply
To apply for one of the mentorships, prepare the appropriate document for the program you are applying for (described below) and then log on to “Submittable.” Be prepared to pay the submission fee by credit card or PayPal.
Follow the directions at Submittable to set up a free account if you don’t already have one. Then complete the online form and upload the document you have prepared, which must include the components below combined into a single document (PDF or WORD) that does NOT have your name or other identifying material anywhere in it.
Documents to prepare for the QWF Writing Mentorships:
- a one-page pitch telling which genre you are applying in, where you are in your development as a writer, and how your writing will benefit from a mentor’s guidance at this time;
- an eight- to ten-page sample, double-spaced if prose, from the project you wish to work on. No more than ten pages will be forwarded to the jury. Do not put your name on this document.
If you cannot submit online, you may mail a copy of the document described above, along with your contact information on a separate sheet, and a $35 CAD cheque made out to “QWF” to:
Mentorship Program
Quebec Writers’ Federation
1200 Atwater Ave., Suite 3
Westmount, QC H3Z 1X4
All mail submissions MUST BE IN THE QWF OFFICE by 5:00 pm on Friday, October 14, 2022.
Successful applicants will be notified by December 15, 2022.
To Apply to Be a Mentor:
Eligibility criteria
For the QWF Writing Mentorship Program, established professional Quebec writers of English-language works of fiction, non-fiction, poetry (including spoken word), plays, screenplays, or children’s or young adult literature with at least one book published by a recognized professional publisher or an equivalent professional level of achievement, and playwrights, dramaturgs, and screenwriters with at least one full-length professional production are invited to apply. Dramaturgs need not have had a play published but must have professional credentials. Those selected must be QWF members in good standing throughout the mentorship period.
Teaching or mentoring experience is a significant asset.
NOTE: The 2023 LTAC/QWF Translation Mentorship will go to a French-language translator. See the separate call for submissions for the Translation Mentorship.
How to apply
To apply to be a mentor, prepare the document described below and then log on to “Submittable.” There is no fee.
Follow the directions on the Submittable site to set up a free account if you don’t already have one. Then complete the online form and upload the document you have prepared, which must include the following components combined into a single document (PDF or WORD).
Documents to prepare:
- a one-page bio listing your publications/productions, outlining your teaching experience, and listing the genres/disciplines on which you are qualified to advise;
- a short description of your approach to mentoring;
- a declaration of your availability during the period November 15, 2022 to June 30, 2023. (If selected for the program, you will receive applications from the shortlisted candidates in your genre in November and be asked to rank your choices within a short timeframe. The actual mentoring takes place from February 1 to May 31, 2023, with a public reading to be scheduled in Montreal in June 2023.)
If you cannot submit online, you may mail a copy of the document described above to:
Mentorship Program
Quebec Writers’ Federation
1200 Atwater Ave., Suite 3
Westmount, QC H3Z 1X4
All mail submissions MUST BE IN THE QWF OFFICE by 5:00 pm on Friday, October 14, 2022.
Successful applicants will be notified in early December and will be asked to select their mentee from a short list prepared by the jury by December 10.
The Quebec Writers’ Federation gratefully acknowledges the assistance of:
For more information:
Telephone: (514) 244-9088 | [email protected]