The Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Programme is once again open for applications from writers who attended an Arvon course or retreat in 2015 or 2016.
Now in its eighth year, the programme is run in partnership with Jerwood Charitable Foundation, and will take on twelve talented, emerging writers, who will be mentored for one year by an established writer working in the genre of either Poetry, Fiction or Playwriting.
Eligibility: If you are 18 or over, and have attended any Arvon course in 2015 or 2016 (including Partnership and Arvon City courses, retreats and Clockhouse Retreats), you may be eligible to apply for this year’s scheme. If you applied in 2015 for the 2016/17 scheme, you are eligible to apply again.
Fee: Thanks to full funding from Jerwood Charitable Foundation, the programme is free.
How it works: This is a unique opportunity to transform your writing practice. Over the course of the year you will benefit from dedicated support and guidance with your writing, two week-long residentials at an Arvon centre, and additional advice sessions from industry professionals.
They are looking for applications from those interested in developing both their writing and professional practice, who have a clear idea of what they would like to achieve over a one-year period.
Mentoring: The mentors for the 2017/18 programme are:
- Playwright Tim Crouch – Writer of My Arm, England, An Oak Tree, The Author and Adler & Gibb.
- Poet Pascale Petit – Shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize 2010 and author of six poetry collections, with a seventh due out in 2017.
- Novelist Jacob Ross – Author of the novel Pynter Bender which was shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, and Associate Editor for Fiction at Peepal Tree Press.
The three mentors will take on four writers each in their category, supporting and guiding them in their work over the course of the year, from a week of intensive workshops, to one-to-one sessions, and preparing their work for publication in a group anthology.
Writing time: In addition to ongoing mentoring, the beginning and end of the year are each marked by a week away at Totleigh Barton, the first Arvon centre, in the Devon countryside. Beginning with a tutored Residential Week in March 2017 with the three mentors, the year concludes with a Retreat Week without the mentors in February 2018. These weeks will provide the programme’s mentees with the time and space to focus on their writing, away from their everyday lives.
Professional development: In the autumn of 2017 the twelve writers will receive specialist advice sessions with industry insiders. Their development over the year will culminate in an anthology of their writing, in print and e-book format, and in a book launch event in London.
How to Apply: The submission pack (available here) includes full details on eligibility and instructions on how to apply. Interviews will be held on 23rd February (Playwriting), 28th February (Fiction), and 2nd March (Poetry).
If you have any questions about the Jerwood/Arvon Mentoring Programme or how to apply, please contact Joe Bibby, Learning and Participation Coordinator, on joe.bibby@arvon.org or by calling 0207 324 2562.
Deadline: Monday 9 January 2017
Source: @arvonfoundation via @Playwriting_UK