Mentoring

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The Scottish Book Trust Mentoring Scheme is currently open for applications

Thanks for the opportunity...I took it with both hands and ran with it.'

Deadline: Friday 8^th October
Interviews: Friday 29^th October

Download application guidelines

Eligibilty

• The Mentoring Scheme is open to writers and illustrators who have had work commercially published, and playwrights and screenwriters whose work has been professionally produced.  


• Writers who have not had a book or collection published and who wish to work with a mentor on fiction or poetry should apply to the New Writers Awards


• Writers who wish to concentrate on a novel or short story collection should have a substantial amount of writing on the page (even at rough draft stage) before applying in order to give a mentor material to work with. (This does not apply to all children's authors.)


• Writers must live and work in Scotland.


• Writers informal education are not eligible 

This year we have an additional two places available for writers with additional access requirements due to disability or ill health. Find out more

The Scottish Book Trust Mentoring Scheme is aimed at established and emergent writers, playwrights, screenwriters and author/illustrators who have a specific project on which they'd like some dedicated support. The purpose of this scheme is to offer support to writers and to create an intimate, sharing environment in which the mentee will grow in confidence and find the skills required to unlock their potential and move forward in their writing careers.

We match four successful applicants with another writer or industry professional with appropriate experience, and we support them as they work together over an intensive period of nine months. This is a world-class opportunity and is the envy of writers and arts professionals across the UK.

The mentoring programme is completely free to participating writers, and Scottish Book Trust pays all associated travel and expenses for both mentors and mentees. We also offer all mentors a fee for their time and input.

‘It's been a real privilege to have such an engaged critic read over such a rough draft, asking all the tough questions that needed to be asked and giving me the confidence to make it much, much better. I've learnt far more than any creative writing course could teach.'


Past projects have included:

• Writers adapting their novels for performance on stage


• Writers for the printed-page who wanted to write for screen


• Novelists looking for guidance on structure


• Illustrators who wanted to write to their illustrations 

Past mentors have included Bernard MacLaverty, Alan Bissett, Tom Leonard, Professor Douglas Gifford; Literary Agents Kathryn Ross (Fraser Ross Associates) and Judy Moir (the Judy Moir Agency); David Ian Neville of BBC Radio Scotland, established screenwriter Adrian Mead; Philip Howard, (former Artistic Director of Traverse Theatre) and many more. 

‘Please use my example as another success story that you have allowed to be created - the mentoring went a long way to helping me get to where I am now.  I wanted to give you credit for that.'