Mentoring

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

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 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:

  • Poets completing first collections
  • 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
  • Debut writers working to complete that first novel
  • Illustrators who wanted to write to their illustrations


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

Scottish Book Trust has been running the mentoring programme since 2003. During that time we have managed 31 mentoring partnerships and seen many success stories including: one new playwright who found her first commission and saw her play tour the south of Scotland; an established novelist who successfully adapted his novel for the stage; a debut screen writer who won an international award; several new writers who found agents and publishers; screenwriters who were introduced to London industry professionals and found London agents; a poet who found new confidence; and many, many writers (mentees and mentors) who developed new skills enabling them to take their own work forward.

  Here are some examples:


‘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.'

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 and playwrights with little or no publication or production history who wish to work with a mentor on fiction, poetry or playwriting should apply to the New Writers Awards in the spring.)
  • 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 children's authors.
  • Writers must live and work in Scotland.

We will re-open for applications in Sumer 2009.
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For more information about the mentoring scheme please contact Caitrin. 

Caitrin Armstrong,
Writer Development Co-ordinator caitrin.armstrong@scottishbooktrust.com
0131 524 0167