About the program

The mentorship provides five days in a glorious Byron shire location with accommodation and meals provided, one-on-one mentoring with Marele Day and the company of three other committed writers.  It’s an experience that many have described as life-changing, a time to forge lasting friendships and discover what lies at the heart of your work.

This is an outstanding opportunity to participate in a writing experience that has already proved to be a launch pad for regional writers. Established in 2001, the roll call of past participants who are now published authors continues to grow every year. You can see them all and read testimonials about the residential mentorship experience on our Alumni Successes page.

Key Dates: 

Applications open: Wednesday 6 March 2019

Applications close: Wednesday 27 March 2019

Successful applicants announced: 24 April 2019

Residential mentorship takes place: Monday 13 May – Friday 17 May 2019

About the mentor

Marele Day has been the mentor for the program for the past eighteen years and will be taking this role again in 2019. Marele is the author of four crime novels – The Life and Crimes of Harry Lavender; The Case of the Chinese Boxes; The Last Tango of Dolores Delgado and The Disappearances of Madalena Grimaldi as well as a collection of crime-comedy stories, Mavis Levack, PI.  Other novels include the best-selling Lambs of God, which was published to international acclaim with film rights optioned by Twentieth Century Fox; Mrs Cook: The Real and Imagined Life of the Captain’s Wife; and most recently The Sea Bed.  She is a highly experienced speaker, teacher and mentor, and has won several awards, including the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008.