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About the Residential Mentorship

The Residential Mentorship is Byron Writers Festival’s flagship development program for emerging writers. The group mentorship program offers four writers the opportunity to spend five days in a Byron Shire location with one-on-one mentoring with Sarah Armstrong. All accommodation and some meals are provided. 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 one’s work.

This opportunity has already proved to be a launch pad for many regional writers. Established in 2001, the roll call of past participants who are now published authors continues to grow every year. Notable alumni include Jesse Blackadder, Jarrah Dundler, Jessie Cole, Russell Eldridge, Mirandi Riwoe and many more.

The Residential Mentorship is generously supported by Create NSW.

About Mentoring Scholarships

This year Byron Writers Festival will be taking simultaneous applications for the Members Mentoring Scholarships program. Mentoring Scholarship recipients will receive a free Firsthand Feedback session with a professional author/mentor. Feedback sessions are 2-hours including the mentor’s reading time, and provide an initial appraisal of one’s work from an industry professional. The session will cover a 5000 word excerpt and synopsis. Applicants will be able to select which opportunity you would like to apply for in the application form.

These sessions are generously supported by Lynda and Christopher Dean.

Key Dates

• Applications open: Thursday 15 September
• Applications close: Wednesday 5 October, 11.59pm
• Recipients announced: Wednesday 19 October 2022
• Residency dates: 14 – 18 November 2022
• Firsthand Feedback sessions take place anytime between Nov – Feb

Cost

• The Residential Mentorship application fee is $40. Successful applicants will be asked to make a contribution of $280 each towards their residency.
• Applications for the Mentoring Scholarship are free.
• Applicants can choose to apply for either or both opportunities. If applying for both opportunities, the application fee is $40.

Eligibility

We encourage writers of all backgrounds to apply, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers.

Eligible writers must:

• Be 18 years of age or over
• Reside in the catchment area (from Tweed Heads to Taree and west to Kyogle)
• Be a current member of Byron Writers Festival. Click here to become a member.
• Manuscripts should be fiction or narrative non-fiction.
• If applying for the Residential Mentorship, applicants must be available for the entire period of the residency if successful and be able to attend as an individual without family or friends; and free themselves of all other commitments and obligations, including work.
• Applicants who identify as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or who are experiencing financial hardship are welcome to request a waiver of the application and contribution fees. Please email [email protected]

Submission guidelines

In a single Word Document or PDF, please collate the following:

Residential Mentorship

• A 200-word statement on why you want to be part of the mentorship, outlining how the mentorship will assist you at this stage of progress. Include any particular issues you wish to address at this stage.
• A 250-word synopsis or description of this project and your intentions for the work in progress.
• The first 40 continuous pages of your manuscript (work must be typed, 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced and paginated. Please also include the title of your work on each page of your manuscript). DO NOT include your name on your manuscript.
• $40 application fee.

Mentoring Scholarships

• A 250-word synopsis or description of this project and your intentions for the work in progress.
• A 5000 word excerpt of your manuscript (work must be typed, 12 point, Times New Roman font, double-spaced and paginated. Please also include the title of your work on each page of your manuscript). DO NOT include your name on your manuscript.
• Free to apply.

If applying for both

• Applicants who apply for both opportunities will need only submit materials for the Residential Mentorship. If successful in receiving a Mentoring Scholarship, applicants will be asked to select a 5000-word excerpt for the Firsthand Feedback session.

Application Process

Before beginning the application form, please have your submission document ready (see submission guidelines above), your current membership number, and your credit card. If you are not yet a member of Byron Writers festival, please click here to become a member.

1. Click Apply Now
2. Complete the form
3. Upload your submission
4. Pay the application fee

Read the Terms & Conditions of the program in full here.

Mentorship selection

Two literary industry professionals will judge the entries. Judges will be asked to select four writers to participate in the Residential Mentorship, and four runners up to receive a Firsthand Feedback session. The recipients will be selected according to:

• Suitability of the work for the mentorship scheme
• Potential of the work
• Literary merit
• Originality of the idea

The judges’ decision is final. Unsuccessful applicants will not be given individual feedback on their submission.

About the Residential Mentorship mentor

Sarah Armstrong was a journalist at the ABC where she won a Walkley Award. She’s written three novels, including Salt Rain which was shortlisted for the Miles Franklin Award. Big Magic is her first novel for children and its sequel will be out in 2023. She lives in Mullumbimby with her partner, the writer, Alan Close and their young daughter.