Call for Submissions: Long Form + Short Form Mentorship Programs
September 30, 2026
Long Form Mentorship (GTA+National)
Diaspora Dialogues invites submissions from emerging writers in both the GTA and across Canada who currently have a full or near-full draft of a manuscript. We accept novels, short story collections, creative non-fiction/memoir, works intended for young adults and poetry. Complete or near complete means that the writer has up to 85,000 words or 300 double-spaced pages of prose; or up to 25 poems (50 pages maximum).
Notifications will be made at the end of December. The mentorships will begin in early 2027 and run for six months.
The deadline to submit is November 2, 2026.
Diaspora Dialogues Invites Submissions From Women and Nonbinary Emerging Writer
Diaspora Dialogues invites submissions from emerging writers across Canada including short stories or creative nonfiction less than 3,000 words in length; or up to 5 poems, with each poem being no more than 75 lines. (See below for definition of “emerging.”) Applicants are welcome to enter more than one category, but no more than one submission per category.
Through an adjudicated process, selected writers will receive feedback from a rotating writer-in-residence at Diaspora Dialogues, over the course of a month.
Please read all of the guidelines carefully and email your submission to
Zalika Reid-Benta at zalika@diasporadialogues.com.
Deadline is October 15, 2026.
Diaspora Dialogues Invites Submissions from First Nations, Inuit and Metis Writers
Diaspora Dialogues invites submissions from emerging writers across Canada including short stories or creative nonfiction less than 3,000 words in length; or up to 5 poems, with each poem being no more than 75 lines. (See below for definition of “emerging.”) Applicants are welcome to enter more than one category, but no more than one submission per category.
Through an adjudicated process, selected writers will receive feedback from a rotating writer-in-residence at Diaspora Dialogues, over the course of a month.
Please read all of the guidelines carefully and email your submission to
Zalika Reid-Benta at zalika@diasporadialogues.com.
Deadline is October 15, 2026.
To learn more about all mentorship program guidelines, visit https://diasporadialogues.com/our-programs/