OPEN CALL FOR DD Fellowship for Women or Non-Binary Writers (40+)

 About Us: 

Diaspora Dialogues (DD) supports diverse writers turn their craft into a career through mentorship, professional development and opportunities to publish and present their work. Our focus is on the development of both artist and audience, and on working toward redefining the “mainstream” in the arts sector, ensuring it is as diverse as the country itself. Further information: www.diasporadialogues.com

Fellowship Program:

Diaspora Dialogues invites submissions from women and/or Non-Binary Writers aged 40 and above 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). Submissions will consist only of excerpts from these works (see guidelines below).

This will be a six-month program in which there will be literary mentorship, career support including professional development sessions, and public speaking and media training, and peer-to-peer networks.Diaspora Dialogues is committed to supporting a literature that is as diverse as Canada itself. Writers are encouraged to keep this mandate in mind, but addressing this theme directly is not essential in the submission.

Submission Guidelines

• Work from which the excerpt is submitted must be in a full draft or near-full draft stage.
• Excerpts submitted can be one chapter or one short story from the collection up to but not exceeding 5,000 words; poetry can include up to 10 poems but not exceed 15 pages.
• Submissions must include a one-page description of the project.
• Submissions must include a short biography in paragraph form (no more than 250 words.)
• The work must be original and not previously published.
• Submissions must be in English.
• Each writer may submit only one manuscript.
• Submissions will be accepted electronically.
• All prose submissions should be double-spaced, Times New Roman font size 12. Poetry can be single-spaced.
• Commentary/feedback is not available on submissions.

Eligibility

• Writers must not have a previously published full-length manuscript, although appearances in magazines and/or anthologies are acceptable.
• Writers must be 40 and above.
• Writers must identify as a woman or as non-binary.
• Writers must be Canadian citizens or Canadian residents.

Deadline: May 15, 2026

Please read all of the guidelines carefully before submitting and send all submissions to: zalika@diasporadialogues.com