Diaspora Dialogues is inviting writers to submit to its Session A, 2013 Mentoring Program. Our next instalment of our writer’s residencies is now open, where we are collecting submissions of full-length novels or collections of short stories up to 85,000 words or 300 double-spaced pages; or full length poetry manuscripts of up to 25 poems (no more than 50 pages maximum).
Deadline is Friday, November 16, 2012.
Download guidelines and submission form here.
I remember how excited I was to learn that I had gained entrance into the Diaspora Dialogue’s Youth Mentorship program and at the idea of a professional published writer looking at and critiquing my work. That excitement gave way to nervousness and persistent thoughts of: “What if he/she thinks that my work is terrible? ” After submitting my poem for the first pass, I imagined receiving an email that said: “Are you serious? ”
It’s safe to say that this was not the type of response I received from my mentor, Lauren Kirshner.
Instead, her response to the email in which I sent my poem was enthusiastic, and thought-provoking. She said plenty of nice things about my poem (which got me blushing), as well as numerous points about what I could do to perhaps improve it. Through every pass, she gave me fantastic advice and got me to look at my poem through angles I had never considered, and provided examples of other poetry to reinforce her points.
At 20, I’m young and my writing is still developing, but the opportunity to work with a professional writer on my piece has helped me grow as a writer, and given me a set of skills that I may have taken years to come by. For all of this (and the experience itself) I am very thankful to my mentor Lauren, and Diaspora Dialogues.
Diaspora Dialogues is excited to announce a revamping of its mentoring programs into one comprehensive program to focus on the creation of long-form manuscripts. This new program will offer emerging writers greater in-depth opportunity to hone their craft and ready a book-length project for publication.
Our “Writer’s Residencies” will provide each writer with a specialized professional development program, as well as targeted introductions to agents and/or publishers.
DD is inviting submissions of original full-length novels or collections of short stories up to 85,000 words or 300 double-spaced pages; or full-length poetry manuscripts of up to 25 poems (no more than 50 pages maximum) from emerging writers.
Deadline is June 15, 2012.
Download guidelines and submission form here.
Earlier this week, I sat nervously in a Starbucks—the quintessential aspiring writer’s hangout—awaiting my first meeting with my mentor Lauren Kirshner. Thrilled though I am to have been accepted into the program, I was nervous about the seemingly insurmountable task of editing my writing. Editing is easily my least favourite part of the writing process; going over the words and phrases I slaved over always seems like a daunting and excruciating task. However, meeting my mentor put all those fears to rest.
Editing does not have to be a scary process she assured me. It’s not about tearing your work apart; it’s about making the strong parts of your work sparkle, and working on the parts that don’t to highlight your main point effectively. We discussed all aspects of my piece, with her giving me her comments and suggestions throughout. She asked me what my objective was in writing this piece—a surprisingly difficult question. My piece is about my struggle with identity, one that entails traditional family values versus modern Western ideals and the desire to forge your own path. Of course this could describe the upbringing of many first generation Canadians, but my mentor assured me that I have an interesting story to tell, and that I tell it with elegance and flare.
Her advice has been both constructive and encouraging, and it’s exciting to have her expertise dedicated to the improvement of my writing. Now, I must put her advice into action and tackle revising my work.
We are excited to announce a new, one-on-one mentoring program for creative writers aged 16-25 years. The call for submissions is out now! NEW deadline is October 15, 2011.
Based on the same model as Diaspora Dialogues’ successful publishing/mentoring program for emerging writers in the GTA, now in its seventh year, we’re inviting submissions of short stories or creative non-fiction less than 3,000 words in length; or up to 5 poems, with each poem being no more than 75 lines from writers between the ages of 16 and 25 inclusive. Applicants are welcome to enter more than one category, but no more than one submission per category, please.
Diaspora Dialogues is committed to supporting a literature of Toronto that is as diverse as the city itself. Writers are encouraged to keep this mandate in mind, but addressing this theme directly is not essential in the submission. The setting of the works must be, at least in part, the greater Toronto region. First and second-generation immigrants and First Nations writers are especially welcome.
Through an adjudicated process, 6-10 young writers will be chosen and each assigned (free of charge) to an established writer in a mentoring capacity to gain feedback on their work. This year’s mentors include Margaret Christakos, Moez Surani, Andrew Pyper, Ibi Kaslik, Rabindranath Maharaj, and Olive Senior.
The youth writers will also be published in Diaspora Dialogues’ youth e-zine and will gain access to a resource wiki that will provide ongoing support, ideas and opportunities specifically for emerging writers under 25, as well as the ability to attend, without charge, the professional development seminars that DD runs throughout the year.
Please note, for writers under 18, participation will require parental consent.
Diaspora Dialogues supports the creation and presentation of new stories, poetry and drama that reflect the complexity of the city through the eyes of its richly diverse writers.
We welcome your submission! NEW deadline is October 15, 2011. Submissions will not be accepted after the deadline. Decisions will be made in October 2011.
Download the submission form here.
Please mail or drop off submissions to:
Diaspora Dialogues
170 Bloor Street West, Suite 804
Toronto, ON
M5S 1T9
Questions? Contact Natalie Kertes at natalie@diasporadialogues.com or 416-944-1101, ext 250.
This program has been made possible with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
