The Prince Edward Island Writers’ Guild (PEIWG) is pleased to announce the 2010 Mentorship Program is underway. Three published Prince Edward Island authors, members of the PEI Writers’ Guild, will act as a mentor to an emerging writer (mentee). They are: Deirdre Kessler, educator in creative writing, academic writing, and children’s literature will act as mentor to an emerging writer with a manuscript for children, a creative non-fiction manuscript, or a poetry manuscript. Steven Mayoff, a writer of fiction, will act as mentor to an emerging writer with a fiction manuscript. J.J. Steinfeld, fiction writer, poet, and playwright, will act as mentor to an emerging writer with a manuscript of fiction or poetry, or a play in draft form.

Definitions of Mentee and Mentor

Mentee: Fee Collected – $250.00

Mentees should have a significant body of work in progress.  Please include in your application which mentor you wish to work with, (or include more than one), listing your preference in order. Send your application to Jenna MacDonald, Mentorship Coordinator, at peiwritersguild@gmail.com, and include: complete contact information (email and phone), a brief statement indicating why you want to participate in the program, the mentor’s name that you are interested n working with, and a five-page sample of your manuscript in progress. Upon acceptance into the program, you will be asked to pay your $250.00 fee. (If you want to arrange a payment schedule, please include this in your application.) Upon conclusion of the program, each mentee will provide (approximately) a page-long summary of the experience to the Mentorship Coordinator.

Mentor: Stipend Paid – $400.00

The mentor is a published author willing to share her or his expertise in a specific genre with an emerging author (mentee) working in the same genre. The mentor will work with the mentee over a period of one to five months, with scheduled being arranged by each pair as it suits them. The time will equal at least 12-16 hours, or approximatelyeight 1.5 * 2 hour sessions, as well as a reasonable amount of manuscript reading. At the conclusion of the program, each mentor will submit (approximately) a page-long summary of the experience to the Mentorship Coordinator.

PEIWG Notes* Fees go toward future program sustainability. The PEI Writers’ Guild recognizes that the stipend paid to each mentor is substantially below industry standards; however, it is determined by the program’s funding and the PEIWG matching dollars.

The Mentorship Program is made possible through the Community Cultural Partnership Program of the Department of Tourism and Culture.

Jenna MacDonald, Mentorship Coordinator, peiwritersguild@gmail.com