Mentorship Programme

An important function of the South African chapter of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators is to provide assistance and support to those working in the children’s book field in order to encourage continuing excellence in the creation of children’s literature in South Africa. Therefore, it has instituted THE SCBWI SA 2007 MENTORSHIP PROGRAMME to assist South African children's book writers and illustrators or potential children’s book writers and illustrators to develop their work. This will provide an opportunity for unseasoned writers/illustrators to work one-on-one with an experienced, established writer/illustrator who will help them develop their writing and/or illustrating. The winners will be chosen by a panel of four judges and will be announced during the Cape Town Book Fair in June. The winners of the competition will not necessarily be those whose submissions were the “best”, but the ones the judges feel would benefit most from a mentorship programme. The winners will be teamed up with mentors in their geographical area. For the following six months the winners will then have monthly individual sessions with established writers or illustrators. Examples of the nature of these sessions are: the mentor may critique manuscripts or illustrations, go with the winner to visit local events of interest to writers or illustrators, work on writing or illustrating exercises, sharing their knowledge and expertise with the writer/illustrator, or doing whatever the mentor thinks is the best use of the time. The mentors will not help them make contact with publishers or help them to get their work published. COMPETITION GUIDELINES Eligibility: Any South African writers and illustrators of any age or culture can apply to be accepted for the Mentorship Programme in children’s books writing and illustrating. The mentors will work in either English or Afrikaans so persons applying must be able to speak either English or Afrikaans. DEADLINE Completed application and accompanying materials MUST BE RECEIVED BY 25 MAY 2007. No applications will be accepted after that date. Receipt of your application will be acknowledged only if a stamped self-addressed post card is enclosed. The SCBWI SA will not be held responsible for loss, damage or non-receipt of any applications or samples of work. The WINNERS OF THE COMPETITION will be announced at the Cape Town Book Fair in June. Winners will also be contacted by telephone. The Judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will entered into after the winners have been announced. PLEASE FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES CAREFULLY ENTRIES NOT IN COMPLIANCE MAY BE DECLARED INELIGIBLE. WRITERS: Completed application form Example/s of writing COPIES – NO ORIGINALS Maximum of six A4 pages. These pages are to be typed on one side only with large margins (2.5mm minimum). Use a 12pt font and double space the typing. For a longer story: A synopsis and excerpt of story. For a picture book or short story: The complete story if it fits into six pages ILLUSTRATORS: Completed application form Samples of illustrations COPIES – NO ORIGINALS Maximum of six A4 pages All samples to fit into an A4 envelope Samples to show style and versatility suitable for children’s books Samples may be in colour and b/w NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED VIA E-MAIL - E-mail applications will not be acknowledged and will be deleted without being read. Choose your nearest destination and post to either Cape Town or Gauteng to the addresses below: CAPE TOWN Att: Dr Elaine Ridge SCBWI (SA) Mentorship 2007 Programme 8 Tortelduif Avenue STELLENBOSCH 7600 South Africa GAUTENG Att: Jenny Hatton SCBWI (SA) Mentorship 2007 Programme 7 Illovo Rd Emmarentia 2195 South Africa FOR ALL THE FORMS, VISIT http://www.scbwi.za.org/mentor/