Writers in Schools

The Culture in the Schools program gives students and teachers the opportunity to meet a professional writer in the classroom to exchange ideas about writing, language and literature, or various aspects of the writing profession. They may also participate in writing workshops.

The program is intended for students of Quebec public and private educational institutions in the French-language and English-language sectors, at the pre-school, primary and secondary levels. For a complete repertoire of writers eligible to participate in the program, see the program web site.

The Ministry of Culture, Communication and the Status of Women and the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sport have issued a call for applications for the writers who wish to be eligible to participate in the Culture in the Schools program for the 2010-2011, 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years.

Please note the following important points before you open the documents.

• The eligibility criteria for this program are very stringent. Please review them in the Call for Submissions (see link on the right side of this page) before proceeding with your application.
• QWF does not finance this program, and is not responsible for establishing the eligibility criteria or any of the procedures. The program is jointly managed by the Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine and the Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport.
• QWF does not administer this program. It is run by l'Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ), and they handle applications and assignments. QWF's role is limited to forming a jury to evaluate the English-language applicants.
• The deadline to apply is November 6, so your applications have to be sent TO UNEQ and have a postmark no later than November 6. (The address is in the attached documentation).

Any questions about the program should be directed to ecrivez@uneq.qc.ca.

Writers in CEGEPs

The Quebec Writers' Federation is responsible for revising the list of writers eligible to participate in the Quebec Writers-in-Cegeps program. Modeled after the successful Writers-in-Schools program and financed by the Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, this program sends writers on day-long visits to Cegeps throughout the province. English-language Cegeps are the primary audience, but French-language Cegeps are also encouraged to invite English-language writers. (Each Cegep can invite two writers per school year.)

Writers receive an honorarium of $500 per day for a day of readings and lectures, or a day of writing workshops, and $400 per day for a day of meetings and discussions. Of this, the Cegep pays $100, while the rest comes from the Ministry of Culture and Communications.

The annual call for applications to the program by authors is announced each spring, for a summer deadline.

Writers in the Community

Writers in the Community, which the QWF runs in collaboration with the Centre for Literacy of Quebec, brings the literary arts to young people who are left out of the artistic mainstream. Partners in the program have included Jeunesse 2000, Head & Hands, Mountainview High School, Batshaw Youth and Family Services, Leave Out ViolencE, Tyndale St-Georges Community Centre, the Jewish General Hospital, and VOYCE (Voices Of Youth in Care).

Mentorship Program

For the eighth year in a row, QWF is proud to offer the only English-language writing mentorship program in the province of Quebec. The QWF Mentorship program is designed to help promising emerging writers make the transition to the next stage of their careers. Over a period of approximately four months, mentors are expected to devote 35 to 40 hours to reading and respond-ing to their mentee’s work and giving guidance towards the goal of publication or production. Mentees are expected to commit a minimum of 15 to 20 hours per month to the program. Remuneration for mentors is $1200. There is no fee for the mentees. This program is made possible by a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

The selected participants of the 2010 Mentorship Program will be announced shortly.