Emerging writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry have until 31 May to apply for a programme that has quickly become one of the most significant of its kind in the UK.
The fourth annual Genesis Emerging Writers’ Programme is open to UK residents over 18 years of age with no more than three years’ experience of being published. Applicants should be working, or planning to work, on a specific project with the aim of publication and have until 31 May to apply here.
The programme, a partnership between the Genesis Foundation and the Jewish Literary Foundation, offers bursaries, mentoring, peer support and an event at London’s longest-running literary festival Book Week to the 10 successful applicants. The programme of mentorship is designed to take place online and/or in-person, depending on the preference of the selected writer and their mentor. Group sessions are designed to take place online so that the programme is accessible to all.
Mentors already confirmed for the 2024/25 programme include novelist Sanjida, Sins of my Father author Lily Dunn, award-winning poet Jacqueline Saphra, thriller writer Alex Gerlis and Agent Zo biographer Clare Mulley. And this month sees Amelia Loulli, part of the 2022/23 cohort, become the latest Genesis Emerging Writers’ Programme alum to see their work published, with Penguin Random House imprint Jonathan Cape publishing her poetry collection Slip.
The Jewish Literary Foundation works to spread awareness, recognition and enjoyment of the best in ideas and great Jewish writing to as wide an audience as possible. As well as the Emerging Writers programme and the the annual Book Week festival – which this year was attended by over 10,000 ticketholders in London and online – it runs a schools programme, a translation prize, year-round events and offers a free digital platform with almost 1,000 hours of video content. In partnerships with leading arts organisations also including the Nationa; Theatre, The Sixteen and the Young Vic, the Genesis Foundation has supported thousands of artists in their career development since 2001.
Jewish Literary Foundation director Claudia Rubenstein said:
“One of the key factors leading us to come up with our new organisational identity this year was that the name Jewish Book Week was not doing justice to the full breadth of our activities. Chief among these is this fantastic programme, which in the space of just three years so far has already proved so rewarding.”
Genesis Foundation has released a new video about the programme featuring previous emerging writers and mentors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIMGg8yHLrI
For more information and to apply for the programme click here.
