Eligibility

Early Career Writers of Young Adult and Children's Books 2025 is designed to cater to any new writer of young adult or children’s books interested in mentorship, public reading opportunities, and feedback from faculty and fellow participants. This residency will provide participants with tailored opportunities for professional development and creative growth and is open to writers with: no publications a few publications, or a first book for young adults or children. Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on: working on a specific project. creating new works. This program is run in English and only accepts projects that are being written in English. English is the language of Banff Centre correspondence. Applicants must be 18+ at the time of the program start date. Domestic and international applications are welcome.

Number of Participants

19

Deadline

June 4th 2025, 6:00:00 GMT

Selection Results (Announcement Dates)

July 23rd 2025, 6:00:00 GMT

Duration

November 24, 2025 - December 05, 2025

Costs

• CA$65.00 application fee
• CA$3,616.00 program fee (one-time)

Facilities

Individual Studio, Library

Housing

Hotel

Meals

Breakfast, Lunch

Public Programs

Discussion, Readings, Self-Directed, Workshops

Disciplines

Literature

Languages

English

Program Description

This self-directed writing residency supports new writers of young adult and children’s books at varying levels of accomplishment—from not-yet-published writers to those with one published book—to improve their writing skills and expand their practice, taking it to the next level. Participants in Early Career Writers of Young Adult and Children's Books will have the opportunity to work closely with faculty Jordan Scott, Jen Ferguson, and Tanya Boteju, and professional guest David Robertson (Tundra Books) as well as a community of artistic peers. With one-on-one mentorship sessions, faculty talks, and public events, this energizing and transformative residency will help writers build critical vocabulary as well as community, making them better critics of their own and others’ work. This two-week residency has a flexible format that allows participants to choose the amount of programming and support they are looking for. Scholarships available.