Irish Writers Centre National Mentoring Programme 2025

Are you looking for feedback and a fresh perspective on your writing? Receive creative and professional support with an experienced Irish writer through the National Mentoring Programme. We are currently welcoming applications from Friday the 31st of January to Sunday 2 March 2025 at 5pm. 

The National Mentoring Programme is an exciting opportunity to receive sustained creative and professional mentoring from an established Irish writer of your choosing. Writers living in all 32 counties are eligible to apply.

The opportunity is available to writers of:

• Fiction
• Creative non-fiction
• Children’s / Young Adult fiction
• Poetry

Each mentorship consists of three meetings with an experienced writer over a period of approximately 6–8 months. The mentor reads up to 10,000 words / 180 lines of poetry in advance, and will give creative feedback at each meeting. They may also provide professional information and advice. All mentees will avail of the relationship for free.

Application deadline: Sunday 2 March 2025 at 5pm

Full details on eligibility and how to apply can be found here.

“My mentor, Colin Barrett, has been generous and knowledgeable in answering my questions, from the mundane to the philosophical. Having a mentor gives me a sense of accountability in producing new work, and seeing my stories through Colin’s lens has been hugely helpful.”

Eimear Arthur
Mentored by Colin Barrett, National Mentoring Programme 2024

“The National Mentoring Programme offered me a fresh perspective on my work, and I learned so much from my mentor, Betsy who worked with me to develop scenes, clarify structure, and strengthen characters. She encouraged me to write the story I wanted to write, instead of what I thought others wanted, and set ambitious targets that forced me out of my ‘perfectionist’ mentality that was blocking progress. I would recommend the programme to any emerging writer. It is a very enjoyable and productive step towards fulfilling your dream.”

Rachael O’Brien
Mentored by Betsy Cornwell, National Mentoring Programme 2024

Calling writers in the North!

The Irish Writers Centre is delighted to welcome applications for a new development programme for writers living in the North of Ireland. From March to May of this year, five emerging writers will avail of the mentorship of an experienced writer-mentor — in the fiction strand, Jan Carson, and in the poetry strand, Stephen Sexton. Following a group workshop, the programme will culminate at a live showcase hosted by the Belfast Book Festival where participants will read from their developed works-in-progress. The deadline for applications is Wednesday the 19th of February.

Apply here