Quebec Writers' Federation launches “Fresh Pages” to help underrepresented writers and playwrights

The Quebec Writers’ Federation has launched a pilot initiative to create opportunities for promising writers and playwrights who, because of their ethnic or racial profile, have faced systemic and/or financial barriers to engaging in professional development activities. The goal is to give a select group of literary artists additional training, skills, and professional credentials to help level the playing field and improve their career opportunities.

The program consists of the following components:

The 2020 Mairuth Sarsfield mentorship is designed to help aspiring writers and playwrights to develop their literary writing. In 2020, the mentorship will go to a poet who is Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Colour and who has already demonstrated an interest in literary writing. (Should funding allow, other genres will be addressed in subsequent years.)

Two writing workshop scholarships will also be open to qualified writers and playwrights who have not previously enrolled in a QWF workshop. The recipients of the scholarship will be entitled to participate in a fall workshop of their choosing free of charge. A small bursary will also be available to help offset costs related to childcare services or travel to and from the workshop sessions, and those who receive scholarships will also receive a free one-year membership in QWF.

The program also includes a guest curatorship for a writer or literary performer of the Words & Music Show from an underrepresented background and a guest editorship for underrepresented writers for the Winter issue of QWF’S literary journal, carte blanche. (Should funding allow, other genres will be addressed in subsequent years.)

More information on these and other initiatives of the QWF is available at https://qwf.org