Please read through the following Entry Guidelines (including eligibility requirements) carefully before you submit your application. If you have any questions regarding your application, please contact Sarah Fairbairn on info@jewishbookweek.com

We look forward to receiving your application.

 

Entry Guidelines

 

These guidelines will help you decide whether you are eligible for the Programme and will guide you in preparing a complete application. Please read the submission instructions carefully before completing your application.

 

Eligibility

 

1. The Genesis Emerging Writers Programme is open to anyone resident in the UK and aged 18 or over (as of 4 April 2023).

2. Applicants must be resident in the UK for the duration of the programme.

3. This Programme is for emerging writers. We define an emerging writer as someone who has no more than three years’ experience of being published in magazines, journals, online or by a publisher, and who has had no more than one book or collection published by a publisher. Unpublished writers are welcome to apply. Writers who have a previous publishing history may apply if their current project is in a genre they have not previously published in – eg writers with published academic work may apply in the fiction or poetry categories. Poets who have previously published in pamphlet form are eligible to apply.

4. Applicants must not have a current publishing contract. For the purposes of this Programme, a ‘publishing contract’ excludes any contract entered into for publication of single poems, a small number of poems or self-contained prose pieces in magazines, zines, periodicals, newspapers or journals.

5. The Programme is open to writers of the following genres

 

• Poetry
• Long and short form fiction
• Long and short form non-fiction including journalism

 

6. Applicants must be committed to making use of the resources offered by the Genesis Emerging Writers Programme including:

• use of the bursary for the purposes approved in the application process;
• use of the mentorship offered by the programme in the development of the project detailed in the application process
• participation in the peer support and networking sessions offered by the programme
• participation in the masterclasses offered by the programme

 

7. Applicants must be planning to work on a specific project or projects whilst on the programme.

 

8. Staff and trustees of the Jewish Book Council, operating as Jewish Book Week and of the Genesis Foundation are not eligible to apply.

 

Applications must be submitted in accordance with the submission guidelines. We reserve the right to disqualify any submissions that do not fully comply.

 

If you have any questions relating to your eligibility or if you are unsure, for any reason, whether you would be able to participate in the Programme, please contact Sarah Fairbairn on info@jewishbookweek.com

 

Selection

 

1. Applicants will be assessed on the strength and potential of their writing. Commitment to full participation in the Programme will also be taken into consideration. We are particularly interested in how this specific programme might help applicants develop their work.

 

2. We will be looking for a diverse range of projects, genres and writing styles when selecting the cohort of Emerging Writers.

 

3. The Emerging Writers Programme can accommodate up to 10 writers

 

4. The mentors and Jewish Book Week will be responsible for choosing the successful applicants, who will be announced on 3 July 2023.

 

5. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds, of any or no faith, and any age upwards of 18.

 

How to enter

 

1. To enter, you must fully complete the online form which asks for:

• Your personal/contact details
• A 250 word personal statement, discussing your writing experience and motivations
• A 250 summary of the project you are working on or plan to be working on as part of the Programme
• A 250 word statement on the desired impact of inclusion in the Emerging Writers Programme
• An uploaded sample of your writing, up to 1,200 words or three poems maximum. The writing may be from the project you intend to work on as part of the Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers’ Programme or from another project in the same genre. Please make sure your name is not on the document as your writing sample will be judged anonymously. Please check headers/footers etc.
• An uploaded budget for up to £1,500 of funding to support your writing in the project you intend to work on throughout the Programme. Please note we will not approve budget requests for the purchase of laptops, tablets, mobile telephones or other technological equipment. An example budget is available for download here.

 

2. All writing samples must be uploaded as Word documents or PDFs. Please do not send documents in Pages or Final Cut as we will not be able to open them. Do not lock your documents for editing as we will need to add your unique booking reference to it.

 

3. We will only accept one application per person.

 

4. Applications must be received by 23.59 on 31 May 2023. You will not be able to submit applications after the deadline.

 

5. All work will be treated confidentially and, if not selected, will be destroyed after the application process.

 

6. Successful applicants will be contacted by 3 July 2023.

 

7. Incomplete applications or application which do not comply with the guidelines will not be eligible.

 

Application Form

Click Here to access the application form for the 2023-2024 Genesis Jewish Book Week Emerging Writers Programme.