Launching the BFS Mentorship Programme

The British Fantasy Society is delighted to launch our new mentorship programme, pairing writers with industry mentors who can help them develop the skills they need to move their careers forward.

How a mentorship looks in practice will vary depending on what you hope to achieve. We have mentors who are ready to help with everything from planning and completing a first draft, to going through the query process and beyond. For example:

• If you were working with a mentor to plan and complete a first draft of a novel, you might meet once a month, or every six weeks, to discuss your progress and any challenges you are facing.
• If you were working with a mentor on the querying process, you might have two or three sessions close together to get your query package ready to send out, and then have other sessions after some time has gone by and you’ve received responses from agents.

The shape of an individual’s mentorship programme will be tailored by both what they’re hoping to achieve and also their availability as well as the mentor’s. 

This programme is open to BFS members only.

What does it cost?

Each mentee will receive up to six one-hour sessions with their mentor, most likely online. Mentors will be paid £30 per session; the BFS will fund half of this cost for 15 mentees, and fully fund a further three mentees. This means for most mentees, the programme will cost them £15 per session.

• To apply for one of the 15 subsidised places, please fill in this form.
• To apply for one of the 3 fully-funded places, please fill in this form.

The only requirement for applying for a fully-funded place is that you could not otherwise afford to participate in the programme. There is no income threshold or requirement to provide evidence of your financial status. We are keen to support members of traditionally underrepresented groups through this programme, but funding is not limited to these groups. 

When completing the application form, please give us as much information as possible to help us pair you with the right mentor.

Applications are initially upon until 21 February 2025. If we have more applicants than we can accommodate, then names will be drawn from a hat. If there are still spaces left, we will open for a further 14 days.

So if you feel a little support or accountability could help you get cracking and meet your writing goals, head over here and meet the mentors!

PLEASE NOTE: No mentee will be offered agent representation or a publishing contract as a result of this mentorship programme. After going through the programme, mentees are welcome to query agents who are mentors or submit to editors through their normal query/submissions process but this mentorship will not guarantee an acceptance, The purpose of this programme is to support people in developing skills which will serve them throughout their career, not to secure an agent or publishing contract.