We are thrilled to announce that eight writers have been chosen for our 2021 Mentorship Programme, in an effort to continue championing new and exciting voices around the world and launch debut writing careers.
At least half of these spaces were reserved for underrepresented candidates, and all were handpicked from over 1,500 applications.
Over the course of six months, these eight mentees will participate in a series of industry insight sessions with editors, agents, published authors, and will also gain exposure to international rights and the book to film process.
Each mentee will also receive personalised editorial guidance from a literary agent over a flexible period of time, regardless of what stage their manuscripts are at. The mentorship comes with guaranteed representation, and the ultimate aim is to prepare manuscripts for submission to publishers around the world.
The 2021 mentees include Gamu Nhengu, an undergraduate student living in Scotland with her lyrical coming-of-age story about growing up in the diaspora, as well as Gabrielle Griffiths, who is writing a historical fiction novel full of superstition and mystery.
Joining the group is also Harry Godfrey, with his satirical black comedy, journalist Bridget Shirvell who is working on a non-fiction project about climate resilience, and Malaysian writer Kwan Ann Tan with her literary fiction novel that examines our relationship with colonial history and how it still influences our society.
Sara di Fagandini and Tanesha Grant will both be working on their Young Adult manuscripts, while Ireland-based Soula Emmanuel is working on her upmarket literary crossover novel that explores what it means to live on the jagged edge of labels in the 21st century.
It has also been an exciting week for Sophia Spiers, a mentee from last year’s MM Mentorship Programme, whose bone-chilling psychological thriller The Call of Cassandra Rose has just been acquired for a mid-2022 publication.
