Dates
Application Deadline: June 4, 2025
Program Dates: November 24 - December 05, 2025
Overview
This self-directed writing residency supports new writers of young adult and children’s books at varying levels of accomplishment—from not-yet-published writers to those with one published book—to improve their writing skills and expand their practice, taking it to the next level.
Participants in Early Career Writers of Young Adult and Children's Books will have the opportunity to work closely with faculty Jordan Scott, Jen Ferguson, and Tanya Boteju, and professional guest David Robertson (Tundra Books) as well as a community of artistic peers. With one-on-one mentorship sessions, faculty talks, and public events, this energizing and transformative residency will help writers build critical vocabulary as well as community, making them better critics of their own and others’ work.
Description
This two-week residency has a flexible format that allows participants to choose the amount of programming and support they are looking for.
Optional elements include:
- thematic talks from specialist faculty and guests.
- one-on-one mentoring sessions with faculty to discuss ideas, experiences and obstacles.
- Q & A sessions.
- workshops to explore techniques, aspects, and devices writers may find useful in their practice.
- public reading opportunities.
All participants will have individual accommodation and a small private studio where they can focus on their writing practice.
Requirements
The residency is designed to cater to any new writer of young adult or children’s books interested in mentorship, public reading opportunities, and feedback from faculty and fellow participants.
The residency will provide participants with tailored opportunities for professional development and creative growth and is open to writers with:
- no publications
- a few publications, or
- a first book for young adults or children.
Participants will benefit most if they are comfortable working autonomously in an unstructured environment. The program suits those focused on:
- working on a specific project.
- creating new works.
This program is run in English and only accepts projects that are being written in English. English is the language of Banff Centre correspondence.
Residency Eligibility
Residency Experience Summary
Application Information
Each residency has specific eligibility requirements; please visit our website for our current and available programs open for application.
Total fee per person (Tuition, Accommodation and Meal Plan): $3 616.20
Scholarship Amount Applied*: $2 469.60
You pay (fee after scholarship applied): $1 146.60
Application Fee
$65 for individuals, $35 for applicants who identify as Indigenous.
The application fee is non-refundable. 100% of this fee goes towards the cost of administering the application in SlideRoom.
Scholarships
We are pleased to offer scholarships to support participants in our program. Below are details regarding the scholarship amount and how they are applied.
- Standard scholarship: covers 100% of tuition fees, and 50% of meals and accommodation costs
- Canadian Indigenous scholarship: covers 100% of tuition fees, meals, and accommodation costs
If you would like to be considered, please complete the Financial Aid section when uploading your supporting materials.
Banff Centre offers a range of scholarship and funding opportunities for each residency. If you would like to be considered, please complete the Financial Aid section when uploading your supporting materials through the application portal.
Please visit the Fees & Financial Aid section of the program page to learn more about individual program's specific fees and funding availabilities.