Apprenticeships

A one-year professional development programme

Apprenticeships in Fiction has a firmly established reputation for turning out professional novelists. A number of annual one-year placements are available in every genre including literary fiction, crime and children’s fiction (ages 11-16). The original boot camp for writers – the scheme has an unprecedented success rate with over eight publications and many writers now working with literary agents.

Introduction

Set up in 2005, Apprenticeships in Fiction it was the first mentoring scheme for writers in the UK and the only one solely dedicated to fiction.

The scheme is aimed at aspiring novelists who have already made a considerable commitment to the development of their practice and would benefit from a year of transitional support.

Our unique six-stage developmental programme is designed to prepare writers for publication. Over the course of the year, we will be grappling with the key elements of successful fiction (plot, premise and character development), taking a rigorous approach to technical issues such as structure and point of view, as well as tackling what constitutes the perfect submission package.The placements take the form of an apprenticeship with a professional writer working in a similar genre. Candidates are selected from open competition, with a limited number of places available every year.

Apprenticeships in Fiction aims to encourage diversity, excellence and originality.

The programme

Apprenticeships in Fiction is a structured, supervised year-long individual study programme. Apprentices benefit from engaging directly with an experienced writer who will guide them through the process of writing a first novel, from first draft to completion.

It includes:

• Individual attention from a writer working in the same genre.
• Four one-to-one sessions via Zoom, FaceTime or phone.
• Four progressive written appraisals at key stages.
• A detailed guide to writing the perfect submission package.

At the end of the year, apprentices will ‘graduate’ with an objective overview of their own work and a clear grasp of the requirements of the publishing industry.

Fees

Payment Fee: £2,500.00 (inclusive)

Apprenticeships In Fiction is a non-profit making scheme designed to support writers, both as apprentices and mentors.

Ten good reasons for choosing the scheme

• We focus exclusively on the particular demands of writing a novel. We are the only programme in the UK solely dedicated to this form.

• We deal with the complete manuscript. (Other programmes and MA’s read and/or workshop short sections of 5000 words. We read and appraise the complete manuscript twice with a further two partial readings of sections of up to 160,000 words.)

• The duration of the programme is a full year. (An academic year is nine months.)

• We offer unprecedented value for money. Our year long programme provides twice as much input as any other scheme or programme. (More than 78 hours individual attention in the form of reading/assessment and one-to-one’s.)

• We offer a writer-oriented approach. Our programme has been devised for novelists – by novelists who fully understand every stage of the creative process.

• We are the market leader in mentoring for writers. We have invested over ten years experience in the development of our unique six-stage programme.

• We only use experienced mentors. In addition to expertise in teaching and consultancy, our mentors have a proven commitment to nurturing new talent.

• All our mentors are distinguished mid-career novelists.

• We will only select aspiring writers who demonstrate outstanding talent. We will only offer you a placement if we genuinely feel that you will benefit.

• We make a personal commitment to all the apprentices we work with. We keep intake small so that we can pay close attention to your progress.

Apprenticeships in Fiction

Email Apprenticeships with any initial queries. If you have a particular mentor in mind, let us know.

Please note: Apprenticeships are aimed at writers who are aiming for publication and have completed a full or almost full draft of their manuscript.

Like a Chat?

Writers Surgery is an excellent introduction to working with us. (We offer £100.00 discount on Writers Toolkit booked within three months of your Writers Surgery appointment.) Find out more.

For a more informal chat (Zoom or phone) email us with a short note about you and your work, what you would like to achieve and some indication of your availability and we will contact you with a time slot.

We look forward to hearing from you!

How to apply

Email Apprenticeships with the following:

A cover email including title, genre, total word count, stage of completion along with the following (word doc or docx) attachments:

• Manuscript extract. (Up to 15 pages/5000 words. Numbered. Double spaced.)
• Synopsis (One page)
• A one page statement including the following information:

(i) A personal profile, inc. background & writing experience. This may include information about how long you have been working on your novel, stage reached, courses attended, and how you feel you may benefit from the scheme.

(ii) Time Management. How you envisage balancing the demands of the programme with your personal commitments.

We will confirm receipt.