elevate mentoring scheme cornerstones

ELEVATE is an Arts Council funded scheme that pairs low-income and/or underrepresented writers with specialist editors to develop their work. Each month, we will offer three hours of mentoring with a specialist editor to two writers (we will select the best-suited editor from either our Core, Market, or Industry tier), supporting a total of twenty-four writers.

Applicants are invited to submit their opening pages and synopsis, alongside details of how they are suited to a scheme promoting inclusivity. Writers may be from a low-income background, identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) and/or LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual), and/or have a disability. Successful candidates will receive a tailored one-to-one experience, where editors will review materials, workshop techniques, and answer queries about the writing, editing, and submissions process.

Those eligible will be writers of adult or children’s fiction and non-fiction, and, as with all Cornerstones projects, we will only take on manuscripts that are beyond the creative writing stage – these may be partial drafts or completed works. If you have previously worked with Cornerstones on a manuscript, please note that this manuscript will not be eligible for ELEVATE.

Selected writers will be paired with a specialist editor who will be able to review materials, workshop techniques, and answer queries about the writing, editing, and submissions process. Editors will be able to offer as much guidance as time allows; in any case, three hours will be enough time to review a writer’s query letter, synopsis/proposal, and first chapter. A further sixty mentoring hours are available to allocate to projects that could benefit from additional help.

Application window: TBC – please subscribe to our newsletter for further news

Feedback from July 2021 mentees:

ELEVATE testmonials

I feel very grateful that I was chosen for the ELEVATE programme. My editor has been so helpful in enabling me to take my WIP to the next stage. It has been an incredible opportunity to work with an industry specialist. I am also grateful that she has permitted me to continue to be in contact with her if I need advice. Thank you for an opportunity that I could never have accessed nor afforded without this programme.

Hello! I found the experience incredibly valuable and helpful! My editor helped me understand the broader issues with my plot and showed me some ways to improve in my plot. I couldn't really get that feedback with someone so experienced, so it was super useful and necessary. I can actually sense my novel drastically improving already and I have made a lot of progress on edits. Thank you so much for this opportunity!

Thank you so much for choosing me to be part of Cornerstones' Elevate mentoring scheme. Having my editor focus her professional eye on key chapters of my MS, the synopsis and pitch letter was incredibly helpful. She pointed out what was working well, which gave me a massive boost, and highlighted where there were gaps that needed filling - things I lacked the objectivity to see for myself.

Just a quick message to say - WOW!!! Thank you so much. The mentorship has been transformative not only for my submission package but also for me as an aspiring writer. I have learnt an incredible amount from my editor and can't express enough how lucky I feel for having the opportunity to work with her - it would never have happened without Cornerstones wonderful scheme. I feel incredibly lucky. Thank you again.

Elevate FAQs

Am I eligible for the scheme?

Writers may be from a low-income background, identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, Person of Colour) and/or LGBTQIA+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, Asexual), and/or have a disability.

When will the mentoring start? How will it take place?

We will be staggering the mentoring over the course of the year. As there are two submission windows, we are aiming to select twelve writers in February and another twelve in July. If you are successful in your application, we will assign an editor to your project, and let you know their availability.

When will I find out if my application has been successful?

We will email all candidates within a fortnight of the application window closing. If you have been successful, the email will contain more information about your next steps. If you haven’t been chosen for the scheme, we’ll send through a resource pack to help you further your writing independently.

How many people will be accepted onto the scheme?

We will be selecting 24 writers to work with over the course of 2021.

Can I reapply for the second window if my first submission was unsuccessful?

Of course, though we would recommend that you apply for the second window with another book/project in mind.

Who will be mentoring me?

You will be mentored by one of our UK editors – see here.

Can I apply with a partial manuscript/work in progress?

Of course! We require the first ten pages and synopsis at a minimum, and would like to know your current and projected word counts.