Award Background
The Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award was initiated in 2019.
Janice has generously sponsored this special Storylines award, prompted by her concern to build the quality and number of junior fiction manuscripts that successfully achieve publication.
Janice runs a private assessment and mentoring service called Go Write Now, accepting budding writers who pay a fee for editing and mentoring advice towards readying a manuscript for submission to a publisher. The award offers her services free of charge to the successful applicant for the Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award.
Award Guidelines
The award consists of six-months’ mentoring by Janice Marriott for a New Zealand writer who has not published any junior or young adult fiction. (See declaration on Entry Form.)
In line with international best practice, the award is judged ‘blind’ – that is, the identities of the authors are unknown to the judging panel. Authors must therefore ensure that their name does not appear on any page of the submission; any manuscript with the name visible will be deemed ineligible.
The entry forms, which do not go to the judging panels, should be completed with the author’s correct details. Nom de plumes are not acceptable.
- The Award will be given annually, when merited, to one successful applicant.
- It can be awarded to any writer only once.
- Only New Zealand resident unpublished writers are eligible to submit (using Storylines' general definition and criteria for ‘unpublished’ - see details in the award entry form and guidelines).
- A writer may NOT enter both the Storylines Janice Marriott Mentoring Award and the Storylines Tom Fitzgibbon Award in any one year.
- Janice and a panel of two Storylines judges will read proposals and select the successful applicant.
- The Award will be the starting point for six months' ongoing mentoring to the successful applicant, during which time Janice will be available to encourage and advise.
- The mentorship will follow Janice Marriott’s usual mentoring processes.
- A work timeline will be agreed by the two parties. Dialogue will be by email, with two Zoom sessions arranged by Storylines.
- The award will be reviewed annually, and will be dependent on Janice’s availability to commit for the following year.
- Storylines will inform the winner. This advice must be kept confidential by all parties until the announcement of the award.
- Storylines will announce the winning writer at the Storylines Margaret Mahy National Awards Day held each year, put out media releases and undertake other publicity to maximise the profile and stature of the award.
- Unsuccessful writers may submit an entry the following year.
Conditions of Entry
- The deadline for submissions is 31 October each year.
- Submissions must be in the form of a one-page synopsis of the planned novel AND two sample chapters.
- Submissions may be single-spaced and double sided.
- Submissions will only be accepted from unpublished writers who meet the New Zealand residency requirements as stipulated on the entry form.
