2023 Black Creatives Mentorship Program

The Black Creatives Mentorship will introduce aspiring Black authors to the ins-and-outs of the publishing industry through one-on-one mentorship and programming with other industry professionals designed to develop their networking skills and hone their craft.

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Past BCF Mentors & Mentees

Mentorship Opportunity

WNDB will offer eight mentorships in total to creators who identify as part of the African diaspora. The mentorships will be split among the following categories: 3 Picture Book (PB), 3 Middle Grade (MG), 2 Young Adult (YA). The winners will be matched with a mentor for five months and this mentorship period will focus on:

Completing a full draft of their WIP, and
Building relationships and introductory access to the ins-and-out of US and UK publishing.

Purpose

This is an opportunity for mentees to collaborate with an experienced creator of children’s or adult books, receive individual support and feedback in order to turn a mostly completed (⅔) work-in-progress into a fully completed draft.

One of the integral purposes of this mentorship program is to ensure that mentees are receiving an introduction to the publishing industry via various avenues.

Program Structure

Five months of virtual monthly programming including industry brown bag lunches, forums run by the mentors, online networking events (Meet An Agent…, Meet An Editor…, Meet A Publicist), mentee check-ins and critique partner matching.

Mentees will participate in a cohort with dedicated space on a separate virtual platform to interact and engage with each other, with the intent of building a community of Black creatives who will support and uplift each other's work.

The platform will also host virtual events for mentees to learn more about the publishing industry, provide the opportunity to attend virtual interactions with industry professionals in various roles, and take part in monthly open Q&As with the mentors.

These virtual events will be broken up monthly, with each month presenting a week where there is:

One Industry Brown Bag lunch (not mandatory)
One Faculty led Live Q&A

Participants will have between 2-3 weeks between workshop sessions and will be expected during that time to review faculty lessons and work independently. There will be message boards for communication between participants and, though it is not required, it is recommended that participants use these boards to find critique partners within their genre group and to ask questions that might be pertinent and useful to the entire group.

Mentors

Vera Ahiyya (PB) was raised in El Paso, Texas with her wonderful mother and amazing grandparents. Vera has taught Kindergarten and first grade for the last 16 years. Her online presence is dedicated to influencing other educators by spreading her vast knowledge and love of inclusive children’s books. She is the author of Rebellious Read Alouds, a professional development book for educators. She is also the author of two picture books, You Have a Voice and KINDergarten. Visit Vera online: Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook

Shakirah Bourne (MG) is a Bajan author and filmmaker. She once shot a movie scene in a cave with bats during an earthquake, but is too scared to watch horror movies. Her middle grade fantasy, JOSEPHINE AGAINST THE SEA (2021) was a JLG Gold Standard Selection and received starred reviews in Kirkus and Booklist. It was a SLJ Best Book of 2021, a Black Caucus of the ALA Best Book of 2021 and an Ignyte Award Finalist for Best Middle Grade Novel (2022). She was also the co-editor of YA non-fiction anthology, ALLIES: Real Talk About Growing Up, Screwing Up and Trying Again (DK/PRH, 2021), a World Book Day Selection for 2023 and an Indie Bestseller in the UK. Her upcoming middle grade horror, NIGHTMARE ISLAND, a tale based on Caribbean folklore, will be published by Scholastic in 2023. Visit Shakirah online: Instagram, Twitter, and ShakirahBourne.com

Tameka Fryer Brown (PB) is a picture book author who writes to sow seeds of self-love, pride, connectivity, and inclusion in the hearts of children. Her books Brown Baby Lullaby, My Cold Plum Lemon Pie Bluesy Mood, and Around Our Way on Neighbors’ Day have won awards like the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award and the Anna Dewdney Read Together Award, and have been honored on best book lists by the Cooperative Children’s Book Center, New York Public Library, Bank Street College, NPR, Parents Latina Magazine, The Little Free Library, and more. Tameka’s latest, star-reviewed picture books include Twelve Dinging Doorbells, Not Done Yet: Shirley Chisholm’s Fight for Change, and That Flag. Tameka is a member of The Brown Bookshelf, Black Creators HQ, WINC, and Kidlit in Color. Visit Tameka online: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TamekaFryerBrown.com

Tonya Duncan Ellis (MG) Tonya Duncan Ellis is author of the bestselling Sophie Washington children’s chapter book series and THEY BUILT ME FOR FREEDOM (Balzer + Bray an imprint of Harper Collins, 2024) She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), the Authors Guild, Black Creators in KidLit, and the Brown Bookshelf’s Highlights Foundation-sponsored, Amplify Black Stories storyteller cohort. In 2021, she won the Austin SCBWI Cynthia Leitich Smith Writing Mentor Award. She is a 2022 winner of SCBWI’s Independently Published Book Launch Marketing Grant.

Represented by Sara Megibow of KT Literary, Tonya holds an MBA degree from Washington University in St. Louis and a BA degree in French from Centre College of Kentucky. She lives in Houston, Texas and is married with three children. Visit Tonya online: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TonyaDuncanEllis.com

Van G. Garrett (PB) has authored thirteen books, his debut picture book, Kicks, an ode to the flyest shoes and those who wear them, published in 2022 (Versify/HarperCollins). His second picture book, Juneteenth, also published by Versify/HarperCollins, will be published summer 2023. Van’s updates and appearances can be found at .Visit Van online: Instagram, Twitter, and VanGGarrettPoet.com

Joya Goffney (YA) grew up in New Waverly, a small town in East Texas. In high school, she challenged herself with to-do lists full of risk-taking items like ‘hug a random boy’ and ‘eat a cricket,’ which inspired her debut novel, Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry. With a passion for black social psychology, she moved out of the countryside to attend the University of Texas in Austin, and has since settled in Houston, Texas. Visit Joya online: Instagram, Twitter, and JoyaGoffney.com

Wanda M. Morris (Adult) is the acclaimed author of All Her Little Secrets, which has been praised by Karin Slaughter as “brilliantly nuanced” and reviewed by The Boston Globe, LA Times, New York Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Seattle Times, and South Florida Sun Sentinel among others. It was named as one of the “Best Books of 2021” by Hudson Booksellers and selected as the #1 Top Pick for “Library Reads” by librarians across the country. It was selected as a Book Buzz Pick by Good Morning America, serialized in Entertainment Weekly and a Marie Claire book club pick. All Her Little Secrets won the 2022 Lefty Award for Best Debut Mystery Novel and a finalist for 2022 Georgia Author of the Year for Best First Novel. It was also nominated for the Anthony Award, the Strand Critics Award, the Macavity Award and has been shortlisted for the Crook’s Corner Book Prize.All Her Little Secrets has been optioned for a one-hour limited series on Showtime executive produced by and starring Emmy-award winning actress Uzo Aduba. Click here for more details.

Her new book, Anywhere You Run, was named one of the Top Ten Crime Fiction Books for 2022 by The New York Times. It was also selected as one of the Best Books of 2022 by NPR, Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. It has been named as one of “Fifteen Standout Historical Fiction Books to Read This Year” by Oprah Daily. It has received starred reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Library Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Booklist. In its review, Booklist stated, “This riveting and moving novel, with echoes of Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, is highly recommended for fans of suspense and women’s fiction.”

Wanda is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color and serves on the Board of International Thriller Writers.

She is married, the mother of three, and lives in Atlanta, Georgia. Visit Wanda online: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and WandaMorrisWrites.com

Alexandra Sheppard (YA) is a Young Adult Author based in North London. Her debut novel OH MY GODS was published by Scholastic UK in January 2019 and has since received coverage from The Guardian, Buzzfeed and Refinery 29. I'm represented by Lauren Gardner at Bell Lomax Moreton.

She enjoys participating in school visits, attending school workshops and assemblies that explore creative writing and Greek mythology. Visit Alexandra online: Instagram , Twitter and AlexandraSheppard.com

Mentees

Micheal Anderson is the author of the Zoey Lyndon middle-grade STEM-focused chapter book series. An avid supporter of children’s literacy, she understands the value in representation and believes reading should never be considered a luxury. Micheal’s mission is to normalize encouraging girls, especially black and brown girls to pursue more STEM-related activities and subjects in school. Volunteerism and serving her community are important to Micheal. She has partnered with several philanthropic organizations that focus on children’s literacy in underserved areas and is an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI), Jack and Jill Associate of St. Louis, the Gateway, IL Chapter of the Links, and the Junior League of St. Louis. She enjoys traveling abroad and loves listening to jazz music. Visit Micheal on Instagram @everythingmicheal

Phoebe Angaye writes for the underrepresented. She’s a Scholastic Arts & Writing alumna among people such as Stephen King and Sylvia Plath. Additionally, Phoebe has been published in multiple literary journals and won competitions. You can view her portfolio here: https://pangaye98.wixsite.com/phoebeangaye/portfolio. Visit Phoebe on Twitter @PhoebeAngaye

Shantal Dea was born in Toronto, Canada to first-generation parents hailing from the beautiful island of Trinidad and Tobago. As her mom can attest, growing up she had a potent love for storytelling that manifested itself in different ways throughout her adolescence, from devouring young adult novels to writing stories of her own—one of which granting her the honor of being selected as an Avengers of Colour mentee a few years back. Shantal holds a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Industries from the Toronto Metropolitan University, with a specialization in Publishing and Journalism. Shortly after graduating, she had the opportunity to intern at Toronto-based publishing house ECW Press in the area of acquisitions. Prior to accepting her current role as Program Coordinator for a non-profit organization, she spent some time working as a freelance writer for a faith-based magazine. But her true passion lies with young and new adult literature, contemporary and fantasy being among her favorite sub-genres. She is at this time pursuing a certificate in Creative Writing, with an ongoing dream to create stories centering complex Black characters that are full of heart and culture. Currently, she loves to write about complicated family dynamics, the spectrum that is morality, and the wonderful city that raised her. Visit Shantal on Twitter @writerdea

Valorie Bridges Fant is a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother who grew up in a small
town in Michigan. Her love for writing started when she moved with her family to a rural town in Virginia. Initially, she did not realize the wonderful opportunities that awaited her. However, after her son won the regional Young Authors competition at his school, she was inspired to enroll in writing classes at the Institute for Children’s Literature in Madison, Connecticut. Valorie’s new passion led her to work as a librarian at the local library, where she discovered some of the most heartwarming children’s stories and immersed herself in a world of young dreams. Valorie has written two picture books set to release in the fall of 2023. “The Great Howler in the Sky” draws inspiration from the howling of the noonday whistle, while “Who’s Journey to Find God” is a children’s story that depicts the human heart’s yearning for God. Valorie takes pleasure in creating captivating stories that stir deep emotions and delve into the fundamental question of “why.” In addition, she finds solace in nature, particularly rocks, trees, and quiet walks along the bay. Surprisingly, she discovered a little girl within
herself who has a passion for storytelling. Visit Valorie on Twitter @ValorieFant12

What Johari “J.P.” Mitchell does is serve the world as an educator, writer and creator. Who she is is a wife, mother, daughter and community member who brings all of her identities to bear on her art. Johari’s strength is helping others to link vision to opportunity through the power of words. Her work elevates marginalized voices in the service of liberatory instruction, healthy school climates, creativity and educator wellness. Her art forms of choice are children’s stories, poetry and songs. Two of her recent adventures include becoming a TEDx speaker and independently publishing her first picture book, Sweet Fire–which earned a Kirkus Star. Two of Johari’s favorite things are good music and good conversation. She lives in Columbus, Ohio with her family. Visit J.P. on Facebook @jpmitchellwrites

Janae Newsom is a Black woman writer, Mama, Poet, and part time professor from East Oakland California. She achieved her MFA in English and Creative Writing from Mills college where she was the recipient of the Melody Clark Teppola Creative Writing prize for fiction, and the Amanda Davis best thesis in fiction award, and in February of 2021 she won the Voyage YA Journal Book Pitch Contest. Some of her written work can be found in the anthology, Essential Truths: The Bay Area in Color, and in other online publications including Voyage YA journal/Uncharted. She was also an inaugural member of the Janga's House Collective of Black Female Creatives, and an inaugural fellow of the Roots. Wounds. Words writer’s retreat. In December of 2022, she was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Visit Janae on Instagram @nanawroteit

Sasha Thomas is a Caribbean-American author and designer residing in Massachusetts with her partner, their cats, and a pair of real-life gremlins. With a B.F.A. in Fashion Design, she currently runs a costume shop. She enjoys writing both contemporary and speculative stories, focusing on underrepresented characters who are often overlooked. She is a recipient of the NESCBWI Windows and Mirrors Award, and she proudly carries the title of a self-proclaimed gremlin whisperer. When she isn’t working, she loves to travel, read, and get lost in nature. Visit Sasha on Twitter @Sunwoka

JaVon L. Townsend is a play enthusiast, world traveler, and lover of ice cream. She is an author and illustrator passionate about creating stories that center joy and connection, especially centering People of Color. JaVon is formally trained as a Licensed Clinical Social worker, supporting people from diverse backgrounds in re-telling their own stories through utilizing the creative arts in healing work. Before entering the field of Social Work, JaVon completed a BA in International Languages and Cultures at St. Mary’s College of Maryland. She has also utilized creativity as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow in Baltimore City, MD and as a Fulbright Research Program alumna in Accra, Ghana. She approaches all of her work from the lens of understanding and appreciating who people are within their specific contexts. JaVon aspires to further celebrate and illuminate the full humanity of people with marginalized identities through her storytelling in children’s literature. Visit JaVon on Instagram @javonmakesart

Eligibility

The writing mentorships are available to aspiring authors who identify as members of the African diaspora and can submit 50 pages of their partially completed WIP (entire manuscript for picture books) that emphasizes and centers experiences of Black protagonists within a book that also includes a focus on diverse central subject matter.

*African Diaspora - encompasses African Americans, including descendants of enslaved Africans, and nearly two million African immigrants who have close familial, social, and economic connections to the continent. (White House website)

Applicants may only apply for one of the three mentorship categories. Previous recipients of the WNDB general Mentorship program may not apply for this opportunity.

Applying for the WNDB general Mentorship program and this BCF program will not disqualify applicants, but they will not be allowed to take on both opportunities.

The WIP should not be published in any shape or form in other forums.

Applicants who do not comply with submission rules will be disqualified.

Judges' Criteria

Using an anonymous system to read and select applications, the first-round judges will select a pool of final applicants based on merit of the work submitted. Once the final pool is selected it will be submitted to mentors who will select their mentee based on merit, compatibility, and readiness/need for the mentorship as outlined in their essay.

Applicants who do not comply with submission rules will be disqualified.

Cost

Free

Application Timeline

March 27, 2023: Application Launches

April 27, 2023 at 11:59 pm EST : Application Closes

Mid-May 2023: Successful Applicants Notified

June 2023: Program Begins

Application

Please use this link to submit your application.

Frequently Asked Questions

HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M ELIGIBLE?

You can check the eligibility guidelines on the Black Creatives Mentorship general information page.

HOW IS ELIGIBILITY VETTED AND APPROVED?

Each application is reviewed by a panel of judges to ensure that all of the expectations set forth are met; the expectation is that authors will self-identify as part of the African diaspora through the application.

HOW DO I APPLY?

Application guidelines are available on the BCF Mentorship general information website.

DO I NEED TO HAVE A COMPLETELY FINISHED MANUSCRIPT BEFORE APPLYING TO THE MENTORSHIP PROGRAM?

All authors must have a (⅔) completed manuscript available for immediate review by their mentor at the time of application.

CAN I SUBMIT A MANUSCRIPT THAT I COLLABORATED ON WITH ANOTHER AUTHOR?

No, the manuscript submitted must be authored by a single writer and not published in any form prior to submission to this program.

MAY I SUBMIT MORE THAN ONE MANUSCRIPT?

No. Anyone (in any category) who submits more than one application or manuscript will be disqualified. Anyone who applies for more than one category will also be disqualified.

HOW SOON WILL I KNOW IF I’VE BEEN CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE WORKSHOP?

We evaluate all applications in late April and successful applicants will be notified in May.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE MENTORS?

Mentors help provide some structure for accountability with the program, helping participants to finalize their manuscript as the program continues and is completed.

WHAT IF I’M ALREADY PUBLISHED AND/OR ALREADY HAVE AN AGENT AND/OR HAVE PREVIOUSLY SELF-PUBLISHED?

Authors who have published or contracted one book are eligible to participate in the program. Your submitted manuscript must not have been previously published in any form, including self-published. If you are agented at the time of your application you are not eligible to participate in this Mentorship program.

WHO CAN I EMAIL IF I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS?

Please email your questions to the BCF Program Coordinator at dorisallen@diversebooks.org.