Creative Writing Northland has launched in Whangārei, Dargaville and the Bay of Islands. A collective of volunteer mentors, Creative Writing Northland assists aspiring writers of all ages to complete goals which they set themselves. Mentees will be matched with published writers, and each mentee will be assisted to set their own goals then work towards completing the goals.
Examples of goals aspiring writers will be helped to achieve include:
- Getting a novel completed and past its first 1-2 drafts
- Polishing short stories to enter into competitions
- Mastering flash fiction and entering National Flash Fiction Day
- Getting journalism published in a newspaper or website
- Setting up a creative writing blog
- Writing a script for a play or film
Founder Michael Botur says the broader goal for all Creative Writing Northland mentees is to become a good enough writer to get some writing published or sold, and also to create a portfolio of work so aspiring writers can join a tertiary creative writing course at NorthTec or any university.
Creative Writing Northland is open to all ages and is non-profit, though mentees must pay a modest koha/donation to the mentor and must attend regular meetings, completing homework assignments in-between each meeting.
The first six mentors are all published authors and have won numerous awards between them. Jody Reynolds, Catherine Lea, Jenny Purchase, Janine Williams, Renee Liang and Michael Botur are ready and waiting to receive applications from those wanting a mentor.
Apply at https://creativewritingnorthland.com/meet-the-mentors/
Write Up North 