Kathryn Heyman | Resources for writers

Heyman Mentorship Award

Acclaimed author Kathryn Heyman, founder of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program, has once more partnered with publisher Catherine Milne of HarperCollins to offer the 2022 Kathryn Heyman Mentorship Award for a writer from a background of social and economic disadvantage.

The successful writer will be mentored by Kathryn Heyman, under the auspices of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program, for up to twelve months. At the conclusion of the mentoring program, the writer will receive a full read of their manuscript, with the first option to publish, and a full editorial report from HarperCollins.

Speaking about the award, Catherine Milne said, “I’ve always admired Kathryn Heyman – both her writing and her generosity of spirit in mentoring and encouraging new authors. She has a real eye for genuine talent, so to have this opportunity to work with her on the Heyman Mentorship Award is so exciting – I can’t wait to read the new voices that emerge.”

Kathryn Heyman said, “When I was a teenager, the idea that someone like me – a housing commission kid – could become a writer was unimaginable. It takes support as well as talent to write a book, and I’m excited about offering this support to a talented writer whose background might have led them to feel that there was not a place for them in literature.”

Writers who have emerged from the Australian Writers Mentoring Program include Ned Kelly Award nominee, Rae Cairns (The Good Mother) and Pip Williams, author of Reese Witherspoon pick, The Dictionary of Lost Words.

The award is for a writer of fiction or non-fiction over the age of twenty-six. However, the writer should be working on a full-length work of prose which engages in some way with issues of class and economic disadvantage.

“Kathryn is an inspirational and charismatic teacher. With her trademark energy and humour, she encouraged me to ask the hard questions.” Jane Rusbridge, author of The Devil’s Music, longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award

“Kathryn is a highly skilled, brilliant and dynamic mentor. The author of six wonderful novels, she was able to communicate from a deep understanding of the writing process and guided me as to what was important, what worked, what didn’t. This was mentoring at its best, which I will always treasure.” Sienna Brown, author of Master of My Fate, published by Penguin Random House, winner of the MUD Literary Prize.

“The structure of The Curious Incident owes a great deal to Kathryn Heyman, with whom I was teaching a course some years ago. She was talking to the students about structure … as she spoke, the heavens opened, angels sang …” Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Heyman Mentorship Award Guidelines

Kathryn Heyman, founder of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program, has teamed up with Catherine Milne of HarperCollins to offer the 2022 Kathryn Heyman Mentorship Award for a writer from a background of social and economic disadvantage. The successful writer will be mentored by Kathryn Heyman, under the auspices of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program, for twelve months. At the conclusion of the mentoring program, the writer will receive a full read and editorial report from HarperCollins.

Guidelines:

This award is for a writer of fiction or non-fiction. However, the writer should be working on a full length work of prose that engages with issues of class and economic disadvantage.
Mentorship meetings will take place in Sydney or online.
At the conclusion of the mentorship, the writer will have up to one year to complete the manuscript before submitting it to HarperCollins, who will then provide a full read and editorial report.
HarperCollins makes no commitment to publish the work resulting from the mentorship but will have the right of first offer.

Applications open on the 20^th July and close at 3pm on September 20th.

How to apply:

Applications should be sent to India Tarasin, Program Manager of the Australian Writers Mentoring Program at

Applications are by email with one single attachment made up of:

A 1 – 3 page summary of your background as it pertains to the award. This might include things such where you grew up, how your schooling was, whether you were able to finish school, whether you were able to go to university.
An outline (one page maximum) of the work you want to write during the mentorship and how the mentorship would help you
A three-thousand-word excerpt of work in progress
A CV

Australian Writers Mentoring Program

Are you working on a full length book of fiction or non-fiction?
Need help getting to the end, or seeing the shape of your story?
Kathryn Heyman offers mentoring to a small group of Australian writers through the Australian Writers Mentoring Program.

The program runs with a small number of writers, usually twice yearly, and applications are accepted throughout the year.

All information on the program including fees and application processes can be found at writermentors.com.

Mentoring is personal, and focused, and works best when there is a good fit between the mentor and the new writer; it also works best when the new writer is ready to move to the next stage with their work. If you’re not accepted into the program, we’ll let you know why, and suggest other ways forward.

‘The structure of the Curious Incident owes a great deal to Kathryn Heyman, with whom I was teaching a course some years ago. She was talking to the students about structure… as she spoke, the heavens opened, angels sang…’
– Mark Haddon, author of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

‘Kathryn is an inspirational and charismatic teacher. With her trademark energy, humour, and profound understanding of story structure, she encouraged me to ask the hard questions. With her help, within my target year I had a completed novel..and an agent.
– Jane Rusbridge, author of The Devil’s Music (Bloomsbury, London), Longlisted for Impac International Award

‘Kathryn coupled an unfailingly positive encouragement with a keen, constructively critical eye… she is passionate about the work of those she guides. She is a fantastic teacher, a methodical organiser – I cannot think of anyone more qualified as a mentor. I would not have published my short story collection, nor won my BAFTA, without her influence. I owe her big time.’
– Raymond Soltysek, BAFTA winner and author of Occasional Demons

‘Kathryn is a highly skilled, brilliant and dynamic mentor. The author of 6 wonderful novels, she was able to communicate from a deep understanding of the writing process and guided me as to what was important, what worked, what didn’t.
This was mentoring at its best, which I will always treasure.’
– Sienna Brown, whose book, Master Of My Fate, is published by Vintage Australia.

Dr Kathryn Heyman has taught Creative Writing for the University of Oxford, the University of Glasgow and the University of Sydney, for whom she’s also been an external examiner. She was the Scottish Arts Council Writing Fellow for the University of Glasgow and the Royal Literary Fund Writing Fellow at Westminster College, Oxford. As Royal Literary Fund Fellow in Australia she worked with Karrayili Adult Education Centre on story projects with indigenous communities in and around Fitzroy Crossing in the Kimberley. She is a graduate of the MA in Writing at Sheffield Hallam University and has a Doctorate in Creative Arts from the University of Technology, Sydney.

A regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation, she was the founding director of the Fiction Program for Faber Academy at Allen & Unwin. She has led writing courses in Bali, Fiji, Athens, Oxford, Edinburgh, Sydney, Perth, Singapore, Darwin and Hong Kong and is acknowledged as being particularly skilled in helping writers understand story structure.

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