The Raising Voices Fellowship
The Raising Voices Fellowship aims to develop and support aspiring artists who make work for children and young adults and whose voices have been underrepresented in literature. Our aims are to break down barriers to publication, progression and inclusion and to increase diversity and representation in the Irish literature sector.
The Raising Voices Fellowship aims to develop and support aspiring artists who make work for children and young adults and whose voices have been underrepresented in literature.
Our aims
- To break down barriers to publication, progression and inclusion
- To increase diversity and representation in the Irish literature sector
In 2022 The Raising Voices Fellowship began in February and ran until November. Six writers and/or illustrators (fellows) were selected for a programme of creative and practical supports.
Supports provided
- Mentorship with an experienced writer or illustrator to provide creative and practical professional development support
- A week-long residency for the group at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig, working with a mentor
- Bespoke speaker series – six one-hour online events co-programmed with fellows based on their needs
- A detailed critique from an editor or art director suited to the fellow’s practice
- Bursary information clinic with the Arts Council
- Attendance at events including Children’s Book Ireland’s Annual Conference and ProperBook publishing information event, selected relevant PubIishing Ireland events, children’s/family events at Dublin Book Festival and Illustrators Ireland Open and Social meetings
- Opportunities to connect with the community at Children’s Books Ireland’s artist coffee mornings and other social events
- Ongoing connections with the partner organisations
- A showcase event as part of Dublin Book Festival
- A copy each of the Children’s Writers and Artists Year Book and a year’s membership of Children’s Books Ireland
- Professional headshot photography shoot
The programme is designed to give fellows a robust understanding of key stakeholders in the sector as well as connecting them to a welcoming community of practice. It gives fellows all the tools, support and information they need to help them successfully navigate finalising a manuscript or dummy, preparing work for submission, researching the market, making professional connections, applying for bursaries etc.
We are conscious that fellows may face financial barriers. The fellowships are fully funded and included a stipend for the residential week to cover childcare/travel/loss of income as well as costs for meeting, travel and accommodation expenses where needed.
The fellowships are run by a group of literature organisations including Children's Books Ireland, Illustrators Ireland, Publishing Ireland, the Dublin Book Festival and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at Annaghmakerrig.
The Raising Voices Fellowship is currently complete. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for any updates to the programme in 2024.
If you are not from an underrepresented or marginalised background, you are not eligible for Raising Voices. You may find our Artists Support section of our website (available here) helpful for information about getting published; or subscribe to our newsletter via our website.
The aim of the Raising Voices fellowship is ultimately to encourage diversity in the literature sector and to ensure that authors and illustrators from a variety of backgrounds get the support they need to get published. Our hope is that audiences will get to read excellent books written from a broad variety of perspectives. Recent Words Ireland research showed that there are various barriers that stand in the way of getting published which are particularly felt by artists from certain backgrounds or experiencing certain disadvantages. The Equal Status Acts were our starting point; we want no artist to be excluded on account of race, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, family status, religion, age, disability or membership of the Traveller Community. We also welcome applications from people who are underrepresented due to ethnicity, socio-economic background, neurodiversity and other grounds.
No, the fellowships are fully funded by the Arts Council. All mentoring and other support received will be free of charge to fellows. A stipend for the residential week to cover childcare/travel/loss of income will also be provide as well as some other expenses covered.
We will accept applications from artists working in English and as Gaeilge.
The Raising Voices Fellowship is currently complete. Please keep an eye on our website and social media for any updates to the programme in 2024.
If you have any additional questions please email Aoife Murray, Programme & Events Manager at Children's Books Ireland aoife@childrensbooksireland.ie.
