ABOUT FIFEBUILT

StAnza has been proud to call Fife our home for 30 years. And for 30 years, we’ve been known that many of the world’s best poets live, work & write here. So, in honour of our 30th anniversary we want to celebrate & amplify the poetic talent across the region with a new mentoring scheme for Fife residents — Fifebuilt.

Inspired by the Clydebuilt mentorship programme, Fifebuilt aims to provide three Fife-based emerging poets with a tailored opportunity to develop their practice. We’re excited to harness and support the talent in Fife and can’t wait to read your application. 

HOW IT WORKS

Between July 2026 and March 2027, three successful applicants will receive mentoring from John Glenday, a deeply respected writer and treasured voice in Scottish poetry. The mentoring will include both group tutorials and one-to-one sessions, with participants developing a portfolio of work over the course of the scheme.

This project will conclude with participants performing at StAnza International Poetry Festival in March 2027 as part of our 30th anniversary celebrations.

COULD IT BE YOU?

We’re looking for emerging writers of any age who:

• are current residents of Fife;
• have not yet published a full-length collection;
• are not involved in any other writing course or other structured writing supports as of June 2026 (e.g. not enrolled on an MLitt programme, fee-paying course, or another mentorship scheme).

WHAT YOU’LL GET

• Three group and two one-to-one tutorial sessions with mentor John Glenday.
• An opportunity to perform your work as part of a special event at our 30th anniversary festival in mid-March 2027.
• Return travel to the festival, meals on the day of the performance, and free tickets for up to 5 festival events.
• Networking and professional development opportunities at the 2027 festival.

HOW TO APPLY

Send us an email with a single document (Microsoft Word preferred) attached that includes:

• Full contact details: name, phone number, email, and home address.
• A brief biography of your writing career to date (up to 150 words). You may wish to include information about when you started writing, your poetic inspirations/styles, any writing courses/workshops/events you have been involved in, any poems/pamphlets you have had published or any writing awards you have received, though please note there is no expectation for applications to have any work published.
• A statement of your short-term and long-term poetry goals (up to 150 words)
• An outline of what you hope to gain and achieve from the support given July 2026-March 2027 (up to 150 words)
• A clear indication of the time commitment you are able to give both in terms of writing and attendance across the programme period (July 2026-March 2027) and attendance at our 2027 festival in St Andrews (12th-14th March 2027).
• 5 poems as typical examples of your work

Send your email to stanza@stanzapoetry.org with Fifebuilt Application in the subject line by 11.50pm 14th June 2026, then click this link to complete our EDI monitoring form.

We warmly welcome applications from underrepresented and marginalised groups.

You will be notified by Monday 6th July 2026 about the outcome of your application.

Got questions about the programme, your eligibility or the application process? Get in touch by emailing stanza@stanzapoetry.org.

Please allow several days to receive a response to your query.

Fifebuilt is generously supported by Creative Scotland and Garrick Charitable Trust.