Calling all emerging Canadian writers who are Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour: You are invited to apply for Arsenal Pulp Press’s BIPOC mentorship program. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to work with award-winning author Lindsay Wong to develop their literary adult fiction or non-fiction* manuscript into a published book.

*Literary non-fiction includes narrative memoir and personal essay collections. Literary fiction may include horror (e.g., Alicia Elliott’s And Then She Fell) and speculative fiction (e.g., Zalika Reid-Benta’s River Mumma). We are not considering poetry, middle grade / YA books, children’s picture books, romance, or graphic novels for this mentorship program.

We like unconventional books that push boundaries and blur genres, original voices, and pitch-dark humour.

Your submission should include:

• Cover letter with your first and last name, city of residence, and a few paragraphs about what you hope to get out of your mentorship
• CV, including writing credits
• Synopsis and/or proposal of work (one to two pages)
• Writing sample (fifty pages, double spaced)

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or landed immigrants; there are no age restrictions.

Manuscripts do not have to be finished at the time of application, but the successful candidate(s) should be deadline oriented and willing to take editorial advice. Upon completion of the manuscript, the writer will have the opportunity to receive a publishing contract with Arsenal Pulp Press.

Lindsay Wong is the author of the critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling memoir The Woo-Woo, which was a finalist for Canada Reads 2019 and won the 2019 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize. Her book of short stories, Tell Me Pleasant Things About Immortality, was shortlisted for the BC and Yukon Jim Deva Prize for Writing that Provokes. She has written a YA novel entitled My Summer of Love and Misfortune. Her novel Villain Hitting for Vicious Little Nobodies is forthcoming in January 2026. Wong holds a BFA in creative writing from the University of British Columbia and an MFA in literary non-fiction from Columbia University. She currently teaches creative writing at the University of Winnipeg. Follow her on Instagram and Threads @lindsaywong.m.

Mentorship with Lindsay includes:

• Intensive editorial feedback on two rounds of the manuscript
• Virtual meetings on Zoom
• Advice on grant writing, applying for MFA programs, academic jobs in creative writing, writing residencies, balancing writing life with work, and general information about the publishing process
• If you have had no more than one book published previously, you are welcome to submit. Applicants currently enrolled in a post-secondary program are not eligible.

Apply for the program here.

The application deadline is January 26, 2026, at 11:59 PM CT.

Learn more: arsenalpulp.com