Directed by Elee Kraljii Gardiner, VMI is a one-to-one mentorship program that pairs you with a professional author to develop your manuscript to its fullest potential. Our mentors are based across Canada and can work with you in-person or online in any genre: fiction, creative non fiction, memoir, poetry, graphic novel, YA, children’s lit, etc., as well as texts that are hybrid, experimental, or include multi-media elements.
We believe there’s no one-approach-fits-all for writers and that each project is unique. Our goal is to support the individual text so it may succeed on its own terms. VMI participants benefit from a comprehensive, tailored course developed specifically for their particular writing needs, and more than 50 years of combined professional experience in writing, editing, teaching, and publishing from our VMI mentors who have a wide range of ideas, histories, and publications.
While we welcome both emerging writers and seasoned authors, acceptance is determined by a number of factors—not all applicants may be accepted. We match you with a mentor by thinking about similar skills, work styles, processes, and interests so that the mentoring relationship is engaging and productive for both sides of the pair. One of our core values is that our mentors are enthusiastic about the proposed project and feel they are capable of helping bring it to the next level. This type of careful engagement yields great results and is a cornerstone of our VMI community. You can read our participant success stories here.
The range of mentoring programs run all year round so you can begin when you are ready! Our Six-Month Intensive flagship program is tailor made for completed drafts of novels, memoirs, and story or poetry collections; the SOLOS offer one-to-one mentoring year round in 4.5 or 15 hour packages; and our Pro program for previously published authors with experience also is available whenever you are ready to begin. We also offer online workshops on a range of topics and a fully-funded Yosef Wosk VMI fellowship for the Six-Month Intensive. Find out more about it here.
We welcome you to learn more about VMI’s programs and look forward to reading about your project!