In-school Residency for Children’s Authors and Illustrators

Who is eligible to apply?

This program is intended for Montréal authors and/or illustrators who have published at least one (1) book in children’s literature.

What are the program objectives?

These residencies aim to:

• allow a children’s author and/or illustrator who has published at least one children’s book to continue developing a personal creative project
• carry out a cultural mediation project in class to support this creative endeavour through interactions with youth
• get teaching staff and schools acquainted with the author’s and/or illustrator’s creative process
• enable children’s authors and/or illustrators to connect with their readership

More details about the program

The residencies will take place over a three-month period, from February to April 2024. Selected applicants must be available for 10 hours a week, of which five hours will be devoted exclusively to the student mediation project (classroom meetings and preparation) and five hours to a personal creative project.

The 2024 residencies will take place in the following schools:

• Ludger-Duvernay (CSSDM): 4 groups, 3rd cycle; 9 weeks
• Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes (CSSMB): 4 groups, 2nd cycle; 9 weeks
• Wilfrid-Bastien (CSSPI): 4 groups, 3rd cycle; 9 weeks

Creators will meet with each class once a week for 9 to 12 consecutive weeks. This means 3 to 4 hours at the school per week, or about 1 hour with each class (plus some preparation time), for a total of about 5 hours per week.

Creators must submit a cultural mediation project to be implemented in one of the three schools.

What type of assistance is provided?

The grant offered is $10,000. $5,000 from the Conseil des arts de Montréal and $5,500 from the Ministère de l’Éducation et de l’Enseignement supérieur through the UÉMPT program. MÉES’s financial contribution includes $500 for the purchase of materials.

What are the general eligibility criteria?

To apply, applicants must meet the following conditions:

• be a professional author and/or illustrator and have published at least one children’s book with recognized and established publishers
• reside on the Island of Montréal
• have not obtained an in-school residency from this program in the last three years
• cannot be employed by the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal, Centre de services scolaire de Pointe-de-l’Île, Centre de services scolaire de Marguerite-Bourgeoy, Conseil des arts de Montréal or Communication-Jeunesse

When must the project be carried out?

The project will run from February to April 2024.

How many applications will be accepted?

Three applications will be accepted.

What information and documents must I include in my application?

Applications must include the following 4 elements:

• a scenario outlining the sequence of events for your cultural mediation project
• a brief overview of the personal creative project (100 to 200 words) that explains how the mediation process with students will contribute to the project
• the name of the school that has been chosen for the mediation project (more than one school may be selected)
• a resume (including a short biography)

How can I submit an application?

For more information or to submit an application, visit the Communication-Jeunesse website.

How are applications evaluated?

The Conseil des arts de Montréal, in consultation with the MEES, Communication-Jeunesse and each of the participating schools, will evaluate the applications submitted.

What are the evaluation criteria?

The main evaluation criteria are as follows:

• the originality of both the personal project and the mediation project (projects must not have been proposed previously or be currently underway as part of another residency)
• the quality of both the in-class mediation project (its progress, objectives and ties to personal creative work), and the creator’s creative personal project
• the quality of the planned cultural mediation project, its timeline, objectives and ties to the personal creative work of the author and/or illustrator
• the project’s contribution to the school and students
• the author and/or illustrator’s ability to complete the project

The project selection process will take place as follows:

1. UÉMPT employees select schools
2. creators submit their applications to CJ
3. a committee of representatives from CJ, CAM and UÉMPT assesses applications and makes recommendations
4. teachers at participating schools assess recommended applications and select projects
5. teachers and selected creators participate in interviews*
6. projects kick-off meeting in schools in January 2024 (residencies would begin in February)

*In person or online interviews allow creators to present their projects to teachers and answer questions teachers may have about the projects.

What is the response time?

Five to six weeks from the application deadline.

How will the artist grant be paid?

The $10,500 grant to the author and/or illustrator will be paid as follows: $5,000 from the Conseil des arts de Montréal at the start of the residency and $5,000 from the MEES through its A Montréal School for All (AMSFA) program at the end of the residency.

Commitments

Accepting payment of the grant constitutes, for the author and/or illustrator, an undertaking to complete the activities covered by the grant and to comply with the accompanying conditions.

The author and/or illustrator agrees to:

• carry out the proposed project as planned
• notify the Conseil as soon as possible if unable to carry out the project in the fiscal year for which the grant was awarded. Depending on the situation, a full or partial refund may be requested
• if requested, submit activity reports and financial statements at the required times
• if applicable, include in the report photographs, videos or any other relevant, royalty-free visuals that the Conseil may use for promotional or archival purposes
• the children’s author and/or illustrator who carried out the residency must write a report on their experience. The report must cover the school mediation project (process and results), the involvement of school staff members and the residency’s contribution to the creative process of the author and/or illustrator. The report must be submitted in the second week of May 2024