The TTW mentoring scheme is open for applications!
We've teamed up with the BGTW to relaunch our mentoring scheme...
We’ve got exciting news! Earlier this year we ran our first ever mentoring programme. Five aspiring travel writers were paired with five expert mentors to help guide them through the tricky world of breaking into travel writing. Now, we’re back at it and we’ve partnered with the British Guild of Travel Writers to make this October’s scheme bigger and better than ever before…
What is the TTW mentoring scheme?
We believe the travel media needs shaking up with new talent, and this mentoring scheme is designed to help new and aspiring travel writers find their path in this industry. We do this by pairing up a mentee with a mentor for four structured conversations over the course of a month.
Our mentors get paid, and our mentees get at least four hours of free tuition from an expert. Want to know if it’s any good? Here’s what the last round’s mentees said:
The mentoring sessions provided an invaluable overview and fulfilled their promise in demystifying how the industry works. The combination of suggested themes and questions for each week, alongside the ability to ask my own questions, helped us cover a lot of ground without it feeling too prescriptive or formal.
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As a newbie I now have a better understanding of what to aim for.
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It was really useful to have my mentor look at my ideas and pitches and see what I could improve on, as well as tips for who certain ideas might be most appropriate for.
How will it work this time around?
It’ll be exactly the same, but there’ll be 10 mentors and 10 mentees and the structured chats will take place over four weeks in October.
We paid mentors out of our own pockets for the last mentoring scheme, but now the British Guild of Travel Writers is kindly helping us fund the programme to make it even more effective. Our mentors will be plucked right from the Guild’s top ranks, too.
If you’re interested in being mentored, you can sign up via the application form below, but do check the entry criteria first.
Who can sign up for it?
This mentoring scheme is for new or aspiring travel writers. That means you might be a journalist in another field looking to get bylines in travel publications; maybe you’re a student looking to get into the travel media when you graduate; or perhaps you’re completely new to the writing game and would like guidance on where to get started.
There are no real entry requirements, but you must be new(ish) to the industry and must be aiming to pursue a career as a professional travel writer. We’re passionate about helping diversify the travel press, so Black, Asian and minority ethnic writers are absolutely encouraged to apply.
How much does it cost?
This mentoring programme is completely free for mentees. Our mentors will be paid £25 per session for up to four sessions and this is being funded by the British Guild of Travel Writers.
How do I sign up?
We’re taking applications through this Google form and will choose mentees based on their current experience, and how well they match with our chosen mentors (who are yet to be recruited).
We’ll need your applications in by 10 September so we can pair you up and introduce you to your mentor in order to get started in October.
If you’re interested in becoming a paid mentor and are a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers, you should be receiving an email soon outlining how you can apply to take part in the scheme.