We're delighted to announce the three writers taking part in our new summer mentorship programme: Janna Tay, Maria Yeonhee Ji and Vanessa Crofskey.

Janna Tay studies law, politics, and philosophy at The University of Auckland. Her poetry and non-fiction have appeared in Starling, Polyphony H.S., Craccum, and small online journals. She gained second prize in Landfall’s 2018 Charles Brasch Young Writers’ Essay Competition and is the author of a micro-chapbook, Late Summer (Ghost City Press). In her spare time, she runs Oscen Magazine, an online platform aimed at uplifting marginalised voices.

Janna will be mentored by Simon Wilson and Rosabel Tan.

Maria Yeonhee Ji is a writer based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She holds a BMedSci(hons) from The University of Auckland, where she is currently enrolled as a fifth-year medical student. Her poetry and prose have appeared in various publications including New Zealand Poetry Society anthologies, Potroast, Signals, and Starling. She was the recipient of The Chris Cole Catley Award for Poetry in 2017 and was awarded joint Third Prize in the 2018 FPM Hippocrates Health Professional awards for Poetry and Medicine.

Maria will be mentored by Mei-Lin Te Puea Hansen.

Vanessa Crofskey is an artist and writer interested in bodily architecture, swimming and structural violence. She is most well-known for poetry and performance, and completed a degree in sculpture doing exactly both last year. Vanessa has previously written for The Pantograph Punch, Dear Journal, Hainamana, Scum Mag and the NZ Herald, and performed at this year's Auckland Writer's Festival.

Vanessa will be mentored by Lana Lopesi.

Read more about the programme here.