Emerging Writer Opportunities (In Canada, you Say?)

The Banff World Television Festival (which I hope to write a little more about later this week or next) has just updated their site with a number opportunities for emerging Canadian creatives.

First, there's the very worthwhile Global Television Writers' Apprentice Award.

The Writers Apprentice offers an emerging Canadian writer with the unprecedented opportunity to gain significant experience by completing a four-week internship in the story department of a prime-time series.

The winner will be selected by a Jury consisting of three jurors (one representative from Global Television, one representative from the Banff Television Festival Foundation and one representative from the broadcasting/production community).

The winner of the Global Television Writers Apprentice will be contacted by May 4th, 2007. Winning the award is not contingent upon the winner being in attendance at BWTVF 2007. However, the winner will be eligible for the BWTVF discounted “Rookie Rate” and must cover his/her own expenses to attend the 2007 Banff World Television Festival, June 10-13, 2007.

Deadline is April 20. If I was starting out I'd be all over that application like a manatee on some turtle grass.

Next, there's the CTV Western Canada Fellowship.

CTV Western Canada Fellowships are intended to encourage professional development in the television industry by enabling emerging creative talent including producers, writers and directors - i.e., program makers - to attend the Banff World Television Festival. Fellowships are not intended for established professionals, nor are they intended for entry-level candidates. Applicants must have a minimum of one significant production credit.
CTV Western Canada Fellowships cover the following: full festival registration, including admission to all seminars, workshops, and on-demand screenings; all official social events; and air transportation (transportation allowance based on lowest airfare available).

The "Western Canada" part is new to me -- so far as I remember this used to just be the CTV Fellowship, but at the top of the page it now says British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba. It's not clearly spelled out on the page that you have to be a resident of those provinces, so you might want to check into that.

Deadline is April 16th, notification by April 27th to recipients.

The Banff World Television Festival runs June 10-13. There's an early bird rate til March 31. Details about the fest, and guests (including Mike Clattenburg (Trailer Park Boys), Greg Daniels (The Office, King of the Hill), and Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars) to name a few) can be had by going here.