About WiSP in New Brunswick

An author or illustrator visit to a New Brunswick school can encourage literacy by helping to foster a love of reading and creativity among students. The host school will especially appreciate presentations that, where possible, provide curriculum support.

The program is sponsored by the Government of New Brunswick and the Department of Education and co-managed with The Writers’ Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB). You must be a permanent resident of New Brunswick in order to participate in this program. 

The WiSP Committee of WFNB reviews all submitted profiles to ensure they meet the guidelines. Profiles are then posted online in the WiSP database and are available throughout the year for teachers to browse when they are selecting authors and illustrators to visit their classrooms

Benefits of WiSP for Authors and Illustrators:

Participation in the official NB WiSP program offers writers the ability to show objective qualification of their professional credentials, access to teachers who are actively looking for writers to host, as well as a smooth and practiced process by which to connect with teachers and schools.

Becoming a WiSP Author or Illustrator

In order to participate in the program, authors and illustrators must first meet one of five objective measures of professional qualification - listed below. They must also maintain a current criminal record check and be well familiar with two Department of Education documents: Policy for the Protection of Pupils (Policy 701), and Positive Learning and Working Environment (Policy 703). These policies represent the common-sense framework for our WiSP program and are important to remember as you design your presentations. 

Guidelines for WiSP Qualification

The WiSP database is managed by the Writers Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB) and co-sponsored by WFNB and the New Brunswick Department of Education. Authors whoA qualifying author must have produced one of the following:

• A book of prose (fiction or non-fiction) published by a commercial, university or educational press;
• A full-length play or five one-act plays professionally produced or broadcast by a national or regional network broadcast medium;
• A book of poetry published by a commercial, university or educational press;
• A selection of columns, reviews, features, fiction, and/or radio or film scripts - of approximately 30,000 or more words - that has been professionally compiled and published in book form, broadcast or anthologized as a collection, or
• A book of prose (fiction or non-fiction), a book of poetry, a full-length play, or a collection of five one-act plays, which has been evaluated and determined to have met a professional standard by The Writers Union of Canada.*

The WiSP database only includes those authors whose work has met an independent publication standard, or has been evaluated and determined to have met a professional standard by The Writers Union of Canada. 

*For the purposes of this program, publications that are available only in eBook and/or POD formats must also be approved through The Writers Union of Canada evaluation process.

In addition to meeting at least one of the above professional qualifications, an author who visits New Brunswick schools must independently complete the following steps.

• Obtain a Criminal Record Check from your local law enforcement agency, or the RCMP. Screening must include the vulnerable sector stipulation for adults who are in regular contact with children in the New Brunswick education system. This record may be requested by the host school administration.
  
• Accept responsibilities outlined in Policy 701, the New Brunswick Pupil Protection Policy, and complete the related modules.

How to Apply for Inclusion in the WiSP Program

If you meet the guidelines and wish to participate in the program, we invite you to upload your profile.

• Open the Submit WiSP Profile doc
• Input all pertinent information in the designated fields,
• For “Regions,” check all areas you are available to visit,
• For “Grades,” check those for which your published work/presentations are suited,
• For “Background Check,” list the date of your most recent Criminal Record Check,
• You can upload an author picture, if desired. These need not be professional photos, but we recommend that they be recent.

PLEASE NOTE: your profile will not go live on the site until it has been reviewed and approved by the committee. Please do not submit your profile more than once.

Proofread your submission carefully to ensure that it is accurate and error-free before you click “Submit.” You will not have the chance to change or correct information in the WiSP database outside of scheduled updates. These updates take place in January and July. You can submit a new profile at any time of year.