16 June 2021

Discoveries Prize Class of 2020-2021

by Discoveries Discoveries, Events

Discoveries is a unique development programme and prize, which we launched in partnership with Curtis Brown Literary Agency, the Women’s Prize Trust and NatWest, seeking to encourage and support talented and original new female writing voices from across the UK and Ireland. Discoveries did not require writers to have finished a novel – only to have started […]

15 June 2021

Jane Porter: ‘There’s no need to rush – take time to hone your skill’

by Katie Smart Author Interviews, Writing Tips

Jane Porter is an award-winning picture book author and illustrator. Her books include titles such as The Boy Who Loved Everyone (written by Jane Porter, illustrated by Maisie Paradise Shearring), So You Want To Be An Owl (written by Jane Porter, illustrated by Maddie Frost), Pink Lion, King Otter, and most recently Tiny Penguins and the New Baby. Jane also gives […]

14 June 2021

Lyndsey Ng: ‘Never give up and read as widely as you can’

by Katie Smart Course News, Writing Tips

We’re excited to introduce our new part-time Courses Manager Lyndsey Ng!  Lyndsey joins the CBC team after working in book publicity and events. She was previously a Senior Publicity Manager at Hodder & Stoughton. Since then, she has work as Events and Media Manager for Village Books in Dulwich and at the Social Enterprise Leaders Plus. […]

10 June 2021

From left: Sakura Matsushima and Kwan Ann Tan

Meet Sakura Matsushima & Kwan Ann Tan, our Elizabeth Zott novel-writing scholars

by Katie Smart Course News, From Our Students

We’re pleased to introduce the two talented writers that have been awarded the Elizabeth Zott Novel-Writing Scholarships for writers of colour. Sakura Matsushima has won a free place on our three-month online Writing Your Novel course for her brilliantly compelling novel-in-progress Makuno-uchi Bento. Kwan Ann Tan has won a free place on our six-month online […]

09 June 2021

Announcing the Discoveries Prize winner

by Discoveries Author Interviews, Discoveries, Events

We’re delighted to announce the winner and runner-up of the inaugural Discoveries Prize, selected by our judging panel from the 2,300+ unpublished women that submitted their works of fiction. The winner of the prize is Emma van Straaten, her novel-in-progress Heartstring takes inspiration from her time working as a cleaner within her own London block […]

08 June 2021

Abby Parsons: ‘My top tip is to read as much as you can’

by Katie Smart Course News, Writing Tips

We’re delighted to introduce an exciting new joiner at Curtis Brown Creative: Abby Parsons joins us this week as Senior Manager – Courses and Operations (maternity cover).  Abby brings with her a wealth of publishing and editorial knowledge, she has been editing commercial fiction since 2014, at Hodder & Stoughton, Little, Brown Book Group and, most recently, […]

03 June 2021

#WriteCBC tip and task from Elizabeth Lee

by Katie Smart Events, Writing Tips

Welcome to our June edition of #WriteCBC. I hope you’re ready to be inspired by our latest writing challenge! If you haven’t taken part in a #WriteCBC competition before, we’re excited to welcome you to our writing community – and you can quickly get up to speed by reading this blog with information about how […]

27 May 2021

The CBC Team, from left: Danni Georgiou, Katie Smart, Jennifer Kerslake, Anna Davis, Jack Hadley & Ria Cagampang.

Celebrating our favourite moments from #10YearsofCBC

by Anna Davis Course News, Events

Anna Davis, Founder and Director Has it REALLY been ten whole years since Curtis Brown Creative first opened its doors? It honestly feels like yesterday that I greeted those first fifteen nervous students in the agency’s reception area and led them through to the boardroom to start their three-month novel-writing course. I only hope they […]

25 May 2021

Claire Fuller: ‘Try not to compare yourself to other writers’

by Danni Georgiou Author Interviews, Writing Tips

Recently, our students were treated to a very special webinar with Claire Fuller, bestselling author of four novels, including Our Endless Numbered Days, which won the Desmond Elliott Prize in 2015, and Unsettled Ground, which is shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021. These webinars are an exclusive component of our Writing Your Novel courses, […]

18 May 2021

Announcing the Discoveries Prize shortlist

by Discoveries Discoveries, Events

We’re delighted to share the inaugural Discoveries Prize shortlist. This list features six works-in-progress from unpublished women writers currently residing in the UK and Ireland. Over 2,300 women submitted their works of fiction to the inaugural Discoveries prize for an unpublished first novel, 73% of whom live outside London. Sixteen authors were initially longlisted by […]