ELIGIBILITY
The scholarship is open to writers of colour over the age of 18, who fulfil our low-income eligibility criteria.
Applicants must have one of the following categories of ethnicity: East Asian (Chinese; Japanese); South Asian (Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi); Southeast Asian (Vietnamese; Korean; Filipino); any other Asian background; Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other; Mixed – White and Asian; Mixed – White and Black Caribbean; Mixed – White and Black African; any other mixed background from more than one group; or any other background by which you identify as a person of colour.
Applicants must also fulfil our financial criteria:
- Unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £30,000 and personal savings of less than £10,000.
- Married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £45,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £10,000.
If you don’t quite fit our financial criteria but are nonetheless financially challenged, then do apply, explaining your circumstances in the form.
Our form asks you to make a statement about your ethnicity, your financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Applicants to the HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make a statement about your financial circumstances and the reason you deserve the scholarship.
- With respect to the earnings thresholds set out in our eligibility section: for salaried applicants, your current salary at date of application must be under the threshold. For self-employed applicants, your gross pre-tax profits (average figure for the last two financial years) must be under the threshold. State benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance should be counted as income.
- Applicants may be asked to provide proof of their financial circumstances in support of their scholarship applications.
- Because the scholarship is open only to those who do not have the means to attend the applicable course without financial assistance, applicants should bear in mind that their application will be considered only for the scholarship place on the relevant course and not for other fee-paying places on the course.
- Applicants must not be currently represented by a literary agent.
- Applicants must not have previously published a full-length book with a traditional, non-academic publisher.
Ready to apply?
Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. We ask applicants to send us the first 3,000 words of a novel in progress, with a one-page synopsis, and to fill out our application form. Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship.
The HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship will be awarded to the applicant whose submission material shows the greatest potential and promise in our view. The decision will be made by the Curtis Brown Creative team. The winner will be awarded a place on our Writing Your Novel – Three Months course in London, starting April 2026. The CBC team will place the winner with tutor Charlotte Mendelson or Abi Daré.
Our application process is simple, and we encourage all writers meeting the eligibility criteria to apply.
Don’t worry if you have little or nothing to say in response to questions about e.g. writing experience or employment. Just fill out the form, upload your work and we’ll be in touch soon.
The deadline for applications is Monday 16 March 2026, and we will respond to applicants by Friday 20 March 2026. If you encounter any problems during the application process or have any more questions about the courses, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.
Head to the blog for tips and advice on preparing your application material.
Application advice
About HW Fisher
HW Fisher is a top accountancy practice with unparalleled experience advising professionals in the media and entertainment industries. For over 50 years, they have supported authors across many genres and at different stages of their writing careers with all their tax needs. In addition to this work, they also provide expert accountancy, audit, tax, corporate, and financial advisory services to high-profile entrepreneurial SMEs, large corporates, and high net-worth individuals. For more information, access HW Fisher’s 2023-24 tax guide for Authors and Freelance Journalists here or contact Andrew Subramaniam or Barry Kernon.
HW Fisher have been sponsoring scholarship places to enable under-represented writer to join our courses since 2016. We’re delighted to say that many previous HW Fisher scholars have gone on to get commercial publishing deals, including Kirsty Capes (Women’s Prize longlisted author of Careless) and Elliot Sweeney (author of The Next to Die).
