The Jennie Godfrey Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income will award one writer a free place on our online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course. With weekly teaching and workshopping led by author Christopher Wakling or Suzannah Dunn on our interactive platform, plus one-to-one tutorials, and advice from renowned authors and literary agents, this course will help you hone your craft and make real progress with your story. The course will run from 13 April to 27 July 2026.
Jennie Godfrey was raised in West Yorkshire in a mill-working family and her Sunday Times #1 bestselling debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things, was inspired by her childhood there in the 1970s. In 2020, Jennie gave up her corporate career to build a life around books. She is now a writer and part-time bookseller who lives, and writes, in the Somerset countryside. Her second novel The Barbecue at No.9 is due to be published February 2026. Jennie studied on several of CBC's online courses including the three-month Writing Your Novel course. Photo by Esme-Mai.
The CBC team are hugely grateful to Jenny for her generous sponsorship of this scholarship.
This scholarship is part of the Breakthrough Writers' Programme, an initiative designed to break down barriers to entry for under-represented writers. We are keen to promote diversity in our student groups and to find a writer through this programme who we might not otherwise have heard from.
If you have the desire to write, a great idea and a compelling voice, and if you’re without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course, this scholarship opportunity is for you.
The scholarship is open to writers over the age of 18, who fulfil our low-income eligibility criteria.
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 financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. Please apply with the first 3,000 words of the novel you’d like to work on during the course, and a synopsis of no more than a page (both need to be in the same document, as you can only upload ONE file in the application below). Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship.
This 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 online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course, starting April 2026. The CBC team will place the winner with tutor Christopher Wakling or Suzannah Dunn.
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 10am (UK time) on 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.