John le Carré Scholarship
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John le Carré Scholarship
The master chronicler of our age, John le Carré’s work has come to define not only the best of spy fiction, but the very colour of our times.
An insightful observer of the human condition and contemporary geopolitics alike, le Carré’s novels are exciting, thought-provoking and touch on both eternal truths and deeply felt issues of the moment. His breakout 1963 novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold secured him a worldwide reputation, which was consolidated by the acclaim for his Cold War trilogy Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Honourable Schoolboy and Smiley’s People. 2019 saw the publication of Agent Running in the Field, a chilling portrait of our time and the final novel to be published before his death in 2020. His twenty-seventh book Silverview was published posthumously in 2021. For six decades, le Carré wrote timeless, enduring novels that continue to be critically acclaimed and loved by audiences around the world.
The Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency are proud to have represented John le Carré (David Cornwell) for many years up until his death in 2020, and to continue to represent his works ongoing. In 2021 they established this annual novel-writing scholarship in his memory.
We are honoured to announce the third John le Carré Scholarship, providing the full course fee for one talented writer of limited financial means to join our three-month online Writing Your Novel course (13 Nov 2022 to 11 Mar 2023). Once again, we’ll be looking for a writer whose work demonstrates many of the qualities that were important to John le Carré – we want to find compelling storytelling and political engagement; we’ll be searching for an exciting voice that pushes at or breaks boundaries.
This scholarship is part of the Breakthrough Writers’ Programme, our major outreach programme which offers opportunities to under-represented writers. We are keen to promote diversity in our student groups and to enable talented writers to join our courses who we might not otherwise have heard from.
The first John le Carré scholar, Ely Percy, went on to win the Saltire Society’s Scottish Fiction Book of the Year in 2021 and is now represented by Alexander Cochran at C&W. You can read more about Ely here.
The Writing Your Novel three-month online course is designed to enable people to take part from anywhere in the world – in any time zone, and at hours of the day or night that work best for the individual participant. It features direct input from our literary agent team and top publishers.
If you have the desire to write, a great idea and the ambition to raise your writing game – and if you’re without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course – this opportunity is for you. We are grateful to the Curtis Brown Literary and Talent Agency for providing this scholarship, and to the family of John le Carré for their support in establishing it. We are excited at the prospect of helping the writing process of a talented new student.
Writing Your Novel Course Details
- Jonny Geller, CEO of The Curtis Brown Group and agent to John le Carré, says: ‘We are very proud to provide this scholarship for our writing course in David’s name. He was hugely supportive to young writers and wrote beautifully about the craft of writing. The course will enshrine his values and proudly continue his tradition of giving back to the next generation.’
- Clare Cornwell, Managing Director of the John le Carré estate, says: ‘The Family is delighted that the Curtis Brown scholarship in David’s name is entering its third year. Throughout his life, David nurtured writing talent and aspiration; on the whole, he tried to avoid public engagements, but the exception to this rule was that he would engage at length with anyone who wanted to write. He would have been very touched by this award in his memory. The first two scholarships were extremely exciting and we are looking forward to reading the work that comes out of this year’s programme.’
ELIGIBILITY
The scholarship is open to people over the age of 18, either:
- unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £25,000 and personal savings of less than £5,000.
- married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £35,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £5,000.
If you don’t quite fit our financial criteria but are nonetheless financially challenged, then do apply, explaining your circumstances in the form.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Applicants to the John le Carré 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 scholarships are 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 places and not for other fee-paying places on the courses.
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 John le Carré 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.
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 Sun 29 Oct, and we will respond to applicants by Thurs 2 Nov. 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.
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).
Head to the blog for tips and advice on preparing your application material.
We are honoured to offer this scholarship in memory of the late John le Carré. One talented writer with low income will be awarded a place on our three-month online Writing Your Novel course.
Tutor
Andrew Michael Hurley