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Writing Your Novel – Six Months

Our biggest online course gives you an intense learning experience as a writer with direct engagement with authors and a publisher, as well as literary agents.

COURSE DATES

Feb 15 2021 - Jul 26 2021

Apply by 17th January, 2021

Online

Take this course from anywhere in the world

Selective Entry

We offer places to the most talented applicants

Course Fee £2,600

Work on your novel with the experts

Course Overview

This online novel-writing course is designed to be as useful and fulfilling as the courses we run in our offices, with contributions from agents here at Curtis Brown and C&W. This is a course for people who are serious about writing a novel. As well as being packed with useful content, it’s flexible so you can write and study at times to suit you.

We’re excited to be offering two brilliant, award-winning tutors for this course – meaning you’ll get two experienced teaching perspectives and two distinct teaching voices focused on your work across the six months.

We’ll be running two student groups. One group will be taught by award-winning author Simon Wroe and experienced author/editor Cathi Unsworth. The other group will be taught by Commonwealth Book Prize-winning author Lisa O’Donnell and bestselling author Laura Barnett.

If you are selected to take part, we’ll assign you to the tutor group we feel will work best for you and your novel – however if you have a strong preference for one of the tutors, you can indicate this in the form and we will try to take this into consideration.

Your tutors will each lead weekly online writing workshops, set weekly writing exercises and provide one-to-one tutorials where they will give direct feedback to all students on their novels-in-progress. Via our online learning platform, you’ll also get access to teaching videos, notes and resources from our CBC tutor team (listed below).

The Curtis Brown and C&W literary agents, a guest author and guest publisher, will offer writing and pitching advice in special events across the course. At the end of the course, students get to share the opening of their novels informally with the agent team.

In the eight years since we’ve started Curtis Brown Creative, over 100 of our former students have gone on to get major publishing deals for their novels. We’ve had some fantastic success stories across all genres, including online course students  Jane Harper (The Dry) and Nicholas Searle (The Good Liar), both now international bestsellers whose novels are being adapted for the big screen. You can read more about our online course success stories here.

While we can’t guarantee publication or representation, we lavish our expertise on our students. The agents of Curtis Brown and C&W are hungry for new authors and will be actively looking for clients among our writers.

‘Having some really positive feedback and stirring up quite a lot of debate made me feel more confident that my characters were leaving the page and having an effect on people. It also took a while to find my protagonist’s voice – but with Lisa’s fabulous tutorials, we got there in the end!’
Rachel Marks, whose debut novel, Saturdays at Noon, was published by Michael Joseph in 2020.

Tutors

Simon Wroe, Author

Simon Wroe's first novel Chop Chop was shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for Desmond Elliott Prize and the winner of a Betty Trask Award. His second novel, Here Comes Trouble, was published in April 2017 and was shortlisted for the Everyman Bollinger Wodehouse prize. He writes books and arts reviews for The Economist and features for The Guardian. 

Cathi Unsworth, Author

Cathi Unsworth is the author of four crime novels, most recently That Old Black Magic; plus two further (non-genre) novels, all published by Serpent’s Tail. She has published numerous short stories and edited the short story collection London Noir. Cathi is a journalist and editor, has taught for the Arvon Foundation, and regularly delivers feedback to students on CBC's six-week writing courses.

Lisa O'Donnell, author

Lisa O'Donnell is the author of the Commonwealth Book Prize-winning novel The Death of Bees, published by Windmill. Her second novel, Closed Doors is published by William Heinemann. Lisa won the Orange Screenwriting Prize for her screenplay The Wedding Gift and was nominated for the Dennis Potter New Screenwriters’ Award. She is currently working on her third novel.

Laura Barnett, Author

Laura's first novel, The Versions of Us (2015) was a number-one bestseller, it has been translated into 24 languages, and was shortlisted for Debut of the Year at the British Book Awards. Her second novel, Greatest Hits was published in 2017, with an accompanying soundtrack album by the musician Kathryn Williams. She has taught creative writing for Guardian Masterclasses, delivered a TedX talk on originality in fiction, and worked as a writing mentor for the charity Arts Emergency. She is also a Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University's Writing School.

WHAT DOES THIS COURSE GIVE YOU?

Teaching Videos & Tasks

Tips on a range of topics from our tutor team

Lisa and Andrew will set weekly tasks for the group - writing exercises or topics to prepare for discussion. Across 14 teaching modules, videos and notes will be made available on our platform, covering a range of topics such as plotting, characterisation, point-of-view and rewriting. 

Writing Workshops

Led by your tutors

You'll get three dedicated workshops centring on material from your novel-in-progress with your tutor and the group (Extracts of 3,000 words, each time). These sessions offer in-depth written feedback and are also designed to help develop your self-editing skills.

Curtis Brown Creative learning platform forum

Student Forum

The hub of our online courses – find your writing community

We have developed a bespoke learning platform exclusively for our students. Here you can give and receive feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and tutor.

One-to-One Tutorials

Extracts of your novel will be closely reviewed by your tutor

You'll get one 45 minute, one-to-one tutorial with tutor one (Simon Wroe/Lisa O'Donnell) - and one with tutor two (Cathi Unsworth/Laura Barnett) - over the phone or via Skype/Zoom, based on 3,000 word sections of your novel-in-progress. Use these tutorials to address your specific concerns about your writing.

Pitch Workshop

Agent feedback on your letter & elevator pitch

We'll give you the vital do's and don'ts of agent pitch letters and elevator pitches - you'll then write your own and get in-depth written feedback on both the letter and the short pitch from a Curtis Brown/C&W literary agent.

Synopsis Advice

Expert critique of the dreaded synopsis

We'll draw on our agenting expertise to give you the vital ingredients of a great synopsis - then you'll write one, and get individual feedback from an experienced member of the CBC editor team.

Tutorial with industry professional

Intensive one-to-one discussion of your novel-in-progress

Near the end of the course all students will get a 45-minute one-to-one on Zoom/phone with an experienced CBC editor or a Curtis Brown/ C&W literary agent. They will read a 6,000-word extract from your novel-in-progress plus your synopsis. They will provide detailed feedback and publishing industry advice.

Three Industry Webinars

Join exclusive live video chats with top UK literary agents, publishers and authors

Students will take part in three special 60 minute video webinars. These webinars will feature top UK agents from Curtis Brown/C&W, a successful author and a leading publisher. These industry experts will talks about writing, books and the publication journey. There will also be an opportunities to ask questions.

End of Course Submission

Share your opening with the Curtis Brown and C&W Agents

At the end of the course all students will be invited to submit the 3,000 word opening of their novel, plus a synopsis, to be shared with the agent teams at CB and C&W teams. This is not a formal submission to the agency but a chance to give the agents a taste of your work at this stage.

WORKING WITH OTHER WRITERS

We pride ourselves on the tightly-knit writing communities that are established on our courses. As well as getting feedback on extracts from your own novel during the course, we’ll be asking you to read the work of your 14 fellow students week by week, and provide constructive written comments (both privately and in our online discussion space). We find this process helps students develop their own inner editor and has a hugely positive impact on their own writing. Each week three students will submit 3,000-word extracts from their novels-in-progress to be workshopped by the rest of the group. It’ll be your turn to get the group’s dedicated workshop attention three times across the course.

Exclusive alumni services

By popular request we have now launched a range of exclusive writing services, available only to the alumni of our selective courses, which you’ll be able to access after your course finishes. These services include individual mentoring from some of our most experienced tutors (you get to choose your supervisor from the available tutors), a four-day annual alumni summer school at our London offices, editorial reports on your completed novel, submission reports on your ‘pitch package’ and coaching from experienced practitioners. If you’d like further details about these services, and current prices, before applying to this course, you can email us on cbccourses@curtisbrown.co.uk .

Additionally, any students from our selective course who want to formally submit their novels to agents from Curtis Brown or C&W will be given advice and support from the Curtis Brown Creative team with their submission. Full information about this free service is provided during the course.

Novel-writing student

Guest Sessions

This course offers direct interaction with literary agents at Curtis Brown and C&W, published authors and a commissioning editor from a major publishing house. You’ll also get teaching videos from your tutors and from the other author-tutors on our team:

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Anna Davis

Anna is the Founder and Director of Curtis Brown Creative. She is the author of five novels, published around the world in 20 languages: The Dinner, Melting, Cheet, The Shoe Queen and most recently The Jewel Box. A former Guardian columnist, Anna has been the recipient of the Arts Council of England’s Clarissa Luard Award (2001) and an h.Club 100 award – presented to the most influential, innovative and interesting people in the creative and media industries. Anna has worked for Curtis Brown for more than a decade as a book agent and has served on the management committee of the Association of Authors' Agents.  Previously she was a lecturer on Manchester University’s MA in Novel-Writing, and has also led many other writing workshops for organizations that include the Cheltenham Literary Festival and Ty Newydd.

Anna Davis


Author and CBC Managing Director
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Christopher Wakling

Christopher’'s six acclaimed novels include What I Did, The Devil'’s Mask, and On Cape Three Points. Born in 1970, he read English at Oxford, then worked as a farm hand, teacher and lawyer, before turning to writing full-time in 2001. As well as writing fiction, Christopher is a travel writer for The Independent. He is also the Royal Literary Fund Fellow at Bristol University and has tutored numerous creative-writing courses for Curtis Brown Creative and The Arvon Foundation.

Christopher Wakling


Author
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Nikita Lalwani

Nikita Lalwani's first novel Gifted was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2007, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award and the Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year. It has translated into 16 languages. In 2008, Nikita won the Desmond Elliot Prize for New Fiction and donated it to human rights organisation Liberty. Her second novel The Village was published by Viking UK in June 2012 and was awarded the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize. Nikita was born in Rajasthan and raised in Cardiff. She was a judge for the book section of the Orwell Prize in 2013. Nikita is a lecturer on the MA and BA in Creative Writing at Oxford Brookes University. She has Also taught at Goldsmiths University, Oxford University and the Arvon Foundation. She was writer-in-residence at University College London from 2007-2008.

Nikita Lalwani


Author
Jake Arnott, Author
Jake Arnott, Author

Jake Arnott

Jake is the author of six highly acclaimed novels. The Long Firm was the bestselling debut novel of 1999, and was followed by He Kills Coppers, Truecrime, Johnny Come Home, The Devil'’s Paintbrush and, in 2013, The House of Rumour. In 2006, The Long Firm was made into a four-part, BAFTA-nominated series for BBC 2 starring Sir Derek Jacobi and Mark Strong. In 2008, He Kills Coppers was made into a three-part series for ITV1, starring Rafe Spall and Kelly Reilly. Jake has previously taught creative-writing courses for the Arvon Foundation.

Jake Arnott


Author
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Erin Kelly

Erin is the author of four acclaimed psychological thrillers, The Sick Rose, The Burning Air, The Ties That Bind and The Poison Tree (turned into a primetime ITV drama in 2013), all published by Hodder & Stoughton. She also wrote the official novel and short story series of the hit TV series Broadchurch published by Little, Brown. Erin studied English at Warwick University and has worked as a journalist since 1998 for newspapers including The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Express and The Mirror, and magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Psychologies, Marie Claire and Elle. She lives in London with her husband and two daughters.

Erin Kelly


Author
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Suzannah Dunn

Suzannah Dunn wrote six critically acclaimed contemporary novels and a short story collection before her first historical novel, The Queen of Subtleties, was published in 2004. It has been followed by five more Tudor novels, the latest of which, Lady of Misrule, was published in May 2015 by Little, Brown. She has sold over a quarter of a million copies of her historical novels in the UK alone. Suzannah was picked alongside Robert Harris, Edward St Aubyn and Helen Simpson, in response to Granta’s first ‘Best Under 40’ list in 1993. Suzannah was Director of the MA in Novel Writing at Manchester University for six years and has taught many courses for the Arvon Foundation. She is a popular speaker at literary festivals and events including the Bristol Festival of Ideas and has given talks at several beautiful Tudor National Trust buildings including Newark Park in Gloucestershire and Ightham Mote in Kent.

Suzannah Dunn


Author

Application Process

Our selective applications process means that you will be writing your novel in a peer group of 15 students working at a high level. Many of our former students have found their trusted readers with us – and form strong working friendships with class-mates which go on long after the course is over.

The course fee of £2,600 (inc VAT) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer. Funds must reach our bank account before the course begins. If you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can arrange an instalment plan.

Please upload your application via the form at the end of this page. If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email cbccourses@curtisbrown.co.uk for assistance.

Course Schedule

Module 1

Inspiration and Reading as Writers

Monday 15 February – Sunday 21 February

With videos from Anna Davis and Chris Wakling

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell

see more

Module 2

Openings

Mon 22 February – Sun 28 February

With videos from Nikita Lalwani

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell

see more

Module 3

Writing from Life

Mon 1 March – Sun 14 March

With videos from Nikita Lalwani

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell

see more

Module 4

Story, Plotting & Planning

Mon 15 March – Sun 28 March

With videos from Chris Wakling

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell

see more

Module 5

Voice and Narrative Point of View

Mon 29 March – Sun 4 April

With videos from Nikita Lalwani

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell

see more

Module 6

EASTER BREAK

see more

Module 7

Planning and Research

Mon 12 April– Sun 25 April

With videos from Jake Arnott

Workshops led by Simon Wroe or Lisa O’Donnell + Farewell from Simon/Lisa

see more

Module 8

The Synopsis

Mon 26 April – Sun 2 May

With videos from Anna Davis and a synopsis workshop with an expert CBC editor

see more

Module 9

Characterisation

Tuesday 4 May – Sun 16 May

With videos from Suzannah Dunn

Workshops led by Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

 

see more

Module 10

Description, Tone & Style

Mon 17 May – Sun 23 May

With videos from Erin Kelly

Workshops led by Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

 

 

see more

Module 11

Dialogue

Mon 24 May – Sun 30 May

With videos from Suzannah Dunn

Workshops led by Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

 

see more

Module 12

Building Suspense

Tues 1 June –  Sun 6 June

With videos from Erin Kelly

Workshops led by Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

see more

Module 13

Endings

Mon 7 June – Sun 20 June

With videos from Lisa O’Donnell

Workshops led by Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

 

see more

Module 14

Editing and Rewriting

Mon 21 June – Sun 27 June

With videos from Jake Arnott

see more

Module 15

Agent Pitch Workshop

Mon 28 June – Sun 4 July

With videos and individual feedback from the agents at Curtis Brown and C&W

see more

Module 16

Final Questions

Mon 5 July – Sun 11 July

A chance to ask final questions – and farewell Cathi Unsworth or Laura Barnett

see more

Module 17

End of Course Submission

Mon 26 July

Students to submit 3,000 word opening and one-page synopsis to be read by the Curtis Brown and C&W literary agents

see more

Ready to Apply?

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). The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. The deadline for applications is midnight, end of day Sunday 17 January, and we will respond to applicants by Thursday 21 January.

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  • Contact Details

    Please provide some essential details so we can get in touch with you about your application. We won't share this data.
  • eg. name@domain.com
  • Please include country code if applicable

  • About You and Your Writing

    We'd like to learn a bit about you and your writing. Don’t worry if you haven’t done much writing before, please fill out in as much detail as possible. We won't share this data.
  • Date Format: DD slash MM slash YYYY
  • No more than 150 words please.
  • We'd like to hear about any jobs or studies that you feel may be of interest and/or relevant to your application
    Please note, the CBC team will take into consideration your choice when we assign tutors based on who we think is best suited to help you get the most out of your work-in-progress.
  • Accepted file types: pdf, txt, doc, rtf, docx.
    Please upload your synopsis and opening 3,000 words in one document. Only PDF, TXT and DOC files accepted, file size must be less than 8mb