#Deskoveries | Writing desk round-up
BY Discoveries
18th Nov 2020
CBC and Curtis Brown are proud to be partnering with the Women’s Prize Trust and NatWest to create Discoveries, a writing development prize and programme that offers aspiring female authors of all ages and backgrounds encouragement and support at the beginning of their creative journeys.
Last week we asked the Twitter writing community where they like to put pen to paper and we got some wonderful responses from Curtis Brown clients, published CBC alumni and other writers. Check out some of our favourite #Deskoveries posts below!
A few of the places I’ve called a desk ... looking forward to being able to work out and about in bars and cafes one day in the not too distant future — but for now I’m in my study at home! #Deskoveries @cbcreative pic.twitter.com/Bf5LtGondJ
— Lucy Foley (@lucyfoleytweets) November 12, 2020
Bestselling author of The Hunting Party and The Guest ListLucy Foley adapts well to writing and travelling. She is now in the routine of writing safely at home.
The most exciting place I've put pen to paper was, without doubt, the wheelhouse of a tallship off the coast of Svalbard. #Deskoveries pic.twitter.com/J0lJyzzNbY
— Wyl Menmuir (@Wylmenmuir) November 12, 2020
Curtis Brown Creative reader-editor Wyl Menmuir definitely won most adventurous location!
I wrote on the sofa with my computer on my lap until I bought a lapdesk which was a gamechanger. Hanging laundry is my backdrop. My favourite notebook is from the US called @baronfig, which we buy multiples of whenever we visit. #Deskoveries pic.twitter.com/51tXgH0hql
— Catherine Cho (@Catkcho) November 12, 2020
Catherine Cho wrote most of her stunning memoir Inferno on the sofa. We think the lapdesk is a genius idea.
My terrier is demonstrating my favourite writing position! At the end of the kitchen table ????????❤️ #deskoveries pic.twitter.com/O247Eutcub
— Clare Pooley (@cpooleywriter) November 12, 2020
Curtis Brown Creative alumna Clare Pooley's terrier looks like a very discerning editor! We're wondering if he's had a sneak peak of a second novel. Clare's debut The Authenticity Project – which she worked on with CBC – was published earlier this year.
The photo on the left is where I wrote my debut novel #AllInHerHead - at my kitchen table with lots of coffee! I still write there a lot now, or on the sofa with my trusty companion!! #Deskoveries pic.twitter.com/tHcMpEJBJg
— Nikki Smith (@Mrssmithmunday) November 12, 2020
Former Curtis Brown Creative student Nikki Smith's gave us another vote for writing on the sofa! Her debut All in Her Head is out now in paperback.
I wrote and edited a lot of my debut novel, #TheIllustratedChild at this desk in a corner of my bedroom.#Deskoveries pic.twitter.com/exk41kmu09
— Polly Crosby (@WriterPolly) November 12, 2020
This is a beautiful desk from Polly Crosby. Polly won a scholarship to attend an online six-month novel-writing course for her novel The Illustrated Child. Now her book has been published by HarperCollins.
Bestselling novelist Gillian McAllister was one of many authors demonstrating the great advice that switching locations can help you gain a fresh perspective.
This is where the magic and frustration happens! Neon flamingos and Iced Gems are as essential to my writing process as my brain ???? #Deskoveries. pic.twitter.com/d09JrI0PyX
— Caz Frear (@CazziF) November 12, 2020
Former CBC novel-writing student Caz Frear writes her gripping DC Cat Kinsella crime thrillers with a little help from this fetching flamingo.
I treated myself to a modest upgrade from my £15 gumtree desk and fold up chair after I got my deal for #RedCorona - writing book 2 was a lot more comfy... #Deskoveries pic.twitter.com/oiABm5FdJY
— Tim Glister (@timglisterbooks) November 12, 2020
After the publication of he debut Red CoronaTim Glister upgraded his desk – and we approve!
While I wrote Heatstroke mainly on trains and in cafes, I'm now scribbling at a real desk. The cup of tea and sketch pad for notes are the essential items. #deskoveries pic.twitter.com/npfb0lSYx2
— HazelBarkworth (@BarkworthHazel) November 12, 2020
CBC alumna Hazel Barkworth wrote most of her debut Heatstrokeon the move and still keeps her trusty notebook handy.
My room of my own. #deskoveries #amwriting pic.twitter.com/hF215ZTA4v
— Cathy Rentzenbrink (@CatRentzenbrink) November 13, 2020
Bestselling memoirist and Curtis Brown Creative tutor Cathy Rentzenbrink gave us some serious desk envy. Writing a Memoir students might recognise the octopus and sand timers (great tools for trying automatic writing exercises)!
Thanks to @CBGBooks for setting this in motion, sneaking a peak at authors' desks! When I started writing back in the early 90s, I used to sit in Tervuren Park, Brussels and write by hand in a notebook, now I have a fab office to work in. #deskoveries pic.twitter.com/UKQ2Q0FXFC
— Erica James (@TheEricaJames) November 12, 2020
Award-winning romance novelist Erica James' transition from longhand writing in the park to her own office is amazing to see.
@cbcreative @CBGBooks Oh dear. Too late to pretend I work in monk-like,uncluttered isolation free from distraction. This is the unvarnished (possibly undusted) truth. Includes a chair upholstered in fabric from The Butcher’s Hook cover. #deskoveries pic.twitter.com/3PoBNLudYu
— janet ellis (@missjanetellis) November 12, 2020
Janet Ellis showed us the reality of clutter. Her chair is wonderful, Janet worked on The Butcher's Hookon a Curtis Brown Creative course back in 2014.
Here’s the spot where I sometimes wrote my book. Not pictured: my bed, the bath, the living room floor and, most frequently, slumped on the sofa #deskoveries pic.twitter.com/3LfT72BJAe
— Becky Brown (@b3ckybr0wn) November 12, 2020
Our very own Becky Brown – Curtis Brown Heritage agent and Discoveries team member – just published the anthology Blitz Spirit. Her desk is lovely but it is great to hear about the reality of moving from sofa to floor to desk.
These are just a few of the fantastic desks and writing locations shared by a variety of brilliant writers, to view all the desks check out #Deskoveries on Twitter.
If you're an unpublished female author currently writing a novel on the sofa, at the kitchen table, or even on a boat find out more about the Discoveries Prize and how to enter.