Discoveries Writing Development Course

This bespoke Curtis Brown Creative course will help the talented writers longlisted for Discoveries 2025 hone their skills and make real progress with their works-in-progress. This special two-week online course will take place from 30 June to 11 July 2025 with expert tuition from author Charlotte Mendelson.

What does this course give you?

Course content: The Discoveries Writing Development Course will be hosted on our learning platform, where the group of 16 writers will have a secure forum space to discuss their work and access to writing resources. The forum will be moderated by the Curtis Brown Creative team – and will be a safe space for the longlisted writers to interact with each other and their tutor Charlotte Mendelson. This is a course designed with flexibility in mind. The writers will be encouraged to work through the materials at times that suit them. Any set times of the course will be confirmed in advance and will take place in the evening, outside of usual working hours.
Zoom teaching: On Monday 30 June and Monday 7 July Charlotte will lead live 1 hour 45 minute live teaching sessions on Zoom, both sessions to run from 7.00pm to 8.45pm. Charlotte will deal with topics relating to the novel-writing process such as pacing, plotting and characterisation (topics to be confirmed closer to the start time of the course). Each session will include a live writing task to help the students put the lessons into practice.
Weekly homework: Students will be asked to complete the homework writing task (which will relate to their novels in-progress) and post it up on the forum during the week following the class. Charlotte will give brief written feedback on everyone’s tasks in both weeks. Students will be encouraged to discuss the task and give written feedback to each other in the forum space.
One-to-one tutorial: All students will be offered a 30-minute one-to-one tutorial with Charlotte, conducted via Zoom or phone, based on the opening 3,000-word section from their novel-in-progress plus one-page synopsis (or note to indicate where the novel is headed).
Literary Agent Q&A: The course will culminate with a special 1 hour 45 minute Zoom session top literary agents, taking place from 4.30pm to 5.45pm on Friday 11 July. The longlisted writers will be invited to ask questions about the role of the agent and how to submit their novel when it is ready. They will also be able to practising pitching their novels to the agents and will receive live feedback on their pitch.

All 16 writers longlisted for Discoveries 2025 will be invited to take part for free.

Please note that precise timings and details of guest speakers are subject to change.

Return to Discoveries 2025 homepage

Tutor

Charlotte Mendelson

Charlotte Mendelson’s previous novel, The Exhibitionist, was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and was The Times Novel of the Year 2022, as well as a book of the year in The Telegraph and The Guardian. Her other novels include Almost English, which was longlisted for both the Man Booker and the Women’s Prize for Fiction; When We Were Bad, which was shortlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction and was a book of the year in The Observer, The Guardian, The Sunday Times, The New Statesman and The Spectator; and Daughters of Jerusalem, which won both the Somerset Maugham Award and the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize. Wife, her sixth novel, was published in August 2024. She was a publisher for twenty years, reviews and broadcasts and has been the Gardening Correspondent for The New Yorker.

Being longlisted has been so validating and lit a fire under me to keep writing. I'm so grateful to the Discoveries Team for all they've done to support us. I would strongly encourage every woman writer who's eligible to enter. It costs nothing and it might just change your life.

Kate Taylor
Longlisted for Discoveries 2023

I've been blown away by the support and time the Women's Prize and Curtis Brown have given us! From teaching, to feedback, to speaking to agents, it's been completely invaluable. And more than that, to now be a part of a lovely group of supportive writers is the most wonderful takeaway from this amazing experience!

Nalisha Vansia
Longlisted for Discoveries 2024

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Discoveries Writing Development Course

What does this course give you?

Tutor

Charlotte Mendelson

Being longlisted has been so validating and lit a fire under me to keep writing. I'm so grateful to the Discoveries Team for all they've done to support us. I would strongly encourage every woman writer who's eligible to enter. It costs nothing and it might just change your life.

Discoveries Writing Development Course

Tutor

Charlotte Mendelson

Being longlisted has been so validating and lit a fire under me to keep writing. I'm so grateful to the Discoveries Team for all they've done to support us. I would strongly encourage every woman writer who's eligible to enter. It costs nothing and it might just change your life.