Discoveries Writing Development Course

This bespoke Curtis Brown Creative course will help the 16 talented writers longlisted for Discoveries 2026 hone their skills and make real progress with their works-in-progress. This special two-week online course will take place from 29 June to 10 July 2026 with expert tuition from author Laura Barnett.

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 Laura Barnett. 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 29 June and Monday 6 July Laura will lead live 1 hour 45 minute live teaching sessions on Zoom, both sessions to run from 7.00pm to 8.45pm. Laura 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. Laura 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 Laura, 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 10 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 2026 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 2026 homepage

Tutor

Laura Barnett

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. She’s had three further books out since then: Greatest Hits (2017), which features an accompanying musical soundtrack by Kathryn Williams; Gifts (2021), a novel in short stories; and This Beating Heart (2022). Her fifth novel, Births, Deaths and Marriages was published in June 2025. She delivered a TedX talk on originality in fiction, and worked as a writing mentor for the charity Arts Emergency. She is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University’s Writing School. Laura has taught many novel-writing courses for CBC in London and online.

The support from Curtis Brown Creative, the judges and my fellow writers from the 2025 cohort have boosted my confidence in my writing skills and in my story. My writing journey is just beginning and Discoveries has given me the push to take the first steps.

Jac Felipez
Discoveries 2025 Scholar

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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I loved this course . . . the lessons on writing were amazing and thought-provoking.

Bonnie Garmus, Multi-million-copy bestselling author of Lessons in Chemistry

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Discoveries Writing Development Course

What does this course give you?

Tutor

Laura Barnett

The support from Curtis Brown Creative, the judges and my fellow writers from the 2025 cohort have boosted my confidence in my writing skills and in my story. My writing journey is just beginning and Discoveries has given me the push to take the first steps.

Discoveries Writing Development Course

Tutor

Laura Barnett

The support from Curtis Brown Creative, the judges and my fellow writers from the 2025 cohort have boosted my confidence in my writing skills and in my story. My writing journey is just beginning and Discoveries has given me the push to take the first steps.