Over 160+ students with major publishing deals
These book deals come from both our selective-entry course alumni and students who took our six-week online courses.
Author of Lessons In Chemistry
Author of Happy Families
Meet our published former students
We're proud to say that a number critically acclaimed authors started their stories on our creative writing courses. Find out more about them and their experience studying with us…
Caz Frear
Writing Your Novel
CBC didn’t just set me on the path to publication, it pretty much steered me all the way, as the support, friendship, constructive advice and cheerleading continues even after you’ve left the classroom for the last time.
Jane Harper
Writing Your Novel
If it hadn’t been for the CBC course, this book would not have been written, simple as that. It was such a turning point for me. I will be singing the praises of this course for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for having the chance to be part of it.
James Bailey
Writing Your Novel
I developed my plot and my writing style enormously. I learnt so many valuable lessons, and having a diverse cross section of readers in the group gave me a good audience to test material on.
Aliya Ali-Afzal
Writing Your Novel
The authors and agents who came along to talk to us introduced me to a world where writing was a profession. Suddenly, writing a novel no longer seemed like just a vague fantasy, but a possible reality.
Julia Armfield
Writing Your Novel
The CBC course was an invaluable resource to me when I was just starting to figure out the kind of writer I wanted to be. Writing can be extremely lonely and coming together with a group of people with a shared goal, all of whom took each other seriously, was calming and galvanising in equal measure.
Kate Hamer
Writing Your Novel
Workshopping the novel on the CBC course with people who were interested in the same things as me and took the writing process very seriously was invaluable.
Michael Mann
Writing YA & Children's Fiction
I went in an enthusiast, but left with a much more professional outlook. Catherine really pushed us – every sentence had to work hard, every character needed to feel real…
Siya Turabi
Writing Your Novel
My time on the course impacted my approach in fundamental ways. It made me realise and acknowledge that I am a writer.
Jenny Pearson
Writing YA & Children's Fiction
I cannot overstate the huge impact the course had on my writing. I started to take my writing way more seriously and dedicated time to it.
Janet Ellis
Writing Your Novel
The course really helped me to put everything together. The support of the group and the experience, professionalism and encouragement of the tutors was a fantastic combination and prepared me brilliantly for the next stage.
Clare Pooley
Writing Your Novel
When I started the course, despite having already published non-fiction, I had very little confidence… The support and enthusiasm of my wonderful writing group and my tutors made me believe, for the first time, that I really could do it.
Time Glencross
Writing Your Novel
The CBC course was invaluable. The tutors were brilliant, and it was through Curtis Brown Creative that I found representation at Curtis Brown and now a publishing deal.
James Hannah
Writing Your Novel
Thanks so much for your advice and encouragement; I doubt I’d have secured an agent for my finished novel if I hadn’t attended the Curtis Brown Creative course.
S D Sykes
Writing Your Novel
My novel just wouldn’t have happened without attending the Curtis Brown Creative novel-writing course. The teaching not only improved my skills as a writer, but also taught me about the business of writing and publishing.
Elizabeth Lee
Writing Your Novel
I honestly can’t express how grateful I am for the opportunity, and I’d urge anyone considering applying for a Curtis Brown Creative scholarship to do it. The chance to spend time working on my writing, focusing on it and learning from our tutor and the other students was so precious.
Catherine Chanter
Writing Your Novel
I hoped the Curtis Brown Creative course would empower me to come out as a writer who actually wanted readers. And it did. One hundred per cent.
Nicholas Searle
Writing Your Novel
The tuition I thought was excellent – a big shout here for Chris Wakling – and focused on writing a real book that might even get published in the real world.
Laura Marshall
Writing Your Novel
The teaching and feedback I got on the CBC course enabled me to look at my own writing with a critical eye, and to understand what was wrong with it, and how to make it better. It also gave me the confidence I needed to keep going, as well as an invaluable insight into the publishing industry.
Penny Chrimes
Writing YA & Children's Fiction
I found the very structured and practical process of working through the course really useful – and the wisdom and advice from Catherine Johnson was inspiring. I learned so much from the other students on the course – everyone was very supportive of each other.
Alice Clark-Platts
Writing Your Novel
I have loved doing this course. I have gained a great deal from it, made some friends and been shored up in confidence as regards my writing.
Ella Dove
Writing Your Novel
I will forever be grateful to CBC. Not only did the course offer invaluable industry advice and help me to secure an agent, it also allowed me to meet the best bunch of writing pals I could have ever hoped for!
Annabelle Thorpe
Writing Your Novel
I’m one of those people who never wanted to do a creative writing course. You can’t teach it, or so I thought. How wrong was I? Everything I learnt – from the tutorials to the author’s talks to the 14 amazing writers I shared the course with – made me a different class of writer.
Lisa Williamson
Writing YA & Children's Fiction
I’ll be forever indebted to Curtis Brown Creative for giving me a much-needed boost of confidence exactly when I needed it most, and for gently pointing out that I might be suited to writing for young adults. Lightbulb moment! I now can’t imagine writing for anyone else.
Kirsty Eyre
Writing Your Novel
I went on the CBC course with a comedy diary (rough cut of Cow Girl) with a completely different name. CBC advised against the format of a diary, which I took on board and rewrote. I probably rewrote three times
Cynthia Murphy
Writing YA & Children's Fiction
There’s something very special about children’s writers and I feel so lucky that I was placed with this group. I also left with a sense of ‘I can do this’, especially after my chats with the lovely Catherine Johnson. During one call, she told me that whatever ‘it’ was, I had it. That vote of confidence has stayed with me, even when I felt like throwing the towel in.
Greg Chivers
Writing Your Novel
Curtis Brown Creative do a great job of taking the fear out of writing and submitting a novel. It never completely goes away, but by the end of a course, your manuscript will be stronger, and you’ll get good support to get it into the right hands.
Hannah Mary McKinnon
Writing Your Novel
The CBC course was nothing short of fabulous. The course had a profound effect on both my writing and confidence, and it confirmed I want to continue making up stories for as long as I can. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity.
Hazel Barkworth
Writing Your Novel
My tutor on the CBC course was the incredible Erin Kelly. She pushed me to understand what I wanted to do with my novel and gave me the confidence to develop that vision. I loved how the course was a potent mix of the pragmatic and the imaginative.
Catherine Bennetto
Writing Your Novel
Not only did we get this constant feedback but the weekly tutorials from our fabulous and supportive tutor, Chris Wakling, taught me vast amounts. The course was vital to completing my novel. I’m constantly recommending CBC to friends.
Polly Crosby
Writing Your Novel
When I started the course, I had written the very basics of the novel, but what the course did was teach me how to turn it from a collection of ideas into a fully stitched together story.
Jenny Quintana
Writing Your Novel
Curtis Brown Creative helped and challenged me in so many ways. From propelling me from my desk to travel to London every week, to receiving great feedback from my fellow students and meeting professionals from the industry. Not least, it was through the course I found representation at C&W and then a publishing deal.
Rachel Marks
Writing Your Novel
After the CBC course, I finally had the confidence to go ahead and finish the novel.
Caz Frear
Writing Your Novel
CBC didn’t just set me on the path to publication, it pretty much steered me all the way, as the support, friendship, constructive advice and cheerleading continues even after you’ve left the classroom for the last time.
Jane Harper
Writing Your Novel
If it hadn’t been for the CBC course, this book would not have been written, simple as that. It was such a turning point for me. I will be singing the praises of this course for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for having the chance to be part of it.
