The CBC team are logging off for Christmas and New Year! 🎄✨ If you're looking for some inspiration over the break, why not explore our blog which is full of free writing resources. Happy Holidays and take care – we hope you’ll join us again in 2026! www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog

Still searching for the perfect gift? Our writing course vouchers make practical and inspiring presents for the creative spirits in your life! #AmWriting Available from just at £40: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/gift-voucher

Feeling lost about how to knock some shape into an unwieldy first draft? Join CBC founder Anna Davis for the Rewrite Doctor, a day of interactive Zoom teaching. Perfect for writers with a finished draft, learn Anna's much-loved editing method and knock your novel into better shape. Runs 29 Jan:

'Twists needn’t be breathtaking; it’s more important to deliver on the promise of a satisfying puzzle or mystery' 🧩 Award-winning author @sarahhilary.bsky.social shares tips for crime writers – from writing villains that feel human to when you should withhold information to pull off a good twist.

Kick off 2026 with a surge of creative energy! 🪄 Join us for 30 days of online lessons, prompts and tasks. And if you've already taken our original bootcamp, return for new teaching and tasks in our 30-Day Writing Bootcamp – Vol 2. Only £40. Starts 14 Jan:

Looking for ways to find time for your writing this busy festive season? 🎄 CBC's founder Anna Davis shares her top tips for making time to write, keeping up the momentum with your project and establishing a writing routine that fits with your lifestyle.

Our flagship London Writing Your Novel course will help you make real progress with your story 📈 Join a group of 15 students for six months of expert novel-writing tuition from bestselling novelist Laura Barnett in our central London offices!

Have you been mulling over a good story idea but failing to get it started? Or perhaps you're putting words down but feeling unsure of where you're headed with it? 🤯 Our founder Anna Davis shares her advice on how to start writing a novel:

Find out what you’re capable of when you put pen to paper 🖋️ Unleash your imagination, find your voice & build your confidence on our four-week course Creative Writing for Beginners. All online & fully flexible. Starts 22 Jan, enrol now: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/creat...

'There’s nothing unpolitical about intimate stories of family life' ✍️ Acclaimed novelist and short story writer, Tessa Hadley, shares her advice on writing intimate stories. Learn more from Tessa on our Writing Literary Fiction with Tessa Hadley course. Starts 5 Feb.

Anthony Trevelyan: 'I think novels have a special power to engage with current issues' 📚 We spoke to CBC editor and tutor of our flagship courses, Anthony Trevelyan about his advice for budding authors and what he enjoys most about working with CBC students.

Bring your characters to life! ✨ Join us for Character Development – The Deep Dive, across four weeks you'll fully develop your protagonist with believable motivations and a compelling story arc. 📆 Course starts 22 Jan: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/chara...

'Let yourself take time to wonder about things and people, and see where your curiosity takes you' 🤔 Wondering how you should go about developing a character from nowhere? CBC founder, Anna Davis, shares her 6 top tips for building a character from scratch. Read full advice blog:

Start 2025 with a surge of creative energy! 💡 Join us for 30 days of online lessons, prompts and tasks. And if you've already taken our original bootcamp, come back for new teaching in our 30-Day Writing Bootcamp – Vol 2. Just £40. Starts 14 Jan: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/30-day-writi...

So, you've finished your manuscript and are eager to share your work with literary agents. How do you write the perfect pitch letter to a literary agent? 🤔 Here are CBC founder Anna Davis' top tips on how to make your submission pitch letter stand out from the pack:

Our flagship online Writing Your Novel course will help you hone your craft and make real progress with your story 📖 Join a group of 15 talented students for six months of expert novel-writing tuition from Maame Blue and Cathi Unsworth. Find out more: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

'Keep going until you get to the end of the novel... everything can be fixed in editing' 📝 Acclaimed novelist and tutor of our upcoming three-month Writing Your Novel course Cathi Unsworth shares her top three tips for aspiring authors.

Your pitch is often the first thing a literary agent will read, and it could make the difference between the agent opening your manuscript straight away or adding it to the end of a very long reading list 📑 Read our 6 pitfalls to avoid when pitching:

Learn how to write exciting and engaging YA, Middle Grade & children's fiction on our three-month Writing YA & Children’s Fiction with prize-winning YA and children’s author @catwrote.bsky.social ✍️ Find out more and apply by 26 Jan:

'I wanted to humanise the people beneath their diagnoses and show they are so much more than their illnesses' 🌻 NHS Consultant psychiatrist & award-winning comedian Benji Waterhouse shares his advice for aspiring memoir writers, with insights from his memoir #YouDontHaveToBeMadToWorkHere.

Get ready to submit to literary agents in the new year! 💪 Join bestselling author and experienced editor Richard Roper for a two-hour Zoom masterclass on how to write a compelling one-page novel synopsis. Our Writing Your Synopsis – Masterclass course will run on Weds 4 Feb. Sign up now:

Write a compelling proposal for your project on our one-day Writing Your Non-Fiction Proposal course! 📑 Led by expert editor and former publisher Hannah Boursnell, this practical one-day course will delve into the all-important elements that make a great non-fiction proposal. Runs 5 Feb:

'Weaving comedy into a darker story is something that needs a lot of care' 📚 We caught up with bestselling novelist @mariankeyes.bsky.social to discuss her approach to crafting characters with believable dynamics and what she loves most about working with budding writers.

Looking for a unique present? 🎁 Our writing course vouchers make the perfect gift for the creative spirits in your life – the dreamers who love to keep learning new skills. Help your loved one achieve their writing goals this Christmas. Select the value of your voucher, starting at just £40:

Are you writing historical fiction and feel like you're wading through tedious facts and dates of battles without ever really getting anywhere? 🤯 Prize-winning novelist Leila Aboulela shares her 7 tips on researching and writing historical fiction:

So very proud to be part of the CBC Breakthrough Class of 2025! Working with Jake Arnott is an absolute joy. With one horror novel being developed as part of this mentorship, and another horror novel being shortlisted for the PMJ Undiscovered Writers Prize 2025, I’m very excited for what’s next!

'A good structure means that narrative pull is built into the story' ✍️ Author of the iconic novel #OneDay and 2024 bestseller #YouAreHere, David Nicholls, shares his tips for how to depict a believable bond between two characters.

Our flagship London Writing Your Novel course will help you hone your craft and make real progress with your story 📝 Join a group of 15 talented students for expert novel-writing tuition from Abi Daré or @charlottemendelson.bsky.social! Find out more: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

Tammy Cohen: 'There’s nothing more exciting than helping a new writer identify their voice' 🌟 We spoke to bestselling author & CBC editor @mstamarcohen.bsky.social about her approach to writing character-driven stories and what she loves most about working with budding writers.

There's still time to enter our #CBCWinterStory25 writing competition on Instagram ☃️ Write a flash fiction story inspired by our prompts to be in with a chance of winning a free course! Find out more and enter by Mon 15 Dec:

Do you want to write a memoir and don’t know how to get going? Or perhaps you’re already at work on one and are looking for some guidance to help you? 📖 Our Writing a Memoir course taught by Cathy Rentzenbrink starts on 5 Feb! Enrol now: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

'Every good novelist is a reader first' 📚 Award-winning author @juliecohen.bsky.social shares her thoughts on genre classifications like 'commercial fiction' and 'women's fiction' as well as her top tips for budding romance and commercial fiction authors. Read the full interview:

Start 2025 with a burst of creative energy! 💡 Join us for 30 days of online lessons, prompts & tasks. If you've already taken our original bootcamp, come back for new teaching and tasks in our 30-Day Writing Bootcamp – Vol 2. Just £40. Starts 14 Jan: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/30-day-writi...

Apply for our new online Writing Horror Fiction course! Learn from prize-winning author Andrew Michael Hurley. You'll also join a masterclass with bestselling author @lucyrosecreates.bsky.social and Alexa von Hirschberg, Publishing Director at W&N. www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

The first line of a novel should invite readers to enter the world of your story 💫 To inspire you #Discoveries2026 team members from Curtis Brown & CBC are sharing their favourite opening lines from books they’ve enjoyed recently and discussing what makes them successful. @womensprize.bsky.social

'Good crime novels set up multiple layers of intrigue and a range of questions that demand answers' 🕵️ Bestselling crime novelist, @vaseemkhanuk.bsky.social, shares his tips on how to set clues in your crime novel:

Write the story you’d love to read – with inspiring advice from the one and only @mariankeyes.bsky.social ✒️ Join our online Writing Fiction with Marian Keyes course! Across five weeks, Marian gives her take on how to find your authentic writing voice. www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

Any writer will tell you that getting to the end of that elusive first draft is no easy feat. So how do you get your novel over the finish line? We asked our three of our expert tutors – Anna Freeman, Simon Ings & Jacob Ross – for their advice:

Looking for a unique present? 🎁 Our writing course vouchers make the perfect gift for the creative spirits in your life – the dreamers who love to keep learning new skills. Help your loved one achieve their writing goals this Christmas. Select the value of your voucher, starting at just £40:

Immensely grateful to have spent the last three months learning so much from CBC as a Breakthrough Scholar, with just the loveliest and most incredibly talented group of writers on the course - it's been an absolute dream.

Join us in the Curtis Brown offices in Central London for our Novel-Writing Intensive! 🌷 15 students will join us for four days of teaching from author & creative writing tutor Lizzie Enfield. On the final day, you'll practise pitching with top Curtis Brown agents. Apply by 13 Mar:

Maame Blue: 'Relationships are fundamental to who we are, so they need to be written about' 💞 We spoke to award-winning author & CBC editor Maame Blue about her approach to crafting authentic relationships and what she loves most about working with budding writers.

The Rewrite Doctor is back on 29 Jan! 💪 Join CBC’s Anna Davis for a one-day intensive Zoom course. Perfect for writers with a finished draft, learn Anna's much-loved editing method and knock your novel into better shape. Don’t miss out – only 6 places left. Enrol now:

Very excited to be part of this - looking forward to working with my mentor @pollyrowena.bsky.social

'Winning a scholarship on the Breakthrough Writers Programme transformed my approach to writing.' – Zoë Wilkinson In 2025, we supported 97 talented, under-represented writers via our Breakthrough Writers' Programme. Meet the Breakthrough Class of 2025:

Feeling stuck with your manuscript? An editorial report from an expert reader might be just the boost you need 🌟 Check out this advice from CBC Senior Courses Manager Abby Parsons on how to get the most out of your editorial report:

Do you have ambitions to write TV drama? 📺 Learn the language of TV drama – how it’s constructed and how to talk about it to the industry, with expert advice from screenwriter and showrunner Colin Teevan on our six-week online course! Starts 12 Feb: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/writi...

'Every historical novelist will have a different approach to how much research they do before writing. I would say it depends very much on the scope of your story.' 🔎 Bestselling author, @stephmerritt.bsky.social, shares 6 tips to help you research your historical novel.

We're hiring a Team Assistant (six-month contract)! Do you want to work with us and help run our creative writing courses? Does this sound like you? 💬 Confident communicator 💻 Strong administrative skills 📖 Avid reader Apply by 6 Jan 2026: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/blog/we-are-...

'Great novels are made in the rewrite' – Anna Davis, CBC Founder If you’ve written a complete novel and are looking for advice on how to edit it, and then pitch it to agents & publishers, our Edit & Pitch Your Novel course is for you! Starts 29 Jan: www.curtisbrowncreative.co.uk/course/edit-...