Get expert feedback and encouragement from experienced author-tutor, Lauren Pearson, who also previously worked as a literary agent. You’ll attend a series of Zoom masterclasses from publishing professionals and acclaimed authors to give you the inside track, a comprehensive set of teaching videos and resources, and will join a supportive peer group of 15 students, all working at a high level.
On this elite course – which includes the complete Edit & Pitch Your Novel teaching materials delivered on our online learning platform – you’ll have plenty of time to work through all of the tasks so that you can hone that novel, build your confidence, as well as perfect your pitch over three months.
Read our interview with Lauren to discover more about her writing and approach to teaching creative writing.
This course will be delivered via our private online Learning Platform and in live teaching sessions on Zoom. Please note that precise dates of sessions and details of course speakers are subject to change.
The course fee of £1,700 (inclusive of VAT, please note that additional fees may apply if you’re based in a country with a higher VAT rate than the UK) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer or cheque before the start of the course. However, if you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can arrange an instalment plan.
Alumni of our selective three- or six-month Writing Your Novel courses and those who’ve taken the original Edit & Pitch Your Novel course are eligible for a £150 discounted fee. There's also a £50 discount available for writers who’ve taken Anna Davis’s one-day Rewrite Doctor course.
Please apply with the first 3,000 words of the novel you’d like to work on during the course, and a synopsis of no more than a page (both need to be in the same document, as you can only upload ONE file in the application below).
The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. We may start reading and responding to applicants ahead of the final deadline and we therefore advise people who are keen to join this course to apply early.
The final deadline for applications is 10am (UK time) on the application deadline date. The date is dependent on which course start date you're applying for. Use the drop down 'select date' toggle to see currently available start dates and their associated deadlines. Be sure that you've selected the right course start date before you click the 'Apply Now' button.
If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.
If you’re thinking about applying for this course and want to know if it’s the right fit, book a free 15-minute phone consultation to discuss your needs.
Consultations will take place on Tuesday afternoons (14.00 to 17.00) or Friday mornings (10.00 to 13.00). Times listed are UK times.
Lauren has worked in publishing for more than 25 years. She has been an agent for both adult and children’s authors, first in New York and then in the UK, most recently for Curtis Brown. Throughout her career she has worked with a number of acclaimed and bestselling writers, including Audrey Niffenegger, Gregory David Roberts, Babette Cole, Isla Fisher, Aidan Chambers and Emily Barr. She is now a freelance editor and ghostwriter of both children’s and adult fiction and non-fiction and is the author of five books for young readers: The Crabtree School series from Scholastic, and The Sleepover from Orion Children’s Books. She is a graduate of Duke University and the Radcliffe Publishing Course (now the Columbia Publishing Course). Lauren's first adult fiction novel, Very Slowly All at Once will be published in January 2026 with Harper Collins.
Join special live Zoom sessions with leading publishing professionals and literary agents.