British Fantasy Award-winner Lucy Holland (also writing as Lucy Hounsom) will guide you through the essential elements of the genre – from using and subverting traditional tropes to worldbuilding and creating a diverse cast of characters with genuine depth and intrigue – crucial for sustaining your story over the course of a novel or series.
You’ll join a group of 15 fantasy authors for flexibly timed weekly writing workshops on our bespoke online learning platform, plus live group teaching sessions via Zoom covering important genre-topics, and an in-depth one-to-one tutorial with Lucy towards the end of the course.
This course is open to all writers dedicated to crafting an excellent fantasy novel. Before joining the course, you should have an idea for your book already and have at least started writing your early chapters. The course is also suitable for writers with a complete first draft they want to shape and improve.
Lucy Holland is the author of The Times bestselling Sistersong, a finalist for the Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award and the British Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 2022. Her second historical fantasy novel Song of the Huntress is published by Pan Macmillan in 2024. Writing as Lucy Hounsom, she is the author of the Worldmaker Trilogy. Her first book Starborn was shortlisted in the 2016 Gemmell Awards for Best Fantasy Debut. She worked for twelve years in corporate account sales for Waterstones Booksellers before becoming a full-time author. Lucy co-hosts the intersectional feminist podcast ‘Breaking the Glass Slipper’, which won Best Audio in the 2019 British Fantasy Awards. She has given talks and workshops for various organisations, including the British Library, MCM ComicCon, Cymera Festival, Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, and the universities of Exeter, Bath Spa and Royal Holloway. In June 2024, she was selected by UNESCO Cities of Literature as one of the ILX10: rising stars of UK 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.
COURSE FEES
The course fee of £990 (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 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.
Our application form asks some questions about you and your writing – and it also asks you to send us the first 3,000 words of the fantasy novel you’re working on and a one-page synopsis.
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 joining 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.