"A word after a word after a word is power" - Margaret Atwood

BRIDGET WHELAN

A blog for readers and writers

A blog about the stories we tell each other and how we tell them...

Monday 27 December 2010

2011 A literary agency will run its own creative writing course

This is a first - Curtis Brown will be running a three month course from its London offices in the summer of 2011. Expect announcements in January meanwhile here's the basics.
Fifteen students will be selected in March on the basis of a synopsis and 3,000 words of a novel in progress. The course will run from May 5th to July 21st.
BUT (there always has to be a but) quality alone won't win you a place at the table. There's a hefty fee to pay: £1,600 for the 12 weeks.
For that successful applicants will get a weekly evening class and a number of extra sessions that will be conducted by "leading writers and other publishing professionals," according to novelist Anna Davis who is running the course.  I've just googled Anna and she is a former Guardian columnist who has written five novels. 
Perhaps the most interesting element is that each student will also receive a critique from a Curtis Brown literary agent at the completion of the course, with stand-out fledgling novelists being offered representation.
So...if Father Christmas has been very very generous this could be a way of grabbing the attention of industry professionals. However,  if he hasn't, look at what is on offer from your local education institute and compare the price. These classes represent incredible value, typically between £60 and £150 for the same length of writing course. And the teaching is rigorously quality controlled and backed by impressive support systems. I'm not knocking the Curtis Brown initiative - it sounds exciting - but your apprenticeship as a writer doesn't have to come with that kind of price tag.
I will post the details of the courses I am running in London and Brighton soon just in case anyone is interested in joining me and this time I will also spell out how much they cost because for a lot of us that makes the difference between doing something and not doing it. But click on the title of this post if you'd like to find out more about what Curtis Brown are planning. 

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