Breakthrough YA & children's fiction scholarship for writers of colour

Closing date: Sunday 6th October

If you have the desire to write, a great idea and a compelling voice – and if you’re a writer of colour without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course, this scholarship opportunity is for you.

This scholarship will award one talented writer of colour with limited financial means a place on our three-month online Writing YA & Children's Fiction course. The course will run from 21 October 2024 to 3 February 2025, with teaching and feedback from award-winning author Catherine Johnson.

Eligibility

The scholarship is open to writers of colour over the age of 18, who fulfil our low-income eligibility criteria.

Applicants must have one of the following categories of ethnicity:

• East Asian (Chinese; Japanese); South Asian (Indian; Pakistani; Bangladeshi); Southeast Asian (Vietnamese; Korean; Filipino); any other Asian background
• Black African; Black Caribbean; Black Other
• Mixed – White and Asian; Mixed – White and Black Caribbean; Mixed – White and Black African; any other mixed background from more than one group
• Any other background by which you identify as a person of colour

Applicants must also fulfil our financial criteria:

• Unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £25,000 and personal savings of less than £5,000.
• Married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £35,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £5,000.

If you don’t quite fit our financial criteria but are nonetheless financially challenged, then do apply, explaining your circumstances in the form.

Our form asks you to make a statement about your ethnicity, your financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.

Terms and conditions

• Applicants to the Breakthrough YA & Children's Fiction Scholarship for Writers of Colour must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make a statement about your ethnicity, your financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.
• With respect to the earnings thresholds set out in our eligibility section: for salaried applicants, your current salary at date of application must be under the threshold. For self-employed applicants, your gross pre-tax profits (average figure for the last two financial years) must be under the threshold. State benefits such as jobseeker’s allowance should be counted as income.
• Applicants may be asked to provide proof of their financial circumstances in support of their scholarship applications.
• Because the scholarship is open only to those who do not have the means to attend the applicable course without financial assistance, applicants should bear in mind that their application will be considered only for the scholarship places and not for other fee-paying places on the courses.
• Applicants to this scholarship must not be currently represented by a literary agent.

How to apply

Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. Our application process is simple, and we encourage all writers meeting the eligibility criteria to apply.

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 to our application form). Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship.

This scholarship will be awarded to the applicant whose submission material shows the greatest potential and promise in our view. The decision will be made by the Curtis Brown Creative team.

Don’t worry if you have little or nothing to say in response to questions about e.g. writing experience or employment. Just fill out the form, upload your work and we’ll be in touch soon.

The deadline for applications is Sunday 6 October, and we will respond to applicants by Thursday 10 October. If you encounter any problems during the application process or have any more questions about the courses, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.

Please state in your application that you found this opportunity via Creative Access.