Jennie Godfrey novel-writing scholarship for writers with low income

Closing date for applications: Monday 16th March 2026

Course dates: 13th April to 27th July 2026

A scholarship for talented writers with low income to develop their novel through weekly workshops, one-to-one tutorials, and professional feedback.

Study with Curtis Brown Creative – the only writing school from a major literary and talent agency. We've been helping writers tell their stories since 2011.

The Jennie Godfrey Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income will award one writer a free place on our online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course. With weekly teaching and workshopping led by author Christopher Wakling or Suzannah Dunn on our interactive platform, plus one-to-one tutorials, and advice from renowned authors and literary agents, this course will help you hone your craft and make real progress with your story.

The CBC team are hugely grateful to Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Jenni Godfrey for her generous sponsorship of this scholarship. His scholarship is part of the Breakthrough Writers' Programme, an initiative designed to break down barriers to entry for under-represented writers. We are keen to promote diversity in our student groups and to find a writer through this programme who we might not otherwise have heard from. If you have the desire to write, a great idea and a compelling voice, and if you’re without the financial means to attend a Curtis Brown Creative course, this scholarship opportunity is for you.

Eligibility

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

• Unmarried and not co-habiting with a partner, with an annual (gross, pre-tax) income of less than £30,000 and personal savings of less than £10,000.
• Married or co-habiting with a partner, with a total annual (gross pre-tax) household income of less than £45,000 and personal savings (jointly or individually) of less than £10,000.

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 financial income and the reason you deserve this fully funded opportunity.

Terms & Conditions

• Applicants to the Jennie Godfrey Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make a statement about 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 must not be currently represented by a literary agent.
• Applicants must not have previously published a full-length book with a traditional, non-academic publisher.

How to apply

Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. 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). 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. The winner will be awarded a place on our online Writing Your Novel – Three Months course, starting April 2026. The CBC team will place the winner with tutor Christopher Wakling or Suzannah Dunn.

Our application process is simple, and we encourage all writers meeting the eligibility criteria to apply.

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 10am (UK time) on Monday 16 March 2026, and we will respond to applicants by Friday 20 March 2026.

We welcome and encourage applications from candidates who are under-represented in the creative industries.

Please make sure that you state in your application that you found this role via Creative Access.