HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income
Applications
HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship for Writers with Low Income
This scholarship, sponsored by HW Fisher, will award one talented writer of limited financial means a free place on our three-month Writing Your Novel course with teaching in London.
Tutor
Charlotte MendelsonLength
3 monthsLocation
LondonWriting Goal
Develop your writing
The HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship will award one talented writer of limited financial means a free place on our three-month Writing Your Novel course with teaching in London. This hugely popular course features direct input from our literary agent team and top publishers. Teaching sessions and workshops will be led by critically acclaimed author Charlotte Mendelson, they will take place weekly on Tues evenings in the Curtis Brown offices located in central London (23 April to 22 July 2025).
This scholarship is funded by top London chartered accountancy firm HW Fisher. The CBC team are hugely grateful to HW Fisher who have been providing a writing bursary for writers of limited financial means on our writing courses since 2016. Read about some of our past scholarship students who've gone on to get book deals here.
This 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.
Winning a scholarship has been game changing for my writing career. My tutor Charlotte Mendelson was not only a fantastic teacher but also instilled in me the confidence to tell this story... This was my second time applying for the scholarship and I would not have been able to take the course without it. I highly recommend other writers seeking community, support, and structure to apply.
2023 HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship winner
ELIGIBILITY
The scholarship is open to people over the age of 18, either:
- 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 financial income and the reason you deserve this fully-funded opportunity.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
- Applicants to the HW Fisher Novel-Writing Scholarship must fulfil our eligibility criteria. Our form asks you to make a statement about your financial circumstances and the reason you deserve the scholarship.
- 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 place on the relevant course and not for other fee-paying places on the course.
- Applicants to this scholarship must not be currently represented by a literary agent.
Ready to apply?
Curtis Brown Creative offers places on our courses on the basis of proven writing ability. We ask applicants to send us the first 3,000 words of a novel in progress, with a one-page synopsis, and to fill out our application form. Please note that those with the financial means to attend our courses should not apply to this scholarship.
The HW Fisher Novel-Writing 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.
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 Sunday 30 March 2025, and we will respond to applicants by Thursday 3 April 2025. 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 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 the form).
Head to the blog for tips and advice on preparing your application material.
About HW Fisher
HW Fisher is a top accountancy practice with unparalleled experience advising professionals in the media and entertainment industries. For over 50 years, they have supported authors across many genres and at different stages of their writing careers with all their tax needs. In addition to this work, they also provide expert accountancy, audit, tax, corporate, and financial advisory services to high-profile entrepreneurial SMEs, large corporates, and high net-worth individuals. For more information, access HW Fisher’s 2023-24 tax guide for Authors and Freelance Journalists here or contact Andrew Subramaniam or Barry Kernon.
HW Fisher have been sponsoring scholarship places to enable under-represented writer to join our courses since 2016. We’re delighted to say that many previous HW Fisher scholars have gone on to get commercial publishing deals, including Kirsty Capes (Women’s Prize longlisted author of Careless) and Elliot Sweeney (author of The Next to Die).