Frequently Asked Questions

Yes! The best thing to do is to book a place using your own details, and then drop us a line on [email protected] – let us know who’ll be attending and their contact details so that we can update the booking on our system.

If the course you’re looking at it is an application-based one, that’s a little more complicated. The tutors will need to see an application before we’re able to let you book a place as a gift – get in touch and we’ll be able to advise on how best to proceed.

Unfortunately, we’re only able to accept students aged 18 or over.

Absolutely! We’re always delighted to welcome international students to our courses. Please note, though, that for our online courses with live elements (eg courses that take place on Zoom), any times listed on the website are UK time (GMT or BST, depending on the time of year).

Yes – lots of our students don’t have English as a first language. As long as you feel confident reading and writing in English, that’s absolutely fine.

Having said that, improving your written English isn’t a component of our courses – if that’s the main thing you’re looking for from a writing course, they may not be the right fit for you.

We are happy to accept cancellations up to twelve weeks before your course begins and will provide a full refund in those cases. If you need to cancel less than twelve weeks before the course begins, we’ll do our best to find a replacement and if we succeed, the balance of your fee will be returned less a £75 reservation charge. If we are unable to find a replacement, we reserve the right to retain the full fee, at our sole discretion.

You can read our full terms and conditions here.

Yes, that’s no problem at all – drop us a line at [email protected] and we’ll be happy to help.

You do! If you’ve already completed a course, you’ll receive an alumni discount on future course bookings (our manuscript assessments and mentoring programmes are not included). The alumni discount is 15% of the total course price, up to a value of £250. You can read the full terms and conditions here.

Log in to your customer account before browsing the site and you’ll be able to see the discounted price on each individual course page.

Make sure you’re logged into your account when you’re browsing the site and the alumni discount to which you’re entitled will be automatically calculated for each course.

Yes, for some of our longer courses. You’ll be able to see that listed at the top of each course page – if an instalment plan is available, there will be a breakdown of the initial deposit and the number of monthly instalments that follow.

Yes, we’re almost always happy to roll over your offer of a place to a future iteration of the course, particularly if it begins in the next twelve months. If you’re looking to defer your place indefinitely, get in touch with us to discuss that, as changes to the course programme or tutor may mean we need to see an updated application from you in future.

Yes. Throughout the year, we award free places on selected courses to writers who otherwise could not afford to attend. You can find out the courses we currently have scholarship places available on, and details on how to apply, here.

Yes, absolutely. You’ll need to submit two separate applications though, according to the specific application requirements for each place.

Unfortunately not. If you apply for a scholarship place and are unsuccessful, you will not be eligible to book on to or apply for a paying place until the next iteration. We know this may sound strict, but our scholarships are intended for people who could not afford to attend the course otherwise. This is a way of limiting applications to just that set of writers.

Yes. Our London courses are held at The Bindery, Faber’s offices near Farringdon. The building has a step-free entrance available and all our classrooms can be accessed by step-free routes. 

Please drop our team a line if you have any questions about accessibility, and we’ll be very happy to help: [email protected]

Yes – but do get in touch and let us know if you have specific concerns or additional needs. We’ll be happy to advise and can be in touch with the tutor of the course you’re interested in if for instance you’re concerned about the pressures of completing writing exercises during class.

We work with writers to support them to access our courses in the way which is best for them – our team and tutors are committed to ensuring that everyone can access our courses, and appreciate that everyone has different learning styles and needs. 

If there are any adjustments or considerations which your tutor needs to know in advance (for example, if you would benefit from material being printed on coloured paper or to know in advance when the scheduled breaks are), please do get in touch with the team, who will be able to support you. 

Yes, we work with writers to support them to access our courses in the way which is best for them. 

In the past, for our in-person courses in London, we have arranged a pre-course visit to our building, so that the writer can get accustomed to the space, and worked with each individual writer to adapt course materials for the specific equipment or programmes which they already use (for example screen-readers or BrailleNote). 

If you will be arriving to our courses with a scribe to support you, please do let us know in advance, so we can provide them with refreshments and any material they might need. 

Our online classroom is fully accessible for people with visual impairments. Just get in touch with our team, if you would like to have a tour of the online classroom before your course begins. 

Please get in touch with our team who can discuss how we can best support you to access our in-person and online courses: [email protected].

Our team will always endeavour to find you a quiet space in our London building, should you need one at any time during your time with us. 

If you need access to a quiet space for prayer or contemplation while you are with us, just let our team know ahead of time, and they can reserve you an appropriate space in the building.