Writing a Novel (Daytime)
A comprehensive six-month writing course for the serious writer, with access to some of the biggest names in publishing. If you're thinking about a creative writing MA, consider this practical alternative.
Looking for the evening version of the course? Click here.
Level
What do these levels mean?
Location
Length
- Start Date
- Time
- Tuesdays, 10:30–13:30
- Application Deadline
- Sunday 12 Jan 2025
Places available
£4350
£4350
£670 / month for 5 months and a £1,000.00 deposit
View payment options
Dedicate six months to your novel
This is our flagship course, which has seen alumni such as S J Watson, Rachel Joyce, Gail Honeyman and Alice Feeney go on to conquer bestseller lists around the world. Designed by the Director of our Fiction Programme, Richard Skinner, it's a six-month deep dive into the art of the novel, with sessions on every aspect you'll need to take you from the bare bones of a draft to a finished novel. You'll also hear from guest speakers including published alumni, Faber authors and senior Faber editors.
It's also a chance to build a writing group that you can take with you into your future writing career. Over the course of the six months, you and your classmates will give feedback on each other's work, honing your own editorial eye as well as helping them develop their stories, and will be there to cheer each other on as you approach the finishing line of your first draft.
Is this the right course for me?
This is an advanced course, designed as a practical alternative to a Creative Writing MA. Accordingly, it's not suitable for writers who would consider themselves complete beginners. That doesn't mean you need to have taken courses before, but it does mean that you need to feel confident that you're ready to start work on your novel. You will also need to have an idea for it – it might be one you've been working on for a while, or it could be something a little more unformed that you're hoping to pin down with the help of the course.
In weekly workshops, we'll cover everything from the first conception of an idea through to getting words on the page, narrative structure, character development and editing. You'll be learning from our experienced Course Directors, as well as guest tutors including top authors from Faber and elsewhere, editors, agents and industry professionals – and, of course, the fourteen other dedicated writers in your class.
You'll receive one-to-one feedback from your tutor and you'll also have 10,000 words of your novel workshopped in class during your peer presentation sessions.
If you're looking to start a career as a writer, there is no better way to get going on the road to publication than to meet the people who make that happen every day. Hear talks from the likes of Faber Executive Chair Stephen Page and Faber commissioning editors, then put your work in front of London's top literary agents once the course is over in the much-anticipated anthology.
This course consists of three-hour daytime sessions from 10:30–13:30 and six two-hour guest sessions and four one-to-one sessions from 14:30–16:30. All sessions take place on Tuesdays.
Each tutor listed on this page will lead their own class of no more than fifteen students.
Please note: your tutor may adapt the titles, order or content of these sessions based on the needs or interests of the students in any given class.
Course Programme
Session 1
Tuesday 28 January, 10:30–13:30
Introductory Session: Creating Ide...
Session 2
4 February, 10:30–13:30
Character, Part One...
Session 3
11 February, 10:30–16:30
Character, Part Two and Guest Sess...
Tutors
Shelley Weiner
Shelley Weiner is an acclaimed novelist, short-story writer and journalist who has, over the years, established a reputation...
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Sabrina Broadbent
Sabrina Broadbent's debut novel, Descent, won the WH Smith Raw Talent award. Her other novels are A Boy’s Guide to Track and...
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Guest Tutor
Eimear McBride
Eimear McBride grew up in the west of Ireland and trained at Drama Centre London. Her first novel A Girl is a Half-formed Thing...
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Guest Tutor
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan is the author of Harmless Like You – the winner of The Authors’ Club First Novel Award and a Betty Trask...
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Guest Tutor
Kate Maxwell
Kate Maxwell was born in London, studied English at Oxford University and has worked as a journalist, editor and broadcaster in London and New York...
More About This TutorHow to Apply
Places on this course are limited and keenly contested, but we strive to keep the application process as simple as possible. The three steps to apply are outlined below:
Covering letter
Reading your application, tutors are looking to get a sense of you as a writer and as a member of the group. As such, we don't have specific requirements from your covering letter, but it's a good opportunity to tell us what you want to get out of the course, what sort of writing experience you've had, why you've chosen us and why you've decided to do it now.
Prose sample (1,000 words max)
Your sample does not have to be a complete story, and it doesn't have to be from the novel you want to write on the course – just representative, so the tutors can get a good idea of what you'll be working on. If you're planning on writing first-person comic sci-fi on the course, don't send your omnisciently narrated historical mystery!
Submit your application
That's it! We'll aim to respond to all applications within ten days of the application deadline.
The Faber Academy Scholarship Programme
There are scholarship places available on this course for writers who otherwise could not afford to attend. We particularly welcome applications from writers of colour, disabled writers and LGBTQ+ writers.
To apply, please submit a 1,000 word prose sample, along with your covering letter (both as Word docs or PDFs) to academy@faber.co.uk, with the subject line ‘Scholarship Application: Writing a Novel (Daytime) – January 2025’. The full terms and conditions and more information about our scholarship programme can be found below.
Location
The Bindery
51 Hatton Garden
London EC1N 8HN
How to get here
Faber’s office, The Bindery, is well connected by public transport, with Farringdon Station just five minutes’ walk away, and stops for several bus routes in the area too. If you’re coming from outside of London, the office is a short bus or taxi journey from Kings Cross, Euston and St Pancras stations.
The best investment I have ever made in myself [...] The last six months has been an incredible journey – one of the most difficult, most challenging but most satisfying ever.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much time do I need to commit to this course outside of the classes?
We usually say you’ll need to set aside five to seven hours per week, outside of class time. This is for your own writing – sometimes in response to a particular task your tutor has set you, but generally just for making progress on your novel – and for reading the extracts of the students being workshopped the following week. If you have more time available for writing, that’s absolutely brilliant. But five to seven hours will keep everything ticking over nicely.
How do you allocate tutors? Can I request a specific tutor?
The tutors read all the applications and they, along with the Academy team, then put together class lists based on a couple of factors. There may be students writing on subjects or in genres that the tutors feel they’d be helpful with, or with writing samples that particularly excite them. We’re also looking to put together groups who will complement each other and provide a broad range of experience and interest. So for example, we’ll try and avoid a situation where fourteen of you are writing crime and one of you is writing epic fantasy.
You’re more than welcome to request a specific tutor and we’ll do what we can to facilitate that if it’s possible, once those other considerations have been taken into account.
Is there an evening version of this course?
Yes! You can find the full schedule and apply for that here.
I'm available for both the day and evening version of the course – can I apply for both?
Absolutely – you’ll just need to submit two separate applications. And if you’re available for either, but have a preference for one, we ask that you indicate that on your application as it will be helpful when we’re putting together potential class lists.
I'll need to miss a couple of sessions because of other commitments. Does this matter?
Not necessarily! It’s often the case that students have to miss a session over the course of the six months. You’d just need to let your tutor know in advance so that they can give you any handouts you’ll miss, and you’ll usually find that your classmates will be happy to share notes afterwards too. Having said that, if you know you’d be missing more than two consecutive classes, that’s a little different. Get in touch and we’ll be happy to advise.
How many other people will there be in my class?
There are fifteen students per class.
How often will I get feedback on my work, and will I have one-to-one time with my tutor?
You’ll receive feedback from the entire group on 10,000 words of your novel – this is usually done in two separate peer presentation sessions of 5,000 words, spaced out during the six months. These discussions are led by your tutor. You’ll also have a one-to-one with your tutor towards the end of the course.
Will I get access to agents and editors as part of this course?
Yes. You’ll have guest speaker sessions with at least one agent and editor during the course, and these slots include a Q&A session where you’ll be able to ask them your own questions. You’ll also submit an extract of your novel to us at the end of the course for inclusion in our anthology. We send this to a long list of UK literary agents, and they’ll be able to contact you directly if they’d like to see more.
I already have a literary agent. Can I still take this course?
Yes, absolutely. We’ve had previously published and currently agented authors take the course before, for many reasons – whether you’re looking to build up your technical knowledge, or changing genre, or just feel in need of the structure of a course and the camaraderie of a group, we’re more than happy to see an application from you even if you’re at the more experienced side of the scale.
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