Writing a Novel Summer School Writing a Novel Summer School Writing a Novel Summer School

Writing a Novel Summer School

Re-immerse yourself in the craft of the novel and continue – or rediscover – the momentum and camaraderie of our world-famous course.

Level

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Advanced

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Location

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London

Length

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12 weeks
  • Start Date
  • Time
  • Wednesdays, 18:00–21:00
  • Application Deadline
  • Sunday 01 Jun 2025

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£1495

£1495

£400 / month for 2 months and a £695.00 deposit

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Dedicate this summer to your novel

Over the last 14 years, Writing a Novel, Faber Academy’s flagship course, has inspired hundreds of writers and put more than 150 authors on the path to publication.

This summer, at the request of our alumni who wish to spend even more time in the company of their tutors and fellow novelists, we are bringing our tutors and graduates back together for the first Writing a Novel Summer School.

Drawn from their years of experience guiding writers through the course, tutors Richard T. Kelly, Sarah May, Shelley Weiner and Nikesh Shukla have each created three new workshops on their area of expertise – from picking apart your first page and opening image, to experimenting with voice and register, and a masterclass on the current trends in publishing – to give writers the opportunity to go even deeper into the craft of novel writing.

Designed to also give writers the space and time to keep writing through the summer months, the Writing a Novel Summer School includes two Saturday sessions where you will have access to a writer’s room at Faber, where you can put the ideas from each week into action in your projects, and write alongside your fellow writers in peace and quiet.

Is this the right course for me?

This course is open to any graduates of Writing a Novel and other Advanced Faber Academy courses, including Edit and Submit Your Novel, Finish Your Draft and The Advanced Fiction Workshop.

You must be working on a novel-length project – it doesn’t matter if you’re in the full-flow of writing and want to consider your work in a new way, or you’ve stalled on your novel and are looking to reignite your passion for it.

In this course, you won’t share your work with the group, but when you join the course you will be assigned a tutor, who you will meet with three times for one-to-ones throughout the course.

At the beginning of the course, you’ll meet your tutor for a ten minute session to set your goals and intentions for the course, then you’ll have thirty-minute in-depth discussion on the opening 5,000 words of your work-in-progress, which will be read in advance and tutor feedback given, and a final ten minute session where you’ll reflect on the course and set your writing goals for the autumn and beyond.

When you join the course, your tutor will also handpick two Faber titles for you, which they believe will help you with your writing, to read and reflect on throughout the course.

    This course will run on Wednesday evenings (18:00-21:00) with one-to-ones taking place 17:30-19:00 on selected dates (see schedule below) at Faber's HQ in Hatton Garden.

    There will be two Saturday sessions (10:00-16:00) which are untutored Writing Days, where you will be hosted by Faber Academy staff in a Faber writer’s room.

Course Programme

Session 1

Wednesday 2 July, 18:00-21:00

Introductions and Beginnings with ...

Session 2

Wednesday 9 July, 17:30-21:00

One-to-Ones and Setting with Nikes...

Session 3

Wednesday 16 July, 18:00-21:00

Dialogue with Nikesh Shukla...

See remaining sessions

Course Programme

Writing a Novel Summer School

Session 1

Wednesday 2 July, 18:00-21:00

Meet Your Tutors and Beginnings with Nikesh Shukla

To begin this first session, you will meet Nikesh, Shelley, Sarah and Richard – and have a 10 minute one-to-one with your tutor, to establish what you most need support with throughout the course and to set some writing goals for the summer.

For the first workshop, led by Nikesh, you’ll start at the very beginning, and look at how to make the opening of your book impactful. In Nikesh’s first workshop, you’ll examine the power of the first sentence, to the broader introduction of a compelling thematic argument, to the establishing of a character or characters in a setting, this will help you not only to make your beginning distinct, but also, stand out. As well as help your end. Because every last page problem is actually a first page problem.

Session 2

Wednesday 9 July, 17:30-21:00

One-to-Ones and Setting with Nikesh Shukla

One-to-ones will take place 17:30-19:00, with the workshop running from 19:00-21:00.

In this workshop on setting, Nikesh will guide you through how to build worlds, and make them liveable. You’ll look at how to establish the rules of a distinct setting, set within a place within a time, and ensure that this setting is a character in itself – not overcrowding your characters and not slowing us down either.

Session 3

Wednesday 16 July, 18:00-21:00

Dialogue with Nikesh Shukla

In Nikesh’s third and final session, you’ll study dialogue in all its forms, from monologues to dialogues to scenes in silence to clips from movies to extracts from playscripts to that delicious bit in that contemporary novel that gave us all the feels that one summer.

In this interactive session, you will work on scenes of dialogue and come to understand how to write brilliant killer things for characters to say that drive story forward, move the plot forward, give us the information, leave the obvious to subtext and still sound characterful, all without showing that's what we're doing. Fun times, eh friendo?

Session 4

Wednesday 23 July, 18:00-21:00

Going Deeper into Character with Shelley Weiner

Diving ever deeper into character is endlessly fascinating – and an essential part of fiction. In your first session with Shelley, you’ll focus on creating multidimensional characters that drive your story forward and resonate with readers.

Together you will explore techniques for developing authentic voices, complex backstories and dynamic relationships. Through interactive exercises and feedback, you will understand how to build characters from concepts into living, breathing entities. Whether you're refining your protagonist or giving life to your supporting cast, this workshop will inspire deeper insight into your characters as they come alive on the page.

Session 5

Saturday 26 July, 10:00-16:00

Writing Day

On our Saturday Writing Day, you’ll be hosted by Faber Academy staff, who will be there to support you to set your intentions or goals for the day, before letting you get your head down to write, read, plan and think (with unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits).

Session 6

Wednesday 30 July, 17:30-21:00

One-to-Ones and Point of View with Shelley Weiner

One-to-ones will take place 17:30-19:00, with the workshop running from 19:00-21:00.

In the workshop, running from 19:00-21:00, you’ll ask who tells the story and how? Choosing and controlling points of view is one of the most challenging aspects of fiction – and the key to its essential function: enchantment.

This session delves into the intricacies of narrative perspectives, providing insights on how to choose the right one for your story. We will explore the nuances of first-person, third-person, and omniscient viewpoints, and how each can shape your narrative. Through exercises and expert guidance from Shelley, you will learn to control the flow of information, deepen reader connection, and enhance the emotional impact of your prose.

Session 7

Wednesday 6 August, 18:00-21:00

Scene or Summary: time, tension and intensity with Shelley Weiner

In order to span the timeline of your narrative (one year? One month? A century?), your story must be crafted into scenes linked by summary.

In your final session with Shelley, you’ll examine how to construct vivid scenes that are emotionally gripping and captivate your readers. We also explore how to balance these scenes with succinct summaries that move the story forward, sustaining the pace. Through practical exercises and feedback, you’ll gain the skills to integrate scene and summary along a cohesive timeline, thus enhancing your ability to construct a dynamic narrative.

Session 8

Wednesday 13 August, 18:00-21:00

Scene Sequencing with Sarah May

How is your story asking to be told? In your first session with Sarah May, you’ll take a deep dive into intuitive plotting. Building on Scene or Summary, we’ll be looking at managing and manipulating reader expectation through scene sequencing. Whether you’re writing a plot-driven novel with multiple viewpoints and timelines or embracing a more linear or even experimental structure this session will steer you through a variety of different approaches to telling your story through call and response in order to grow narrative tension and reader engagement.

Session 9

Wednesday 20 August, 17:30-21:00

One-to-Ones and Narrative Speeds with Sarah May

One-to-ones will take place 17:30-19:00, with the workshop running from 19:00-21:00.

The second part of the session will focus on narrative speeds and the impact switching these can have on not only pacing but creating story depth. We’ll also be looking at layout: how to make gaps in the text and blank spaces carry their narrative weight.

Session 10

Wednesday 27 August, 18:00-21:00

Voice Workout with Sarah May

Taking a short extract from your novel as a focal point, this session will put voice through its paces as we scrutinise register. Our writing voices – rather like our singing voices – have their own unique timbre. Hearing and understanding how we sound enables us to play to our strengths as writers creating narratives that are as engaging as they are compelling. What storyscapes, characters and situations are our voices drawn towards? Are they better suited to vast ranging plot-driven novels, or tight, up close and intimate novellas? As we work through the drafting process in this session, we’ll learn how to make voice sing.

Session 11

Saturday 30 August, 10:00-16:00

Writing Day

On our Saturday Writing Day, you’ll be hosted by Faber Academy staff, who will be there to support you to set your intentions or goals for the day, before letting you get your head down to write, read, plan and think (with unlimited tea, coffee and biscuits).

Session 12

Wednesday 3 September, 18:00-21:00

Plot and Structure with Richard T. Kelly

There’s no shortage of proposed formulae about how best to construct a novel’s plot, and in setting out on the long form of the novel, some sort of a plan is advisable. But it’s never a blueprint – only a vulnerable way forward. The nearer we get to a complete manuscript, though, the clearer it becomes to us how we have built and sequenced our narrative – its internal rhythms, transitions, changes of tempo etc. Only then can we really ask: do we have enough plot, and have we ordered our events correctly to deliver what we intended, to make the reader feel what we want them to feel? In your first session with Richard, you will be challenged to interrogate your work at that level, seeking to arrive at what William Fiennes calls ‘the shapeliness of form.’

Session 13

Wednesday 10 September, 17:30-21:00

One-to-Ones and The Art of the Sentence with Richard T. Kelly

One-to-ones will take place 17:30-19:00, with the workshop running from 19:00-21:00.

The voice in which a novel is narrated is crucial to the writer’s craft and to the reader’s appreciation; and fiction has the license to fly free of what are normally considered as ‘rules’ of how to write ‘good English.’ Yet some writers are plagued by the sense that their grasp and usage of grammar and punctuation are not to the standard required. Other writers have a strong faith in their personal and preferred sense of ‘style’ in how they make sentences. But, either way, we don’t always understand perfectly how we ‘sound’ on the page, which is such a vital part of the first impression our novel makes. In this session, you will take a closer look at the range of technical choices that give our sentences, paragraphs and passages their particular music.

Session 14

Wednesday 17 September, 17:30-21:00

Final One-to-Ones and Current Trends in Publishing with Richard T. Kelly

Final one-to-ones with your tutor will take place 17:30-19:00, with the workshop running from 19:00-21:00.

The rate of change in the publishing business, as in all media currently, can be dizzying; big changes seem to happen while we sleep. Still, the book business remains surprisingly resilient and adaptive, and the ecology of the publishing ‘jungle’ – with its impressive big corporate beasts and its resourceful smaller-press foragers – has room for all kinds. But innovators and disruptors to business-as-usual abound, and aspiring authors are best to stay abreast of the latest turns in how new fiction is originated and produced, promoted and consumed. In your final session of the Writing a Novel Summer School, you will assess the leading trends in publishing today, and what they point to for tomorrow.

After the workshop, we'll also raise a glass to all your hard work over the summer in an end-of-course celebration.

How to Apply

Places on this course are limited, but we strive to keep the application process as simple as possible. The three steps to apply are outlined below:

Covering letter

Please provide a cover letter, explaining your project, your writing history and where you most need support with your writing. Please also include when you took Writing a Novel and who your tutor was.

Prose sample (1,000 words max)

Please provide 1,000 words of your work-in-progress so the tutors can understand your style, voice and genre.

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 is a scholarship place 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 scholarships@faber.co.uk, with the subject line ‘Scholarship Application: Writing a Novel Summer School – July 2025’. The full terms and conditions and more information about our scholarship programme can be found below.

 

The deadline for application is Sunday 1 June 2025.

Find out more

Tutors

Photo of Richard T Kelly, tutor on Faber Academy's Writing a Novel course

Richard T. Kelly

Richard T. Kelly is the author of the novels Crusaders (2008), The Possessions of Doctor Forrest (2011) and The Knives (2016)...

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Richard T. Kelly
Image of Shelley Weiner, Faber Academy tutor

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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Shelley Weiner
nikesh-shukla-tutor

Nikesh Shukla

Nikesh Shukla is an novelist and screenwriter. He is the author of Coconut Unlimited (shortlisted for the Costa First Novel...

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Nikesh Shukla
sarah-may-tutor

Sarah May

Sarah May is the highly acclaimed author of seven novels, including The Nudist Colony, (shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award...

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Sarah May

The course and Sarah have been instrumental in pushing my writing to the next level. Sarah was amazing at seeing the essence of what I was trying to achieve and helping me to bring it to life in the best way.

Student, 2024

Writing a Novel

Nikesh's approach to supporting debut writers during the writing process has proved invaluable. His practical and real life examples of planning and crafting were useful guard rails. His encouraging and constructive teaching style created a safe learning environment allowing for creativity to flourish.

Student, 2024

Writing a Novel

Richard was utterly terrific – the perfect combo of positivity and firm feedback. And, I've made a writing posse for life. Something I have always dreamed of. I feel part of something now.

Student, 2024

Writing a Novel

Shelley's voice stays with you forever. A special learning experience.

Student, 2024

Writing a Novel

Nikesh was kind and supportive. He focused on developing a relationship between the group. He is an exceptional writer and created an incredible learning environment.

Student, 2024

Writing a Novel

Sarah is an exceptional tutor with brilliant insights, humour, strict deadlines and unwavering kindness and support.

Student, 2025

Writing a Novel

Richard is a brilliant, encouraging and knowledgeable tutor, bringing so much rich insight to the class from his experience as an author, editor and tutor. He was supportive and enthusiastic at every step of the way, giving each novel his undivided attention and expertise. I couldn't recommend his class enough.

Student, 2025

Writing a Novel

Shelley is a very astute, honest, consistent tutor from whom I have learned a great deal.

Student, 2025

Writing a Novel

The last six months has been an incredible journey – one of the most difficult, most challenging but most satisfying ever.

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.

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