About the Academy
The HarperCollins Author Academy trains and supports writers from underrepresented ethnic backgrounds, with the aim of helping them to become commercially successful in the publishing environment. The six-week programme, in which we equip enrolled students with the tools to succeed in the publishing industry, is free to attend. Our aim is to assist motivated and dedicated writers become authors who are able to participate in, and navigate, the publishing industry. All students are supported by a mentor during the programme, who share the benefits of their invaluable experience and knowledge.
The Author Academy provides a warm and supportive environment for eligible students. It aids an author’s development and, once students have completed our course, they will know how to deliver a solid pitch for publication.
The Academy delivers high-quality instruction in creative writing, covering adult fiction, nonfiction, and writing for children, delivered by industry professionals. In addition, carefully curated publishing foundation master classes on other areas of the industry, such as platform-building, marketing, and so on, are taught by HarperCollins experts and partners from the wider publishing industry.
All students are supported by a mentor during the programme, who share the benefits of their invaluable experience and knowledge.
Our skilled tutors deliver teaching via a combination of live webinars and online streaming, and hope to provide face-to-face instruction in the near future.
The Author Academy courses run twice a year in January (spring course), with a second intake in September/October (Autumn course).
Applications for our Spring courses usually open October/November
Applications for our Autumn courses usually open in June.
Twice a year motivated writers and budding authors can apply for one of the Academy’s forty-five places that are divided into three live teaching streams, as shown below:
The forty-five students are able to access all of the publishing foundation master classes delivered at the HarperCollins Author Academy. However, each student can only select one of the above live teaching streams to attend in person.
At the end of each course, students receive a HarperCollins Author Academy Certificate and are eligible to join the Academy’s Alumni Network; a community for underrepresented authors to continue the conversation, create critique circles, and meet industry professionals after completing the course.