Before You Apply
The Academy offers courses covering Fiction, Non-fiction, and Writing for Children genres. The six weeks courses run remotely with weekly live-streamed tutorials and access to course materials.
The course
The HarperCollins Author Academy term will start on 9th May 2025 and continue for six weeks, ending on 3rd July 2025. There are three courses running: fiction, non-fiction and children’s. You can only apply for one course. However, successful applicants can access materials from other courses.
Applicants for the HarperCollins Author Academy must:
- Be 18 years old or over at the date of course commencement.
- Have internet access and a computer or laptop with camera ;
- Make their applications in the English language.
- Not be represented by a literary agent at the date of course commencement.
- Be resident in the UK or Ireland.
- Be available to take part in the live classes (see below for details)
We will not accept your application If you do not meet these criteria. You may only apply for yourself and not on behalf of another person.
The HarperCollins Author Academy is free, but successful applicants will need to cover their own costs and expenses.
To ensure a fair and accurate evaluation of all applications, we ask that all responses to assessment questions reflect your own work and capabilities – this allows us to fairly assess your application. Therefore use of AI tools or external assistance in the Author Academy application process is not permitted. We will use an AI tracker when reviewing material, and any applications found to have used AI will be disqualified.
Modules
The HarperCollins Author Academy term will start on 9th May 2025 and continue for six weeks, ending on 3rd July 2025.
The courses will run as follows:
- Children’s – Wednesday mornings.
- Fiction -Thursday mornings.
- Non-fiction – Thursday afternoons.
The course will comprise various training sessions, including pre-recorded videos and interactive webinars, and coursework.
HarperCollins Author Academy tutors will facilitate live webinars in specialist fields lasting approximately two hours for each week of the course. The live webinars take place during the working day, morning or afternoon depending on the course. Students must attend the live webinars and it is up to the individual student to plan accordingly. The more students put in the more they will get out of the course.
Students must complete all other modules in their own time during the term. Please be aware that live webinars will be recorded for students to rewatch.
Students will retain copyright in any material that they create during their course or submit before, during, or after it.
Important dates
- 24/02 – applications close
- 17/04 – successful candidates contacted
- 09/05 – induction event
- w/c 12/05 – course begins
- 03/07 – graduation event – submissions window opens
- 30/07/26 – submissions window closes
Selection
There are places for 15 students on each course. Applications will be reviewed by a blind selection process for a fair, consistent, and more inclusive process and we will notify successful applicants by email and give more detailed course terms to review and agree in the form of a contract.
Why should I apply?
Your own mentor
A HarperCollins mentor will be appointed at the end of the six-week course and will over two-hour long sessions provide guidance on the publishing process and be a sounding board for questions. Please note that mentors will not provide editorial advice.
Additionally, for 12 months after the end of the course, students will be able to access the course materials, recorded live webinars, and other videos.
Idea submissions
After the course, each student will have one year to submit a book proposal directly to HarperCollins to review for publication (HarperCollins will not be obliged to publish any manuscripts submitted by students, nor will students be obliged to accept offers made by HarperCollins and students will retain copyright in all their proposals and manuscripts).
Alumni Network
Each student can also 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.
Certificate
At the end of the course, and on completion of all masterclasses and assigned modules, students will receive a HarperCollins Academy Certificate.