APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
We require applicants to have at least 15,000 words of their novel written, plus a plan for the direction of the story, before the course commences.
To apply, please send the following documents to [email protected]: clearly marked “WFC&YA January 2026 application
- the first 5,000 words of your story;
- a 500-word synopsis;
- a covering letter (no more than one page of A4) telling us a little about you;
Please submit your work in a Word document, double-spaced.
All applications and course queries to [email protected]:
All workshops and online sessions will be run on GMT or GMT+1.
Course start date: September 2026
Application deadline: 24th July 2026
Cost remains at £1900.00 (This can be spread over monthly installments at no additional cost)
You will be contacted by the end of August 2026 with the outcome of your application for the September 2026 cohort.
NB: We do our utmost to ensure dates do not change from those stated prior to the course start date. However, on the rare occasion this happens, students will be given as much notice as possible.
COURSE OVERVIEW
As the marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, aspiring children’s authors need to ensure that they put their best work forward to agents and publishers. Through our tried and tested, carefully structured course, we analyse the core elements needed to build a story worthy of a young reader’s attention.
Golden Egg’s Writing for Children and Young Adults course is run over three, nine-week long terms. Each course includes:
- three, full-day workshops, conducted online (held at the weekend or during the week)
- editor-led live sessions (hosted on a weekday evening or during the day)
- interactive Facebook group
- twenty-four interactive workbooks with videos, information slides & exercises
- three forty-five minute one2ones with your dedicated Golden Egg Editor. Please note that each editorial takes three hours of an editor’s time consisting of reading your pages, writing notes and a forty five minute one2one editorial over zoom or in person.
At the Golden Egg Academy, we focus on Picture Books and Middle Grade/Young Adult Fiction rather than early readers and chapter books as these are often generated by editorial teams at publishing houses, who then ask trusted writers to write them to a tightly plotted brief.
For this reason, we believe that it’s best to focus either on picture book or novel writing as a debut writer. These are the areas in the publishing industry that welcome debuts. Your publisher or agent may then ask you to branch out.
Term One
- the realities of the world of children’s publishing
- the child’s and young adult’s point of view
- the strength and communicability of your story idea.
You will work on analysing your own story and recently published children’s novels in terms of:
- concept
- narratorial focus
- world view
- emotional drive.
Term structure:
- one, full-day workshop, online or in person (held at the weekend or during the week)
- editor-led live sessions (hosted on a weekday evening or during the day)
- eight interactive workbooks with videos, information slides & exercises
- a forty-five minute one2one with your dedicated Golden Egg Editor examining:
- 8,000 words of your novel
- your key story and synopsis.
Term Two
- different strategies for structuring a story, including the GEA 10 Story Points*
- the GEA 10 Story Points within your own novel, published children’s novels and films
- your concept, through-line and emotional drive using the GEA BookMap Lite©*.
Using the BookMap Lite© you will identify and strengthen:
- your main character’s goals
- the hurdles your character must overcome and what they have to lose
- your elevator pitch and synopsis.
Term structure:
- one, full-day workshop, online or in person (held at the weekend or during the week)
- editor-led live sessions (hosted on a weekday evening or during the day)
- eight interactive workbooks with videos, information slides & exercises
- a forty-five minute one2one with your dedicated Golden Egg Editor examining:
- 4,000 words of your novel
- the structure of your whole story using the BookMap Lite©.
*Structure tools created by the Golden Egg Academy specifically for children’s books.
Term Three
- the deep emotional connection between reader and story characters
- dramatising your novel for a truly immersive story experience
- the importance of show and tell, or dramatisation and exposition, within your novel.
You will also develop your understanding of:
- the children’s book market
- how the publishing industry works including:
- the importance of high-concept fiction
- book covers and blurbs
- how publishers sell a novel and why it’s important for the editing process.
Term Structure:
- one, full-day workshop online (held at the weekend or during the week)
- editor-led live sessions (hosted on a weekday evening or during the day)
- eight interactive workbooks with videos, information slides & exercises
- a forty-five minute one2one with your dedicated Golden Egg Editor:
- examining 8,000 words of your novel
- your agents style query document (top sheet)
- recommending your next steps within Golden Egg or the industry, with an option to book an editorial report on your novel.
