Read first
Beta manuscripts arrive before publication. You read within the window and complete a structured feedback form. Your reader's reaction, chapter by chapter, is the most valuable data we get.
The BFOE Workshop Programme
Help make the books,
before the world reads them
BFOE is built with its readers, and a small number of them are invited all the way inside. Workshop members are the families and teachers who read our manuscripts before anyone else, tell us the truth about them, and help shape what BFOE builds next.
Places are limited. Applications are open all year, because this isn't a promotion. There's a bar instead.
What members do
Shape the work
Resources, formats and ideas get tested in the Workshop at the development stage, when your opinion can still change them.
Name things
Shortlists for titles and small pieces of the BFOE world come to the Workshop before they're decided.
Tell the story
Occasionally we invite members onto the @BFOEWorkshop channel to talk about the work we do together. Always optional, always adults.
The bar
This is a working role, and we'd rather have a waitlist than a passenger list. We ask for a genuine reason for wanting in, and a commitment to read each beta manuscript within three weeks and complete its feedback cycle. Miss two cycles without a word and we'll open your place to the waitlist, kindly.
Worth being clear: the Workshop Programme is not a subscription and is not for sale. Den materials aren't included, and there's nothing to buy here. Membership is earned, not bought, and the kudos is the point: your name in the small group that steers what BFOE becomes.
Apply to join
What happens next
1
We read it
Every application is read personally by Martin. No scoring software, no form letters at this stage.
2
You hear from us
If there's a place, your first assignment comes with the welcome. If the group is full, you join the waitlist in order, and we tell you honestly where you stand.
3
The work begins
Manuscripts, shortlists and questions start arriving. From then on, you're part of how BFOE gets made.
Questions
Does it cost anything?
No. The Workshop Programme is free, and it isn't a subscription. If you're looking for the companion packs, classroom materials and monthly meetings, those live in The BFOE Den.
Do I need to have read the books already?
No. Plenty of people find BFOE through YouTube or a friend before they've read a page. What matters is the commitment going forward, not the mileage behind you.
Can my child apply?
Applications come from adults: parents, guardians and educators. Your reader's reactions are the treasure, but the account, the emails and the commitment are yours.
How many people get in?
Enough to steer well, few enough that every voice counts. We don't publish a number, and we'd rather keep you on an honest waitlist than water the group down.