Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced
Applications
Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced
Work on your crime novel or psychological thriller with dedicated online teaching from a genre expert and award-winning author.
Tutor
Sarah HilaryLength
9 weeksLocation
Online,ZoomWriting Goal
Develop your writingAre you plotting the perfect murder – perhaps in the mode of Tana French, Richard Osman or Abir Mukherjee? Or maybe you’re channelling Patricia Highsmith, Gillian Flynn or Paula Hawkins to craft your suspense novel?
Everything was useful, practical, inspiring. Sarah showed such compassion for her students, connecting in meaningful ways with each of us.
On this high-level course for people writing crime fiction and psychological thrillers, Theakston's Crime Novel of the Year award-winning author Sarah Hilary will draw you deep into the workings of your genre and reveal the tricks and techniques that can help you take your novel to the next level.
You’ll join a group of 15 crime/thriller writers, tutored by Sarah, for flexibly-timed weekly writing workshops delivered on our bespoke online learning platform, plus live group teaching sessions via Zoom covering important genre-topics, and an in-depth one-to-one tutorial with Sarah towards the end of the course.
This course will run from 10 March to 2 June 2025.
Tutor
Sarah Hilary
Sarah’s debut, Someone Else's Skin, won Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year 2015 and was a World Book Night selection, and a Silver Falchion and Macavity Award finalist in the US. Her next book, Sharp Glass, is out in July 2024. Her short stories have won the Fish Criminally Short Histories Prize, the Cheshire Prize for Literature, and the SENSE Prize. As well as writing, Sarah teaches and mentors crime fiction’s rising stars. She is Programme Director for St Hilda’s Crime Fiction Weekend, and co-founder of Ledburied, a crime fiction festival in her home town.
What does this course give you?
- Live teaching sessions on Zoom: On six Monday evenings, Sarah will welcome the group for a 90-minute Zoom class, covering topics of significance to crime and thriller writers, such as how to plot a mystery, build suspense and construct a killer twist.
- A community of writers: Our selective applications process means that you will be writing your novel in a peer group of 15 students working at a high level. Many of our former students have found trusted readers with us and formed strong working friendships that go on long after the course is over. We have developed a bespoke learning platform exclusively for our students. Here you can give and receive feedback, and discuss the week’s topics with your fellow students and tutors.
- Writing workshop: You’ll get a dedicated workshop centring on a 3,000-word extract from your novel-in-progress. Workshops offer in-depth feedback from your fellow students and tutor, and are also designed to help develop your self-editing skills.
- One-to-one tutorial: You'll get a 45-minute tutorial with Sarah, based on a 3,000-word extract from your novel-in-progress. Use this tutorial to address your specific concerns about your writing.
- Industry masterclass: Join a live Zoom session with a crime/thriller writer as well as a literary agent for a special Q&A. They'll discuss the writing and publishing of crime and thrillers, as well as answering students’ questions.
- End-of-course submission: All students will be invited to submit the 3,000-word opening from their novel, plus a synopsis, to be shared with the agent teams at Curtis Brown and C&W. This is not a formal submission but a chance to give the agents a taste of your work at this stage. When you are ready to formally submit – no matter how long after your course has finished – the CBC team will give you guidance and support with your submission to the Curtis Brown and C&W agents.
- Alumni services: You’ll be given access to a range of exclusive writing services, available only to the alumni of our selective courses, which you’ll be able to access after your course finishes. These services include individual mentoring, editorial reports on your completed novel and submission reports on your ‘pitch package’. Read more about the opportunities available to our alumni here.
Course schedule
Please note that precise dates of sessions and details of course speakers are subject to change.
Masterclass speakers
WEEK 1
Mon 10 Mar – Fri 14 MarWEEK 2
Mon 17 Mar – Fri 21 MarWEEK 3
Mon 24 Mar – Fri 28 MarWEEK 4
Mon 31 Mar – Fri 4 AprWEEK 5
Mon 7 Apr – Fri 11 AprEASTER BREAK
No teaching w/c 14 AprWEEK 6
Tues 22 Apr – Fri 25 Apr (No teaching on Mon 21 Apr due to Bank Holiday)WEEK 7
Mon 28 Apr – Fri 2 MayWEEK 8
Tues 6 May – Fri 9 May (No teaching on Mon 5 May due to Bank Holiday in the UK)WEEK 9
Mon 12 May – Fri 16 MayEnd of course submission
Mon 2 Jun
Course fees
The course fee of £960 (inc VAT) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer or debit/credit card before the start of the course. (Please note, card payments will incur an additional transaction fee.) However, if you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can arrange an instalment plan.
Ready to apply?
Our application form asks some questions about you and your writing – and it also asks you to send us the first 3,000 words of the crime novel or thriller you’re working on and a one-page synopsis.
The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. The deadline for applications is midnight, end of day Sunday 23 February, and we will respond to applicants by Thursday 27 February.
We read all application material promptly after the closing date and make our selection of students swiftly at that time. However if you require an earlier response from us in order to be able to take part in this course, please email us with full details and we will consider and respond on a case by case basis.
If you encounter any problems during the application process, or have any more questions about the course, please email help@curtisbrowncreative.co.uk for assistance.
SCHOLARSHIP PLACE
The Breakthrough Scholarship for Crime & Thriller Writers of Colour will award one talented writer of colour with limited financial means a place on our Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced course. Deadline Sunday 16 February.
Breakthrough Scholarship for Crime & Thriller Writers of Colour
