With over 2 million copies of her books sold worldwide, number one bestseller Clare Mackintosh is the multi-award-winning author of I Let You Go (Little Brown, 2015), which was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and the fastest-selling title by a new crime writer in 2015. It also won the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2016. Both Clare's second and third novels, I See You (Little Brown, 2017) and Let Me Lie (Little Brown, 2018), were number one Sunday Times bestsellers. Her first three thrillers were selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, and together have been translated into forty languages. After the End (Little Brown, 2019) was published in 2019 and became an instant Sunday Times bestseller, and in 2021 Hostage (Little Brown, 2021) flew straight into the top ten. Her new crime series, featuring Welsh detective DC Ffion Morgan, has been critically acclaimed, with both The Last Party (Little Brown, 2023) and A Game of Lies (Little Brown, 2023) hitting the Sunday Times top ten. Together, her books have spent more than sixty-five weeks in The Sunday Times bestseller lists. Clare lives in north Wales with her family.
The Business of Writing: Creating strong foundations to support your author career
During this week-long retreat, award-winning and best-selling author Clare Mackintosh will cover everything to do with the business of writing and building a thriving author career. This will be a comprehensive behind-the-scenes tour of how a professional and adaptable author career is formed, developed and sustained. From discussing what a literary agent can do for you, to explaining different possible publishing routes, to helping you establish a creative writing practice, to supporting you in building your authentic author brand and platform, to identifying your target audience and niche, to self-editing your work, to discussing book launch strategies, and to everything else in between. This retreat is designed to give you a creative boost, as well as all the tools you need to build a long and successful career for yourself.
You can expect lively and instructive group workshops with Clare, 30-minute tutorials where your personal goals and work will be discussed in detail, guest speaker sessions with industry professionals and a valuable opportunity to build a community of fellow-writers who will become your support network as you take your next professional and creative steps. Whether you’re starting out, or a more experienced writer, you’ll leave the week with strong, life-long foundations to support your ideas, ambitions and career.
Bursaries
One £250 bursary space is available for this course. To apply, please complete this application form
Deadline for applications: 16 January 2026
For further information about the support available, please visit our Financial Assistance page: https://tynewydd.wales/courses-retreats/financial-support/
Tutor
Clare Mackintosh
Guest Reader
Sheila Crowley
Sheila Crowley started her publishing career at Poolbeg press in Dublin before moving to London in 1991. Through the 90s and 00s she held a number of high-profile sales and marketing positions at leading publishers, including HarperCollins and Hodder. Her knowledge of the book industry covering the UK, Ireland and international markets was developed during this period and continues to be a wonderful asset in her work with authors and publishers. She made the move to agenting in 2003 and has been an agent at Curtis Brown since 2008.
She represents a wide range of award-winning and million-copy-selling fiction and non-fiction writers including Clare Mackintosh, Jojo Moyes, Santa Montefiore, and Louise Candlish. Sheila is looking for the best new talent in bookclub and commercial fiction, be that an epic romance, family drama, saga or a page-turning thriller. As well as helping debut authors launch a publishing career, she also works with published writers who may want to change direction.