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, 2022) 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.
Writing Crime Fiction
Crime fiction continues to be an unbelievably popular genre which dominates bestseller lists year on year. With such a range of sub-genres on offer, every budding crime writer is sure to find their niche and voice. Whether you want to write fast-paced thrillers, cosy mysteries or complex procedurals, this week-long comprehensive course will teach you the fundamentals you’ll need to take your writing to the next level. You’ll explore narrative structure, character and setting, and learn how to add authenticity to your writing. During the week, you’ll be encouraged to interrogate your suspects, analyse your plot for loopholes, and investigate your crime scene for clues. Whether you have a work in progress or just a skeleton of an idea, the award-winning and experienced tutors Clare Mackintosh and C.L. Taylor will be on-hand to help you increase the intrigue, originality and tension in your writing and broaden your knowledge of contemporary crime fiction. You’ll leave the course feeling motivated, challenged, and ready to bring out the very best in your writing and ideas.
Tutors
Clare Mackintosh
C.L. Taylor
C.L. Taylor is an award-winning Sunday Times bestselling author of ten gripping psychological thrillers including The Guilty Couple (Harper Collins, 2022), a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for summer 2023 and Sleep (Harper Collins, 2019), a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for autumn 2019. C.L. Taylor’s books have sold over two million copies in the UK alone, hit number one on Amazon Kindle, Audible, Kobo, iBooks and Google Play, and have been translated into 25 languages and optioned for TV. She has also written two Young Adult thrillers: The Treatment (Harper Collins, 2016) and The Island (Harper Collins, 2021).
Guest Reader
Vaseem Khan (Digital)
Vaseem Khan is the author of two award-winning crime series set in India, the Baby Ganesh Agency series set in modern Mumbai, and the Malabar House historical crime novels set in 1950s Bombay. His first book, The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra (Hodder, Mulholland Books, Hachette, 2015), was selected by The Sunday Times as one of the 40 best crime novels published 2015-2020, and is translated into 17 languages. The second in the series won the Shamus Award in the US. In 2021, Midnight at Malabar House (Hodder & Stoughton, Hachette, 2020) won the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger, the world’s premier award for historical crime fiction, and was shortlisted for the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year in 2022. When he isn't writing, he works at the Department of Security and Crime Science at University College London. Vaseem was born in England, but spent a decade working in India. Vaseem also co-hosts the popular crime fiction podcast, The Red Hot Chilli Writers. www.vaseemkhan.com