Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced

Select Date

Applications

Start Date

5th Oct 2026

End Date

30th Nov 2026

Application Deadline

14th Sep 2026

Applicant Notification

18th Sep 2026

Price on Acceptance

£990

Apply Now

Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced

Zoom lessons

Length

9 weeks

Location

Online,Zoom

Writing Goal

Develop your writing

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Writing Crime & Thrillers – Advanced

Work on your crime novel or psychological thriller with dedicated online teaching from a genre expert.

Tutor

Lucie Whitehouse

Length

9 weeks

Location

Online,Zoom

Writing Goal

Develop your writing

Get teaching and feedback from the acclaimed crime novelist.

Zoom lessons

Are 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?

The course totally changed how I thought about writing. One of the most encouraging things I took away from it was that there is no right or wrong way to approach writing a book.

Olivia Gavoyannis
Author of Lie to Me

On this high-level course for people writing crime fiction and psychological thrillers, an acclaimed crime author 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 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 your tutor towards the end of the course.

Tutor

Lucie Whitehouse

Lucie Whitehouse is the author of eight novels, including the Birmingham-set Robin Lyons crime series of which Claim Your Dead is the fourth. Her novels of psychological suspense include Before We Met, which was a Richard & Judy Summer Book Club and ITV Crime Thriller Book Club selection, and The Bed I Made, which was a Channel 4/TV Book Club pick. The second Robin Lyons novel, Risk Of Harm, was a Sunday Times Crime Novel of the Month. Lucie grew up in Warwickshire, studied Classics at Oxford and worked in publishing in London before moving to Brooklyn where she now lives with her husband and daughter.

What does this course give you?

Live teaching sessions on Zoom: On six Monday evenings, your tutor 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 your tutor, 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. Read more about the opportunities available to our alumni here.

MASTERCLASS SPEAKERS

Sam EadesRead bio →

Jo Callaghan, award-winning crime writer

Jo CallaghanRead bio →

Susan ArmstrongRead bio →

Course schedule

Please note that precise dates of sessions and details of course speakers are subject to change.

WEEK 1
Mon 5 Oct – Fri 9 Oct
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WEEK 2
Mon 12 Oct – Fri 16 Oct
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WEEK 3
Mon 19 Oct – Fri 23 Oct
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WEEK 4
Mon 26 Oct – Fri 30 Oct
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WEEK 5
Mon 2 Nov – Fri 6 Nov
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WEEK 6
Mon 9 Nov – Fri 13 Nov
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WEEK 7
Mon 16 Nov – Fri 20 Nov
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WEEK 8
Mon 23 Nov – Fri 27 Nov
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WEEK 9
Mon 30 Nov – Fri 4 Dec
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End of course submission
Mon 7 Dec
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Course fees

The course fee of £990 (inc. VAT) per student is payable, in full, by bank transfer before the start of the course. However, if you are unable to pay the full fee upfront, let us know and we can arrange an instalment plan.

Ready to apply?

Please apply with the first 3,000 words of the crime novel or thriller you’d like to work on during the course, and a synopsis of no more than a page (both need to be in the same document, as you can only upload ONE file in the application below).

The CBC team will select applicants based on the quality of the writing sample provided. We may start reading and responding to applicants ahead of the final deadline and we therefore advise people who are keen to join this course to apply early.

The final deadline for applications is 10am (UK time) on the application deadline date. The date is dependent on which course start date you're applying for. Use the drop down 'select date' toggle to see currently available start dates and their associated deadlines. Be sure that you've selected the right course start date before you click the 'Apply Now' button.

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.

Select Date

Applications

Start Date

5th Oct 2026

End Date

30th Nov 2026

Application Deadline

14th Sep 2026

Applicant Notification

18th Sep 2026

Price on Acceptance

£990

Apply Now

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95%

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