Creative Thursday

Creative Thursday

A day-long crime fiction creative writing workshop

The Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s creative writing course for aspiring writers. Creative Thursday gives you the chance to hone your novel and short story writing skills with a day-long programme of workshops and seminars led by bestselling crime writers, publishing industry professionals and real-life crime experts. 

2013 Creative Thursday
Thursday 18 July
Time – 9am – 6pm
Price – £99 per person

For more information or to book your place contact the festival office on 01423 562 303 or email crime@harrogate-festival.org.uk

9am

Registration and Welcome from 2013 programming chair Val McDermid.

9.30am

Workshop A - 2 hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Learning from the Greats
This exercise-based workshop from crime novelist and Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia, Henry Sutton, looks at six modern crime masters, including Raymond Chandler and Patricia Highsmith, translating their originality and inspiration into practical writing tips. (Though knowledge of the authors’ works could be helpful, it’s not necessary.)

Workshop B - 2 hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Constructing Character and Plot
Join Bafta nominated screenwriter, producer and former criminal barrister, M.R. Hall, and Irish writer and former lawyer, William Ryan, on this activity-filled two-hour workshop. With a mixture of presentations and workshop exercises, Hall and Ryan will take you through the mechanics of constructing the central character and plot of a crime novel.

11:45am

Interactive Session with the Forensic Science Society

Callum Sutherland of the Forensic Science Society invites you to become the Detectives and Forensic Scientists, asking you to assess and investigate real crime scene scenarios. Following a theme of ‘Do we really see what we think we see’, the session focuses on where the psychological and profiling aspects of an investigation can mislead and take you down the wrong path. Heuristics and biases affect all of us in everything we do, even crime writing.

12:45pm

Lunch

1:45pm

 An Introduction to HW Fisher

Andrew Subramaniam and Barry Kernon are Chartered Accountants at HW Fisher, specialising in the Authors and Journalism sector.  They have vast knowledge in advertising entertainers, authors, journalists, broadcasters, actors and musicians on accounting and tax issues, and will be on hand to advise writers about overcoming possible accounting and tax issues.

2.15pm

Workshop B - 2 hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Constructing Character and Plot

Join Bafta nominated screenwriter, producer and former criminal barrister, M.R. Hall, and Irish writer and former lawyer, William Ryan, on this activity-filled two-hour workshop. With a mixture of presentations and workshop exercises, Hall and Ryan will take you through the mechanics of constructing the central character and plot of a crime novel.

Workshop A - 2 hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Learning from the Greats
Creative writing lecturer and novelist, Henry Sutton, will give you a practical look at 6 modern masters of the genre, including Val McDermid, Patricia Highsmith and Raymond Chandler. Imitation is one of the key planks of creative writing theory. This workshop, drawing on numerous exercises, will enhance both your knowledge of the genre and the devices used by the best in the field.

4:30pm

The Dragons Pen – Dare you enter?
Four brilliant publishing professionals. Two minutes to convince them your synopsis and first chapter are worth reading. One audience full of your fellow would-be writers watching how you fare. Our literary version of the popular TV show, the Dragons’ Den, is not for the faint-hearted.

We are offering a lucky few Creative Thursday participants with a completed concept for a crime novel the opportunity to pitch their book to two powerhouse agents, Jane Gregory of Gregory and Company and our Festival Programming Committee, and Gordon Wise of Curtis Brown, nominated for Literary Agent of the Year; and highly esteemed Mantle publisher, Maria Rejt and Jade Chandler, Commissioning Editor at Little, Brown.

Fail to excite the Dragons’ interest and you’ll be going back to the drawing board – but if your pitch rouses their keen instincts then they will vie with each other for the privilege of being the first to read a synopsis and first chapter of your work. But be prepared… it takes a lot to impress our Dragons!

Places to pitch to the Dragons are limited due to time restrictions. Sadly not all participants will have the opportunity. Register your interest upon booking to be in with a chance to pitch. To be as fair as possible, names put forward will then be drawn out of a hat at the event.