Case Closed is a new programme run by Spread the Word in partnership with C&W literary agency to find and develop new Crime, Thriller and Mystery Fiction writers from diverse backgrounds.
Case Closed aims to demystify the process of writing a crime, thriller and/or mystery novel from a craft and career perspective and encourage and support more writers from backgrounds underrepresented in UK publishing to write a crime, thriller and/or mystery novel. It has an access fund in place for deaf and disabled writers.
Running across 2023, Case Closed will provide free and accessible opportunities for unpublished and unagented writers to gain the skills and insight to develop their crime, thriller and/ or mystery novel, including:
A pre-recorded panel event with debut crime author Tracey Lien; literary agent Emma Finn and publishing director Leodora Darlington;
A survey for writers on the barriers to and support they need to write genre fiction;
A guide on ‘Getting Started’ by Fiona Cummins;
Three free online workshops led by new and established crime writers represented by C&W and Curtis Brown;
An online seminar and Q&A on submitting to agents;
A first chapter competition.
Through the programme, a cohort of writers will be selected for ongoing support with the goal of them going on to be represented by C&W and being published.
Panel event, Writers’ Survey and ‘Getting Started’ Guide
Spread the Word and C&W would like to better understand the barriers to writers in writing genre fiction and what ongoing support we can offer to encourage more writers to write a crime, thriller or mystery fiction novel. We would love to hear your thoughts through Case Closed survey. By completing it, you could be in with a chance of winning the latest novels by Case Closed authors Tracey Lien, Fiona Cummins, Olivia Kiernan and Elliot Sweeney, and be sent the ‘Getting Started’ guide. The survey closed for responses in May 2023.
Fiona Cummins, author of the DC Saul Anguish series, created a bespoke ‘Getting Started’ guide to writing crime, thriller and mystery fiction, as well as guided exercises on idea generation. Download it here.
Starting in May, Case Closed will be running a series of online workshops, including: Fiona Cummins on ‘Getting Started’; Olivia Kiernan, author of the Frankie Sheehan series, on plot and structure, and Elliot F. Sweeney, London Writers Awards alumnus and author of The Next to Die, on developing characters. In September two agents from C&W will run a seminar on submissions with an audience Q&A.
Open to all, the workshops and seminar are free to participate in and will take place on Zoom. All sessions will be auto-captioned and BSL interpreted.
Fiona Cummins on Getting Started
Thursday 25 May, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Olivia Kiernan on Plot and Structure
Thursday 29 June, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Book your place here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/plot-structure-for-crime-thriller-mystery-fiction-with-olivia-kiernan-tickets-624236055847
Elliot F. Sweeney on Developing Characters
Wednesday 5 July, 6.30pm-8.30pm
Book your place here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/developing-characters-for-crime-thriller-mystery-with-elliot-f-sweeney-tickets-624252615377
C&W Agents on Submissions and Q&A
Wednesday 13 September, 7pm-8.30pm
Book your place here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/demystifying-submitting-to-agents-for-crime-thriller-mystery-fiction-tickets-624282103577
The First Chapter Competition is free to enter and open to unpublished and unagented UK-based writers aged 18+ who identify as one or more of the following:
Black, Asian or Global Majority
Deaf and/ or disabled
LGBTQIA+
Working Class
The competition is open from Wednesday 5 July and closes on Tuesday 26 September.
The first prize is a one-to-one meeting with crime author Tracey Lien, meetings with agents from C&W and professional development with Spread the Word. Four highly commended placed writers will receive one-to-one meetings with the two agencies.
There is more information about the Prize, including how to enter, in written English on this page here. There is more information in audio and BSL on this page here.
The winners will be announced in December 2023.
The programme has an access fund to support deaf and disabled writers. If you require support to fully participate in the programme, for example if you need BSL interpretation or a scribe, please contact us. We’ll be recording each Zoom session and will make the recording available on request. If you would like to discuss your access needs, please contact [email protected]
Contact
If you have any questions about the programme or the access fund, please contact Bobby Nayyar at Spread the Word: [email protected].
Fiona Cummins has written a free guide: Case Closed: Getting Started in Writing Crime, Thriller and Mystery Fiction about her journey to being an author, definitions of each of the genres with examples, exercises that will help you grow your ideas and further resources to develop your craft.
You can download the guide (PDF format) here: bit.ly/caseclosedgettingstarted
Demystifying Crime, Thriller and Mystery Fiction from an author’s perspective- with Tracey Lien
Author
Tracey Lien was born and raised in southwestern Sydney, Australia. She earned her MFA at the University of Kansas and was previously a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. All That’s Left Unsaid is her first novel.
Author
Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her debut novel, was the subject of a huge international auction and has been translated into several languages. It received widespread critical acclaim from authors and reviewers. She has since written bestsellers The Collector, The Neighbour, When I Was Ten and Into the Dark in which she introduces DC Saul Anguish, a brilliant young detective with a dark past. Fiona lives with her family in Essex.
Author
Olivia Kiernan is a writer of crime thrillers and suspense fiction. She holds an MA in Creative Writing and her novels have been published in multiple territories. The End of Us is her latest novel and first standalone thriller after the critically acclaimed Detective Frankie Sheehan series. LA based Freedom Films and actor/producer Victoria Smurfit have optioned the Frankie Sheehan series for TV. Kiernan’s fourth novel, The Murder Box, sees Detective Frankie Sheehan receive a murder mystery game only to discover that the fictional victim at the game’s centre bears a striking resemblance to a missing woman. In the past, Olivia’s work has been longlisted for the Bath and Fish Short Story Awards, the Bath Children’s Novel Award and shortlisted for the BBC Writersroom.
Author
Elliot F. Sweeney is a crime writer and community psychiatric nurse. His debut The Next to Die was released by Headline in February 2023 to critical acclaim and Book II in the series will be released in 2024.
Literary Agent
Emma Finn is a literary agent at C&W, a boutique literary agency within the wider Curtis Brown Group, and also now part of global talent agency UTA. Emma has spent nine years at C&W, and represents a range of fiction and non-fiction writers, from commercial thrillers to literary debuts, romcoms and stylish suspense, and from memoir to narrative non-fiction. She is passionate about championing new voices, supporting authors editorially and finding the best possible home for their work.
