Thank you for joining us for Crime Writers' Week!

Feedback is the most valuable free resource an author can have in perfecting their books. Beta readers can correct factual errors, spot typos and improve characters and plot. But where do you find these unsung heroes and how do you use them? AA Abbott has worked with a variety of beta readers, from avid readers and writers to cops, prison officers, DJs and philosophers. Join her to learn how to harness the power of beta readers to polish your writing.

Mystery writer Tara Lush is a RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow and the winner of the George C. Polk award for environmental journalism.

In this session, discover Tara's best tips for plotting your cozy mystery.

Work in teams with fellow Crime Writers' Week participants to craft the perfect crime.

In this session, we will be discussing how Mia creates refreshingly new and representitive stories within the mystery genre, through the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. This could lead to a discussion of queerness and diasporic identity, as well as the influence of food on stories and identity.

Mia Manasala is an award winning mystery author and certified book coach from Chicago. Her debut novel, ARSENIC AND ADOBO, came out May 4, 2021 with Berkley/Penguin Random House and is the first in the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series. The sequel, HOMICIDE AND HALO-HALO, is out now.

Want to write a story full of twists that surprises readers? Join Savannah for an in-depth discussion about how to effectively weave clues and red herrings into your story.

Savannah Gilbo is a certified developmental editor and book coach who helps fiction authors write, edit, and publish stories that work. She's also the host of the top-rated Fiction Writing Made Easy Podcast where she delivers weekly episodes full of simple, actionable, and step-by-step strategies that you can implement in your writing right away.

Tash Barsby lifts the lid on life inside a publishing house, and gives tips on how to craft a crime story that's sure to catch an editor's eye.

Before joining The Novelry, Tash Barsby was a Commissioning Editor in the commercial fiction team at Transworld Publishers, part of Penguin Random House. She worked primarily on the crime and thriller list, supporting brand authors such as Lesley Kara, Tess Gerritsen and Shari Lapena, as well as publishing her own titles – including recent No.1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick The Sanatorium. In her role as Senior Editor at The Novelry, Tash gives aspiring authors hands-on help with their manuscripts to kickstart their writing careers.

As writers, we often spend too much time focusing on what our ideas are instead of how to communicate those ideas most effectively. If we don't sharpen our sentences with our readers in mind, then our ideas will get lost and our writing will be less engaging.

In this actionable presentation, Hayley will walk you through five key ways to improve the craft of your crime writing. By the end of the session, you'll know exactly how to tackle your work to make it more powerful for your readers.

Work in groups to create an engaging detective.

Is there a secret storytelling code hidden behind all well-plotted mystery novels?

In Save the Cat! Writes a Mystery Novel, bestselling author and story coach Jessica Brody, (author of the #1 bestselling plotting guide, Save the Cat! Writes a Novel) introduces you to the 15 beats of the Save the Cat! method, which writers around the world are using to craft engaging stories, compelling character arcs, and unputdownable novels.

Using examples from popular mystery novels, Jessica demonstrates now the Save the Cat! structure blueprint can be used to plot, write, outline, or revise your mystery novel, or simply jumpstart you out of writing slumps. This fun and informative presentation is sure to inspire you and leave you itching to start writing!

In this session, we'll discuss how Mary Kay researched, wrote, and sold her book, America's First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster.

Mary Kay McBrayer is a true crime book author, literature professor, podcast co-host, and killer storyteller.

In this session, we will discuss how Nadine Matheson's background as a criminal solicitor informs her writing process, as well as how living in London inspired her work.

Nadine Matheson is a criminal solicitor from London. She completed her MA in Creative Writing (Crime/Thriller Novels) at City University of London with Distinction in 2018. Her crime thriller The Jigsaw Man was published in 2021, and her latest novel The Binding Room is avaliable for pre-order now.

One of the toughest, but most necessary, parts of being an author is tackling your own marketing. Too often, writers rely on tactics without having an underlying strategy and flail around like they've just landed in another realm.

You'll learn why marketing your book using a slapdash playbook of tactics from the internet is likely to fail, your number one book marketing goal, and the foundational 4-part book marketing strategy that will actually grow your audience of crime readers.

Meet and connect with other crime writers in breakout rooms. Hear their favorite crime books and share your own.

Scrivener is the premier word-processing program and outliner designed for authors. Join the Scrivener team to receive tips and tricks on how to use Scrivener to write your crime novel.

Revision is both where the hard work and the magic happens in writing a novel, but sometimes, it can feel hellish, especially if you don't know what's wrong and/or you don't know where to start when tackling vague feedback like "not twisty enough" or "pacing is off." Whether you're on draft two or draft fifteen, in the world of mysteries, thrillers and suspense, pacing and twists are just two of many key aspects to nail, and it can frequently feel overwhelming to tackle these issues in a 90K word manuscript. Geared toward thriller, mystery and suspense writers with full manuscripts, this session will cover a process that works to get from revision hell to revision bliss, as well as covering techniques for the following:

- How to check that twists, reveals, red herrings and clues are shining as brightly as they can, numerous enough, and on the page

- How to identify and fix pacing issues

- How to avoid overwhelm with revision, including how to know what to tackle first when your revision to-do list is a mile long

Plus, this session will cover how and when to use beta readers most effectively.