Faculty:  Laura Lippman

Looking for the formula for writing great crime fiction?  Alas, it doesn’t exist.  But this workshop can help writers with novels in which a crime is the engine that moves the story forward.  Counter-intuitively, the emphasis will be on character, not plotting.  Crime novels work best when characters are true to themselves. Then again, per Raymond Chandler, it never hurts to send a man through the door with a gun.

 

Submission guidelines:

In a single file, submit the opening 25 pages of a novel in-progress plus a 1-page synopsis (as p. 26).  Synopsis should include the following: one brief paragraph summarizing the book and status of the project (i.e., unfinished first draft, completed first draft, completed draft which has undergone multiple revisions, etc.). If you are submitting a portion which appears later in the work (for example, pages 25-50), provide a detailed synopsis of the pages prior to your submission (e.g. pages 1-24).
 

PLEASE NOTE: we are reading to assess the strength and readiness of the manuscript for workshop. What you submit here will be what you workshop during the conference.

  Required format for writing samples:  
 

1. Accepting Word documents only (.doc or .docx).
2. Page numbers must be consecutive throughout the manuscript.
3. Font must be 12-pt Times New Roman or Arial.
4. Margins must be 1 inch.
5. All manuscripts must be double-spaced including the one-page synopsis. 
6. All manuscripts must contain a header or footer with page numbers and author’s name.
7. No extra spacing between paragraphs except that which indicates transitions.
8. If you submit more than 25 pp (25 of manuscript + 1-pg synopsis), only the first 25 pp will be read and considered.
9. Do not include title pages or dedications.