JAN – MAY 2022 EVENTS
ONLINE VIA ZOOM

Our online tutorials offer writers the chance to receive tuition from best selling and exciting authors who also have expertise in teaching other writers. We also bring you literary agents who are actively looking for debuts to give inside knowledge on the publishing world and advice for submissions.

CHARACTERS & THEMES
Craft Tutorial | Emma Darwin | 6 – 8
In this practical workshop we’ll think about how characters can show you what your themes are, and conversely how you might create characters who embody those themes. We’ll explore what that means for characterisation from the page-by-page scale to the arc of your novel, and try our hands with some short exercises; you should leave with a new understanding of what makes storytelling tick.*

PUBLISHING: BEYOND THE MAINSTREAM
Q&A | Alice Jolly & J. David Simons | 6 – 7.30
In this Q&A session, authors J David Simons and Alice Jolly will discuss various ways of getting published beyond the mainstream, such as self-publishing or working with smaller independents, hybrid models and crowdfunders like Unbound.

PLOT & STRUCTURE
Craft Tutorial | Emma Darwin | 6 – 8
Thinking of structure as the architecture of a novel, and plot as the engineering, can be very helpful – but without characters acting and interacting on your pages, who would ever read it? In this workshop we’ll dig into how plot and structure are built through the actions of your characters to become a story that keeps the reader reading.*

AGENT & COMPETITION SUBMISSIONS
Q&A | Rowan Lawton & Marina de Pass | 6 – 7.30
If you are considering submitting to our First Novel Award or indeed any competitions for debut novel writers, this session with our agent judges, Rowan Lawton and Marina de Pass from The Soho Agency, will be invaluable. And even if you aren’t planning on entering, they will have lots of tips on agent submissions and how to make yours stand out.

VOICE & PROSE
Craft Tutorial | Emma Darwin | 6 – 8
Voice is the element which all agents and editors say they are looking for in a manuscript – but that’s by no means the only reason to work hard on the word-by-word text and textures of your novel: in the end, the words on the page are all you have to transmit your story.*

PITCH PERFECT
Craft Tutorial | Emma Darwin | 6 – 8
In this tutorial we will look at what makes an irresistible submission across different genres, basing some of the discussion on examples from participants. You should leave with a clearer idea of how to grab your reader from the first line whether you’re writing a gritty thriller or the lightest of comedies, how to show an agent that you and your writing deserve their attention – and how to see that promise through.

CRIME & THRILLERS
Craft Tutorial | Cass Green | 6 – 8
How do you write a book that pulls readers in and won’t let them go? In this workshop we will look at the way the crime market has grown and changed over the years and talk about where your book might sit. We will do some short, practical exercises designed to get you thinking about the bones of your book, from elements of pace of tension to character development.

*Receive a 15% discount when you sign up to our first three Craft Tutorials of the year: Characters & Themes; Plot & Structure; Voice & Prose.

We'll be announcing further events in the coming weeks, including genre tutorials on Romance, Women's Fiction, and YA. The next BPA Away Day will take place in Kintbury, Berkshire, on May 21. Keep an eye on your emails for more details, or follow us on Twitter: @bluepencil_edit.

All Online Events