How to write a bestseller with Sebastian Faulks and Matt Haig

This truly is a one-off – an unmissable opportunity for writers of all levels to learn from some of the UK's most respected and committed authors

If you’ve ever dreamed of writing a novel, or want to improve the one you’re working on, you won’t want to miss this unique writing course. Join bestselling novelists Sebastian Faulks, Matt Haig, Evie Wyld and Alex Preston for the ultimate masterclass in writing fiction. Over the course of the day, you’ll learn how to create compelling characters and storylines, and get involved in practical writing exercises to put what you’ve learnt into practice.

Plus, the price of your ticket includes an exclusive copy of Faulks’ brand new novel, Where My Heart Used to Beat, ahead of it’s official publication date on 10 September. You’ll also receive copies of Haig’s much-loved novel The Humans, Wyld’s multi-award-winning book All the Birds, Singing, and Preston’s historical novel In Love and War.

Course content

• Sebastian Faulks, bestselling author of Birdsong and A Week in December, on the challenges of writing fiction in the age of social media – and how to grab and hold onto the reader’s attention
• Writer Matt Haig, author of The Humans and Reasons to Stay Alive, discusses the skills and tools required to create truly compelling characters
• Evie Wyld, author of After the Fire, a Still Small Voice, advises how you can use events from your own life as the spark for fabulous fiction
• Novelist and Observer journalist Alex Preston, author of This Bleeding City, discusses the art of delivering a sense of place and atmosphere in your prose

This course is for you if…

• You’re working on a novel and want to learn how to make it really compelling for readers
• You’re looking to polish a finished manuscript ahead of submission to an agent, and want to learn how to improve your writing
• You’re planning on writing a work of fiction, and want advice on how to make it attractive to readers and publishers

You may also be interested in…

• How to improve your novel with Charlotte Mendelson
• How to find a literary agent with Juliet Mushens and Jessie Burton

Curator and host profile

Alex Preston’s first novel, This Bleeding City, won the Spear’s and Edinburgh Festival First Book prizes, and was chosen as one of Waterstone’s New Voices 2010. His second book, The Revelations, was shortlisted for the Guardian’s Not the Booker prize, and his third, In Love and War, was recently published to critical acclaim. Alex also writes for GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country Magazine and the Observer’s New Review, and appears regularly on BBC radio and television. Find Alex on Twitter here.

Tutor profiles

Sebastian Faulks’ books include the number one bestsellers A Week in December, A Possible Life, Human Traces, On Green Dolphin Street, Charlotte Gray and Birdsong, which has sold more than three million copies. In 2011, he wrote and presented the four-part television series Faulks on Fiction for BBC Two. In 2014, he collaborated on an anthology to coordinate with the First World War Centenary Commemoration, A Broken World. Sebastian’s new novel, Where My Heart Used to Beat, will be published by Hutchinson in hardback and ebook on 10 September 2015. Find out more about Sebastian on his website.

Matt Haig’s novels include the bestsellers The Last Family in England, The Radleys and The Humans. His books have been translated into 30 different languages and all his novels for adults have been optioned for film. His current book, about his experience of depression, is called Reasons To Stay Alive and has spent several weeks on the bestseller lists. Find out more about Matt on his website.

Evie Wyld’s first novel, After the Fire, a Still Small Voice, won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and a Betty Trask Award. It was also shortlisted for the Orange Prize for New Writers, the Commonwealth Prize and the International IMPAC Dublin literary award. In 2013 Evie was included on Granta Magazine’s Best of Young British Novelists list. Her second novel, All the Birds, Singing, won the Miles Franklin Award, the Encore Award and the Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize, and was shortlisted for awards including the Costa Novel Prize and the James Tait Black Prize. Find out more about Evie on her website.

Full course and returns information on the Masterclasses website