The 2025 Online Thriller School

The bestselling authors and industry experts will delve into the following topics:

Twists, protagonists, dialogue, high-concept thrillers, three-dimensional characters, pacing, polishing your manuscript, and point of view.

Attendance is limited, and we sell out every year, so please REGISTER TODAY!

Registration for the 11-week online course is $495.

Below you will find the full 2025 schedule, FAQ, and instructor bios (coming soon!).

Please note: All classes are recorded. The recordings are typically available within a few hours of the conclusion of the class, and we make those available to the students right away. You’ll also have access to the recordings for at least 1 year after the class is over.

Scroll down to read the entire FAQ and if you have any questions that are not addressed below please email ITW’s Technology Coordinator, Christopher Graham at ITWOnline@thrillerwriters.org.

Advice From Past & Current Thriller School Instructors:

“To be satisfying, a twist needs to be more than merely shocking – it must be both surprising and believable with the reader saying at the end of the book: Ah, I should have seen that coming but I didn’t.” –Liv Constantine

“My advice to beginning authors: Write the type of fiction you love to read, plan each book or story ahead of time, don’t rush it to completion, rewrite and rewrite and rewrite, and remember: rejection is a speed bump, not a brick wall!” —Jeffery Deaver

“Writing is a journey, not a destination. Never forget to enjoy the ride.” —Lisa Gardner

“Writer’s Block is a malady borne of missing research. Learn more about your setting, character, or central conflict and it goes away.” –Cate Holahan

“Readers don’t want to read about nice characters doing nice things, they want to read about conflicted characters doing difficult things.” —Steven James

“No story will turn out exactly how you thought it would. It’s like raising kids.” —Tosca Lee

“Be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of another author.” —David Morrell

“What most people know about the FBI comes from books, TV, and movies. When authors of thrillers and police procedurals take the time to learn who the FBI is and what the FBI does, they make their stories as true to life as possible while capturing and engaging readers.” —Jerri Williams

2025 SCHEDULE

Tuesday 9/2
What is a good idea?
Finding your story and how to tell it
S.A. Cosby with Josh Getzler

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Tuesday 9/9
Creating Your Setting, and Setting the Mood
Walter Mosley with Sam Octavius

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Tuesday 9/16
Creating Your World:
Worldbuilding and Structure
Linwood Barclay with Tessa Wegert

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Tuesday 9/23
Discovering Your Author Voice
Eli Cranor with Wanda Morris

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Thursday 9/25
Bonus Panel:
Choosing Your Genre Lane: Why It Matters!
Sarah Pekkanen, Gabino Iglesias, Rachel Howzell Hall, Lev AC Rosen and K.J. Howe (Moderator)

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Tuesday 9/30
Creating Your Unique Sense of Place
Heather Gudenkauf with Sarah Stewart Taylor

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Tuesday 10/7
Harnessing the Super-power of the Three Act Structure
Hank Phillippi Ryan with John Copenhaver

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Thursday 10/9
Editing Secrets: Finding the Right Words
Tom Colgan with Tosca Lee

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Tuesday 10/14
Making Your Characters Come Alive
Cara Hunter with Meg Gardiner

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Thursday 10/16
The Secrets and Subtleties of Point of View
Steven James with Samantha Skal

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Tuesday 10/21
Move It Along! Pacing, Velocity, and Suspense
Tess Gerritsen with Jessica Strawser

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Thursday 10/23
Making It Authentic: The Anatomy of Action
Isabella Maldonado and Brian Andrews

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Tuesday 10/28
Twists, Reveals, and Author Sleight of Hand
Ruth Ware with Hank Phillippi Ryan

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Tuesday 11/4
Mining the Emotion in Your Story
Donald Maass with Hank Phillippi Ryan

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Thursday 11/6
Getting the Word Out: Promo, Publicity, and Catching the Wave
Andrea Bartz with Jo Piazza

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Tuesday 11/11
Bonus Panel:
How to Wow an Agent
Liza Fleissig, Gina Panettieri, Nikki Terpilowski and Bianca Marais (Moderator)

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Thursday 11/13
Finale: The Lisa Panel!
Lisa Gardner, Lisa Jewell, Lisa Scottoline, Lisa Unger, Lisa Erbach Vance and Gregg Hurwitz (Moderator)

FAQ

How long is each class?

Each class will run about 90 minutes, but it does depend on the instructor and often on the topic as well. Some classes might be a little shorter, and some might be a little longer.

Will the lectures/classes be recorded?

Yes, all of the sessions will be recorded. They are typically available within a few hours of the conclusion of the class, and we make those available to the students right away. You’ll also have access to the recordings for at least 1 year after the class is over.

Do you provide Closed Captioning for each class?

Yes, we’re excited to be able to offer Closed Captioning for this year’s Online Thriller School. During the live class students will be able to turn CC on or off depending upon their preferences. Closed Captioning will always be on during the recordings.

Do you recommend that I take notes during each class?

Whether or not you take notes during the live class is up to you, of course, but we will have a gentleman taking notes for us, and those notes will be made available along with the recording for each class.

Since I have very little writing experience, is there anything I should do to help me be better prepared for the classes?

The best thing(s) you can do to prepare would be to become familiar with each instructors’ work. That does not mean that you have to read everything they’ve written, but it is helpful to know what they write, how they write, etc. Often the instructors will use examples from other authors work, but then there is usually a good deal of discussion regarding what that author writes him or herself, as well, and if you’re familiar with their work it can certainly help you to not only understand what they write, but how they use the topics being discussed in their own writing. It can also be very helpful for you in formulating questions for that author.