The 2026 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 8-week online course is $495.

Below you will find the full 2026 schedule.

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.

If you have any questions that are not addressed below please email ITW’s Technology Coordinator, Christopher Graham at ITWOnline@thrillerwriters.org.

2026 SCHEDULE

WEEK ONE

TUESDAY, SEPT 22
What Makes a Good Thriller
What You Need—Genre Conventions
With Rachel Howzell Hall, Joe Finder, Adele Parks, LJ Ross and Abby Dunn (mod)

__

THURSDAY, SEPT 24
Secrets of Suspense
With Robert Dugoni
________

WEEK TWO

TUESDAY, SEPT 29
Organizational Storytelling — Logline, Outline, Synopsis
With Mark Sullivan, Kate White, Jeffery Deaver, Isabella Maldonado and Sam Octavius (mod)
__

THURSDAY, OCT 1
Voice and Point of View
With Steven James
________

WEEK THREE

TUESDAY, OCT 6
Creating Compelling Characters
With Rob Hart with Oyinkan Braithwaite
__

THURSDAY, OCT 8
How to Wow Them With Structure
With Hank Phillippi Ryan
________

WEEK FOUR

TUESDAY, OCT 13
Make Setting Work for You
Eli Cranor and Stacy Willingham
__

THURSDAY, OCT 15
Creating Your World: Research Realities
With Don Bentley, David Ellis, Alma Katsu, and Jerri Williams (mod)
________

WEEK FIVE

TUESDAY, OCT 20
Editing: Choosing the Right Words
With Gregg Hurwitz and Benjamin Dreyer
__

THURSDAY, OCT 22
Title / Topic TBD
With Donald Maass
________

WEEK SIX

TUESDAY, OCT 27
The Hollywood Insiders: Book to Screen
With Angela Cheng Caplan, Marshall Herskovitz, Weston Middleton, Billy Ray, Shawn Ryan and Gregg Hurwitz (mod)
__

THURSDAY, OCT 29
Getting the Word Out
Conquering Social Media
With John Marrs and John Russell
________

WEEK SEVEN

WEDNESDAY, NOV 4 ***
Agent Panel: How to Land an Agent
Agents TBD
With Susan Lee (mod)
__

THURSDAY, NOV 5
The Path to Blockbuster Indie Publishing
With Orna Ross
________

WEEK EIGHT

TUESDAY, NOV 10
Your Debut Year and After
With Kristen L. Berry, Yosha Gunasekera, Ande Pliego, Élan les Vies and Tessa Wegert (mod)
__

THURSDAY, NOV 12
Finale — Secrets of Success
With Chris Bohjalian, C.J. Box, Rachel Hawkins, Jennifer Hillier and Caroline Kepnes.
________

*** We will be observing election day on Tuesday, November 3rd so the agent panel will be held on Wednesday, November 4th.

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.