Alison Booth attended our residential course in France in June 2007 and October 2008 where she worked on her novel set in Australia. The book and a sequel have been sold to Random House Australia and the first novel, Stillwater Creek, is published in January 2010.

Alison says: “Maggie Hamand has a great gift for plot analysis... I found her analytical skills invaluable"

Clare Sambrook attended our first writing course in April 1999. Her first novel, Hide and Seek, was published by Canongate in May 2005.

Clare says: People sometimes say, "I want to write. Where do I start?" I say, start here... a practical, intelligent introduction to the craft.

Visit Amazon to purchase Hide and Seek

Dreda Say Mitchell secured the last place on our writing course in September 2001. A few terms later, she joined the advanced course on Saturday mornings, and began working seriously on the book which became Running Hot. Dreda Say Mitchell's debut novel received rave reviews and she has been involved in London-wide literature festivals.

In November 2005 Running Hot won the Crime Writers Association John Creasey Memorial Dagger Award for best first crime novel, an award which launched the careers of writers such as Patricia Cornwell, Minette Walters and Walter Mosley.

Dreda says: When I came to the class I had a few ideas; four years later I had a major literary award. If you want to learn the ins and outs of fiction writing this is the course for you.

Visit Amazon to purchase Running Hot

Karina Morgan attended our course in September 2001 and was runner-up in the 2005 Harper's and Queen/Orange Prize for Fiction Short Story Competition. As runner up, Karina received £500 and copies of the books short-listed for the year's Orange Prize for Fiction.

She says: The Complete Creative Writing Course showed me how to focus my ideas; tap into the valuable bits and discard the junk. For me, this was an invaluable lesson, and certainly gave me the confidence to take my first steps into fiction writing.