Writers' Day 2025
Saturday 22 March, 10am-3:30pm
Are you a budding author, experienced writer, or just curious about how books are crafted? The Hive’s annual Writers’ Day is back and packed with events to open up the world of writing, themed this year around the genres of crime and thrillers.
For just £3 you get access to all events listed below, and you’re welcome to attend as many or as few as you’d like. Workshop selection will take place during registration on the day, on a first-come-first-served basis.
10am: Registration, tea & coffee
10:30am-12pm: Keynote speaker: Mark Edwards (incl Q&A)
12pm-1:30pm: Lunch break and local authors’ marketplace
1:30pm-2:30pm: The Thrill of the Case: Journeys into Writing Crime and Thrillers, with Mark Rasdall, Sue Watson and Ryan Stark with Dr Ruth Stacey
2:30pm-3:30pm: Writing workshops with University of Worcester academics
Option 1: Creating an Unreliable Narrator for your Thriller with Dr Ruth Stacey
Option 2: TBC
If you are a local author who would like a table at our local authors’ marketplace, please email gcartmell@worcestershire.gov.uk
Session information
Keynote Speaker: Mark Edwards
Mark Edwards writes books in which scary things happen to ordinary people. His novels, which have sold over 5 million copies worldwide, include The Magpies, Here To Stay and The Psychopath Next Door. His next book, The Wasp Trap, will be published by Penguin Michael Joseph in July. Originally from Hastings, he lives in Wolverhampton with his wife, their three children, two cats and a golden retriever.
In his keynote session, Mark will delve into his world of writing Thrillers, how he got here, getting published, and everything in between. Take note of your burning questions, as there will be a Q&A at the end of the talk.
Local Authors’ Marketplace
During our lunchtime break, visit our marketplace to speak to local writers, published authors and publishers and ask any burning questions. Attendees from previous years said that the marketplace was “a great opportunity to network” and “very inspiring”.
The Thrill of the Case: Journeys into Writing Crime and Thrillers, with Mark Rasdall, Sue Watson, Ryan Stark and Dr Ruth Stacey
Join Dr Ruth Stacey from the University of Worcester to unearth our panel’s stories of pivoting into becoming crime and thriller authors after their other careers, genres and lives.
Mark Rasdall was born in Peterborough in 1960 and brought up on the edge of the Cambridgeshire Fens. He has a professional background in content creation, curation and online search in London’s advertising sector. For a few years he ran a sweet shop on Worcester High Street with his wife Michelle. He is based in the UK in a small village on top of a hill in the beautiful Worcestershire countryside, nestling between the Malvern Hills to the west and the Cotswolds to the south. Now retired, Mark writes fiction and history books. All of his titles are available from Amazon.
Sue Watson was a TV Producer at the BBC until she wrote her first book and was hooked. Now a USA Today bestselling author, Sue has sold almost 2 million books and explores the darker side of life, writing psychological thrillers with big twists. Originally from Manchester, she now lives with her family in leafy Worcestershire where much of her day is spent writing – and procrastinating. Her hobby is eating cake while watching diet and exercise programmes from the sofa, a skill she’s perfected after many years of practice.
Ryan Stark, a Midlands-based crime and thriller writer, author coach, and publisher, has gained international recognition for his novels. Formerly an IT Consultant, Ryan has dedicated the past decade to crafting crime and suspense novels, known for their unexpected plot twists and realistic character development. He has authored four novels in the Daley and Whetstone Crime Stories series, with the latest, “An Invisible Murder,” released in autumn 2022. Currently, he is working on “Proof of Betrayal,” the third instalment in the Aidan Beckett series of international thrillers.
Dr Ruth Stacey is an expert in poetry, historical fiction, fantasy fiction, and memoir. Her research is focused on the use of symbolist poetics to write imagined memoir of historical subjects. A passionate and inclusive teacher, Dr Stacey was awarded the Acting Provost Award 2022 for Excellence in Teaching, and the Student Choice Award for Module Excellence 2023 for her module 'Writing Witchcraft.