Mystery Writing Workshop

with Best-Selling Mystery Author and Poet Margot Douaihy

One-Day Mystery Writing Intensive with Margot Douaihy

10pm - 4pm (with a long lunch break and hourly bio breaks)

Unlock the secrets of mystery writing in this thrilling, one-day intensive writing seminar with bestselling mystery author Margot Douaihy. Ideal for writers of all backgrounds and experience levels, this inclusive, hands-on workshop will plunge you into the heart of gripping genres: cozy mysteries, hardboiled, noir, and psychological thrillers. We’ll take a close look at intersectional mysteries that leverage the power of crime fiction for reparative aims. Through guided exercises, interactive discussions, scene prompts, and dynamic character deep dives, we’ll explore how to craft suspenseful plots, twisty turns, and riveting pacing. We'll dissect scenes from craft leaders, and focus on the techniques that make their stories so unforgettable. We’ll also do some site-specific crime writing inspired by noir greats. You’ll engage in collaborative brainstorming and puzzle work, and leave armed with a notebook full of new material, fresh inspiration, and the tools you need to weave mysteries that captivate and thrill.

  • Biography

    Margot Douaihy (b. Scranton, PA) lives and works in Northampton, MA. She earned a BA in Writing from the University of Pittsburgh and a PhD in Creative Writing from Lancaster University.

    Douaihy is the author of the lyrical crime novel SCORCHED GRACE (Gillian Flynn Books), which was named a Best Crime Novel of 2023 by The New York Times, The Guardian, Apple Books, CrimeReads, and Barnes & Noble, among others. The second book in the Sister Holiday Mystery series, BLESSED WATER, was named a Summer Crime & Suspense Pick by NPR’s Fresh Air. Margot is also the author of Bandit/Queen: The Runaway Story of Belle Starr, a true-crime poetry project, and Scranton Lace, a documentary poetry collection about the life and death of a lace factory.

    A Co-Editor of the Cambridge University Press Elements in Crime Narrative Series and Multimodal/Multimedia Section Editor of Journal of Creative Writing Studies (RIT ScholarWorks), Douaihy’s work has been featured or reviewed in Colorado Review, The Florida Review, North American Review, PBS NewsHour, Mystery Tribune, Portland Review, Vanity Fair, Vulture, and others.

    Douaihy serves as an Assistant Professor with Emerson College.

    Honors include the Saints & Sinners LGBTQ+ Festival Emerging Writer Award (2024); Pinckley Prize for Crime Fiction, Best Debut Mystery (2023); Left Coast Crime Best Debut Mystery Nominee (2023); Best Author by Boston Magazine (2023); The F. Lamott Belin Arts Scholarship for Virtual Reality Poetry (2023); Massachusetts Book Award Longlist (2023); New England Book Award Finalist (2023), Mass Cultural Council Artist Fellowship (2022), The Florida Review Humboldt Poetry Prize Runner-Up (2021), Aesthetica Magazine Creative Writing Award Finalist (2021), Ernest Hemingway Foundation Hemingway Shorts Finalist (2021), and Lambda Literary Award Poetry Finalist (2015).

    A founding member of the Creative Writing Studies Organization and an active member of the Association of Writers & Writing Programs, Queer Crime Writers, and Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI), Douaihy is represented by United Agents, Laura Macdougall (literary) and Jennifer Thomas (screen).

  • Location: Accessible Downtown Northampton (address will be emailed to you)

    Schedule: 10am-4pm (with scheduled bio breaks and lunch break)

  • Please bring device (laptop, tablet, etc) and journal for writing and lunch (unless you’d like to buy it from a nearby restaurant)

Registration Information + Financial Accessibility

NOTE: Our goal at Queer Joy Collaborative is to make all programming accessible and affordable. All proceeds go directly into programming.

We ask that you honestly assess your capacity to pay the fee (top end is $200 for a 6-hour intensive workshop and make a choice that will allow you to participate without financial strain, but will also allow our program to operate at full capacity.

Step 1: Select your registration level based on financial experience

Use the “Which Price Should I Select” table below.

This is based on the honor system. You will add it to the cart on the next page

Which Price Should I Select?

Pricing Options

If this workshop is still not accessible to you financially, please email us and we will email you a code. Space is available on a first-come-first-served basis.