Cornell's 'captivating' legal thriller scoops inaugural Case Closed competition

Liz Cornell has won the inaugural Case Closed First Chapter Competition for Murder on The Red Corridor, a modern murder mystery set in legal London. 

The prize celebrates talented unagented Crime, Mystery and Thriller writers in the UK from underrepresented backgrounds through a partnership between London literature development agency Spread the Word and C&W Literary Agency.

Cornell took the top prize, winning a one-to-one meeting with crime author Tracey Lien, meetings with agents at C&W and professional development with Spread the Word. 

Four works were highly commended, including Ingrid by Hollie Ritchie, described by prize organisers as “a decadent, sumptuous murder mystery set in the world of New York’s elite” as well as Harriet Smith and The Homicidal Heir by Lucy Andrew, billed as “a cosy crime retelling of Emma”. 

Also highly commended was Rent Office by Max Dunbar, a novel about a drifter named George who takes a job on the estates of East Leeds and Ashland by Joe Eurell, a crime novel about the first female chief of police of a small town in Arizona.

Three writers received special mentions for their work: We Are But Dust and Shadow by Eleanor Abraham, Dispossession by Amy Ferguson and The Evaporated by Zah Rasul. 

Emma Finn, agent at C&W Literary Agency, said of the winning entry: “Liz’s extract captivated all of us – in only a few pages we were introduced to a central mystery, a convincing cast of characters connected by this unexpected death, and a sense of slowly ratcheting tension, all delivered in strong, polished prose.

“There was a clear consensus from everyone reading about the thrilling potential in this novel opening and we’re very much looking forward to seeing and hearing more.” 

Bobby Nayyar, programme manager at Spread the Word, said: “We created Case Closed with Emma Finn and the agents at C&W to encourage more writers from backgrounds underrepresented in UK publishing to try writing their first crime, mystery or thriller fiction novel.

“I’m delighted that nearly 50% of submissions were for brand new projects and the standard across the board was high, which made choosing the winning projects both a joy and unenviable task. We look forward to supporting this talented group of writers.” 

In its first year, the competition featured a programme of free activities including online workshops, a free online guide to writing crime, mystery and thriller fiction by Fiona Cummins, and seminars with authors, agents and editors about developing in this genre and submitting work to agents.

A survey was also circulated collecting over 100 responses from writers, highlighting the need for more information and a better understanding of access needs by the publishing industry.