Writing Tips, Workshops, and Inspiration from Bestselling Authors

Join Kathleen Antrim and DP Lyle for a conversation with author and Outlier Instructor Ande Pliego on the Outlier's YouTube Channel and Podcast Series. 📺 WATCH: Get to Know on Outliers YouTube Channel 🎧 LISTEN: Outliers Podcast Series On Your Favorite Outlet Ande Pliego began writing stories when she discovered she could actually wield her overactive imagination for good. A lover of stories with teeth, she writes books involving mind games, dark humor, general murder and ma

Join Kathleen Antrim and DP Lyle for a conversation with author John Dingle on the Outlier's YouTube Channel and Podcast Series. 📺 WATCH: Get to Know on Outliers YouTube Channel 🎧 LISTEN: Outliers Podcast Series On Your Favorite Outlet R. John Dingle lives and writes from a restored 200 year-old house, on a small island in Mid-Coast Maine. The often-haunting themes of the rocky coast, as well as a lifetime of experiences in and around New England’s small towns, farms, and c

Join host DP Lyle MD for a fun discussion of one of the most common questions he receives from crime writers: Is there a drug that will cause a heart attacK? 📺 WATCH: Criminal Mischief on Outliers YouTube Channel 🎧 LISTEN: Outliers Podcast Series On Your Favorite Outlet

Join Outliers GET TO KNOW hosts DP Lyle and Kathleen Antrim for a fun conversation with Best-selling Author Jonathan Santlofer. 📺 WATCH: Get to Know on Outliers YouTube Channel 🎧 LISTEN: Outliers Podcast Series On Your Favorite Outlet Jonathan Santlofer is an author and artist. His newest novel The Last Mona Lisa will be published by Sourcebook Landmark on August 17, 2021. He is the author of the memoir The Widower’s Notebook, the international bestselling novel, The Death

Q: In my story, a police officer suffers smoke inhalation while trying to extinguish a barn fire before fire fighters arrive. What injuries would he have that would hospitalize him for a few hours to a day, but wouldn't result in enough long-term damage to end his career as an active police officer? A: The major effect of smoke and soot in the air is irritation of the eyes, throat, and bronchial tubes in the lungs. This would cause inflammation, swelling, and weeping of flu

If you’ve ever opened Instagram, stared at the screen for five minutes, and thought, I have absolutely nothing to post, you’re not alone. One of the easiest ways to reduce social media stress is to batch your content. Instead of creating posts one at a time, you set aside a block of time to plan multiple posts at once. That means less scrambling, more consistency, and more time to focus on your writing. 1. Start With Content You Already Have Many writers think they need to cr

The Short Mystery Fiction Society has announced the 2026 Derringer Award Winners, and we're excited to share Outliers Instructor Michael Bracken has won for the "Best Short Story (1,001 to 4,000 words)" category for Blind Pig (Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, September/October 2025). SMFS is a community of writers, readers, editors, publishers, and others dedicated to the promotion and celebration of mystery and crime short stories. Since 1998, the SMFS has awarded the annual

Mystery Writers of America has announced the 2026 Edgar Allan Poe Award Winners. Outliers instructor and USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan has won The Simon & Schuster Mary Higgins Clark Award for her novel "All This Could Be Yours" (Macmillan Publishers – Minotaur Books). We're excited to celebrate this honor and recognition, as its another nod to her skill and all other accomplishments! Congratulations, Hank! Outliers is a proud partner of MWA. As stated in T