The perfect Crime (Fiction degree): UEA celebrates a decade of creative writing success
By: Communications
This year marks a thriller of a decade for the University of East Anglia (UEA) as it celebrates 10 years of its MA in Crime Fiction – the first creative writing course of its kind in the UK.
Since launching in 2015, the part-time Creative Writing Crime Fiction degree has become a powerhouse of literary talent, with graduates going on to win national prizes, sign major publishing deals and even inspire TV adaptations – proving that crime pays (creatively, of course).
Award-winning crime writer Lee Child has also visited the campus to speak with students on the MA course and at this year’s Noirwich crime writing festival. The donation of his full archive in 2018 was in recognition of UEA’s status as the “writers’ university”, and UEA’s innovative work in the field of crime writing.
Tom Benn, Co-Director of the MA Creative Writing Crime Fiction, said: “Almost one in five of our course graduates has gone on to become a commercially published author.
“This unprecedented level of success is a testament to how well our students support and engage with each other's projects, helping one another to craft the most ambitious and progressive fiction, always pushing the crime genre forwards. We're so proud of all our current and former crime students.”
With 2025 marking 10 years on the case – here’s 10 authors with criminally good reads that you (probably) didn’t know studied Crime Fiction at UEA.
1. From barrister to bestseller – Harriet Tyce
Having earned her MA in Crime Fiction at UEA in 2017 – making her part of the first cohort of alumni – Tyce brings real-life courtroom insight to her writing, after nearly a decade working as a criminal barrister.
Her first novel, Blood Orange (2019) – written during her UEA studies – went on to become a Sunday Times bestseller and won a Gold Neilsen Bestseller Award in 2020 as one of the year’s top-selling books. This was followed by further bestsellers The Lies You Told (2020), It Ends At Midnight (2022), and A Lesson in Cruelty (2024), all which received wide critical acclaim.
Tyce, who has now sold more than one million books worldwide, says: “I found the course invaluable. I’m very grateful for the way that it set my career off to a flying start and I would recommend it to any aspiring crime writer.”
Her next thriller, Witch Trial, hits shelves in February 2026.
2. Psychology meets page-turning suspense – Femi Kayode
Kayode’s first novel Lightseekers (2021) saw him debut as Best Crime Novel of the Month by major publications including The Times, The Guardian, and Financial Times. The book was also longlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Gold Dagger Award, chosen as a Waterstones Thriller of the Month, and won UEA’s 2019 Little, Brown Crime Writing Prize.
His latest novel, Gaslight (2023), was picked as the Sunday Times’ Crime Book of the Month and shortlisted for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger 2024 award.
Before writing thrillers, he trained as a clinical psychologist in Nigeria, built a successful career in advertising, and was a writer for several TV shows.
3. Gripping stories with real-world edge – Trevor Wood
(Image credit: Trevor Wood)
A successful playwright, who has also worked as a journalist and served in the Royal Navy, Wood brings a wealth of real-world experience to his fiction.
His first novel, The Man on the Street (2020), scooped multiple awards – including the CWA New Blood Dagger award and Crimefest Specsavers Best Crime Debut Award – and was shortlisted for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
Most recently, he has published two books in his DCI Jack Parker series, a gritty police thriller set in his home city of Newcastle.
4. High-altitude thrills – Louise Mangos
A writer whose spark for writing began when she won a poetry competition at age eleven (and saw her work published in the local newspaper), Mangos has published five psychological suspense novels and one medieval mystery set in Switzerland.
Continuing to write while travelling, studying in Switzerland and Colorado, and studying for UEA's Crime Fiction course, her 2018 psychological thriller debut Strangers on a Bridge (set in the Swiss Alps where she now lives) was a finalist for the 2016 Exeter Novel Prize and longlisted for the Bath Novel Award.
5. Right place, write crime – Lynne McEwan
Glasgow-born McEwan swapped photojournalism for crime fiction after covering a range of stories, from the Fall of the Berlin Wall and the first Gulf War to many high-profile murder cases.
Her DI Shona Oliver series, set on the Solway Firth, follows a Scottish detective who doubles as a lifeboat volunteer. The series’ debut, In Dark Water, earned her the Crime in the Spotlight accolade at the 2021 Bloody Scotland Festival, highlighting her place in the “Tartan Noir” genre.
6. Colonial intrigue and noir suspense – Mark Wightman
Transporting readers to 1930s’ Singapore with noir suspense, Wightman’s debut novel Waking the Tiger (2021) introduces Inspector Betancourt, a detective navigating corruption and intrigue in the country.
The book has received a range of recognition, including shortlists for major crime awards such as that year’s CWA John Creasey Dagger and the Ngaio Marsh Best First Novel Award. Its sequel, Chasing the Dragon (2023), continues its story in Singapore – where Wightman grew up.
7. Crafted with insider knowledge – Kate Simants
After years as an investigative journalist for BBC and Channel 4, specialising in covert filming and undercover work, Simants turned her insider knowledge into gripping fiction.
She was part of the very first intake of UEA's Crime Fiction course, alongside Harriet Tyce, Trevor Wood and Merle Nygate, where she studied before launching her writing career.
Her debut novel, Lock Me In (2019), was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger, while the novel she wrote during her degree, A Ruined Girl (2020), won the 2019 Bath Novel Award. Her third novel Freeze (2023) was chosen as a Richard and Judy Book Club Pick, the Sunday Times’ Book of the Month and The Times’ Book Club Star Pick.
8. Crimes against nature – Antony Dunford
Dunford, a crime writer from Bradford, brings a unique twist to the thriller genre through his stories set in Africa tackling wildlife crime and conservation.
His debut novel Hunted (2021) was shortlisted for the 2019 Little, Brown UEA Crime Fiction award and longlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger and Grindstone Literary Prize.
9. Spies, lies and espionage – Merle Nygate
Nygate, who was part of the first cohort to complete UEA’s Crime Fiction degree (2015-2017), has since carved out a niche in espionage fiction, publishing three well-received spy novels in her Eli Amiram series.
Her second book, Honour Among Spies (2024), was named The Times’ Thriller of the Month and a Sunday Times Thriller of 2024, while her debut, The Righteous Spy (2018), received high praise after winning the Little, Brown Crime Writing Prize.
Beyond novels, Nygate brings a wealth of experience from screenwriting and script editing – having worked on BAFTA-winning TV, award-winning audio drama, and original sitcoms.
10. Crimes of the past – Natalie Marlow
Natalie Marlow is a historical crime novelist whose work draws on the family histories and landscapes of the Midlands, blending history and intrigue.
After graduating from UEA’s MA in Crime Fiction, Marlow debuted with Needless Alley (2023), which was selected as the Val McDermid New Blood pick at the 2023 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.
Learn more about MA Creative Writing Crime Fiction (Part Time)
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