This Online Writing Platform Wants Budding Authors to Plot an Elaborate Murder

The Novelry, the world’s top-rated online writing school, is inviting should-be authors to plot murders and start covens in its first major advertising campaign, by St Luke’s, the London-based, independent creative agency.

'You’re a writer. Make it official' showcases how The Novelry’s courses enable students to make significant progress on their novels in just an hour a day simply by transforming everyday moments during daily tasks or downtime - into thrilling creative adventures.

St Luke’s does this with a series of animations that begin with intriguing propositions. In one, the line “Plot an elaborate murder…” appears alongside a bottle of poison and skull. Another reads “Start a witch coven…” paired with a pointy hat silhouetted against the moonlight.

As the animations unfold, these scenarios reveal surprising twists. The pointy hat turns out to be a traffic cone on a busy road, accompanied by the line, “…while stuck on the interstate.” Meanwhile, the skull and crossbones morph into chicken drumsticks, suggesting that the murder can be plotted “…while roasting a chicken.”

Further juxtapositions include headlines such as “Dismember a neighbour while the kids do homework,” and “Start a satanic cult while waiting for your pap test.” They all include the message, “Write your novel in an hour a day,” along with The Novelry’s distinctive branding and the strapline “You’re a writer. Make it official.”

The campaign, which breaks on September 9th, is running across Meta in the US and UK, with Lurn Media handling planning and buying.

St Luke’s was appointed to the account without a pitch by Louise Dean, founder of The Novelry. Dean, the Booker Prize-listed author of four novels, previously had a career in advertising.

Louise Dean, founder of the Novelry, said, “This is a high-energy campaign to bring writers out of the closet and get their words onto the page with our Story First Method inspired by my time in advertising, where the creative work starts with a brief! Our writers at The Novelry work to a brief to complete commercially viable novels and secure literary agents and publishing deals. Working with St Luke’s on this campaign has been a blast and I am so grateful to the team for bringing their wit to the world of fiction writing.”

Al Young, joint chief creative officer at St Luke’s, said, “Far too many should-be writers convince themselves they simply don’t have the time to turn their great ideas into publishable stories. The Novelry’s stunningly successful One Hour A Day Writing Method proves this fear to be unfounded. Our campaign highlights this in ways we think will resonate and make the audience smile.”

Claire Smith, senior account director at St Luke’s, said, “The Novelry’s doing so much good work to help people break into the publishing world, and its member community is so supportive and lovely. So we’re really getting a thrill from the idea that, in the not-too-distant future, someone who saw this campaign and joined The Novelry is pinching themselves as they sign their first book deal, having never previously thought they could become a published writer.”

Louise Dean started The Novelry in 2017 as an online community, with the idea that fellow writers could be less isolated, and help each other get their novels finished.

Over time it has expanded, and its offer now includes a number of writing courses, live workshops and classes, one-on-one coaching, and a manuscript assessment service — earning it the description of being “like Hogwarts for writers.”

The Novelry has strong connections with leading literary agents; and numerous The Novelry members have already gone on to have their work published.