Daniel Kraus Master Class Recording

05/12/2025 59 min

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Episode Synopsis

In this master class, New York Times-bestselling author Daniel Kraus shares craft insights and unusually candid career advice in conversation with IWC instructor Joy Florentine.The author of more than 30 novels, Kraus has built an enviable cross-media career spanning books, film, and television. His collaborations with Guillermo del Toro produced The Shape of Water—the novelization of the Oscar-winning film—and Trollhunters, adapted into the Emmy-winning Netflix series. He moves fluidly among genres—horror, YA fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction—and his books regularly earn major awards and appear on “best of” lists. His historical novel Angel Down topped The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2025.Recorded live in Amsterdam on 1 November 2025, this class offers an inside look at how Kraus developed Pay the Piper, a supernatural horror novel based on an unfinished manuscript by legendary filmmaker George A. Romero. But the conversation ranges far beyond horror. Topics include:How to craft a truly gripping novel—regardless of genreWhy research is central to his process, and why he chooses not to use AIHis strategies for avoiding writer’s blockWhy he doesn’t invest time in building a social-media following—and what he does insteadThe essential lessons he learned from writing his first ten books that made a successful, long-term career possibleFor anyone striving to shape a sustainable, creatively fulfilling writing life, this conversation is a reminder of what’s possible.