In Reference to Murder

Mystery Melange

Bestselling author Lawrence Block is offering select items for sale on eBay, including stories, the copyedited manuscript of A Drop of the Hard Stuff, complete with corrections ("and my occasionally vehement responses thereto"), the revised draft of a script for a TV movie, for which Block adapted an Edgar-winning Matthew Scudder story, and more. The auctions close May 13. 

Noir At The Bar returns to the Mandrake Bar in Culver City, California on May 20, with author Lisa Brackmann (Rock, Paper, Tiger), Eric Stone (Shanghaied), Brett Battles (No Return), Fingers Murphy (The Flaming Motel) and Mystery Dawg, the editor of Powder Burn Flash. Mysterious Galaxy will also be on hand to sell books.

It's Macavity Award nomination time again for members of Mystery Readers International, in the categories of best novel, first novel, bio/critical, short story, and the Sue Feder Memorial historical mystery. All works must have been published in 2011, and the deadline for nominations is June 1st. For more info, contact Janet Rudolph.

Australia's Monash University is holding a "Body in the Library" exhibition of mystery history, through June 8. Highlights include covers of lurid works by Sax Rohmer, Detection Club projects, detective magazines, the Dick Donovan series that was a contemporary of Sherlock Holmes, and the many Australian and New Zealand crime fiction authors and books. (Hat tip to Elizabeth Foxwell.)

Crimeculture is sponsoring a no-fee Sherlock Holmes Flash Fiction contest. Entrants have to write a 400-word story featuring Holmes in another time and place or in a different genre.  The deadline is June 15, and top ten winners will be published on the Crimeculture website.  (With thanks to Sandra Seamans.)

The latest Suspense Magazine has interviews with Nick Santora, M. William Phelps, Eric Jerome Dickey, and many more. You'll also find reviews of and news about e-books from LJ Sellers, Scott Nicholson and Vincent Zandri.


Congrats to the winners of the "Flashbang" fiction test sponsored by the 2012 Crimefest in the UK. The winners, who were tasked with writing a crime story in 150 words or less, were chosen by author Zoë Sharp.

Mystery Writers of America have added Denver to the list of upcoming MWA University writer workshops. The focus of these events is on the craft of writing, with college-level courses taught by published writers and experienced teachers. Waukesha, Wisconsin, is the next stop on June 16th, followed by Denver on August 11th. For more information, check out the MWA University info page.

Mystery Melange

The latest issue of CrimeFactory is out with an Abbott Family two-fer: Megan Abbott interviews Andrew Nette, and Patti Abbott contributes a new short story. Other features include an essay by Josh Stallings, Spi-Fi smut uncovered by James Hopwood, plus many more interviews and fiction.

The crime fiction awards keep pouring in: the Edgar Awards from the Mystery Writers of America in various categories; and Spinetingler Magazine announced its 2012 honors, including Best New Voice, Donald Ray Pollock for his novel The Devil All the Time; Best Rising Star Anthony Neil Smith (All the Young Warriors); and Best Legend, Lawrence Block (A Drop of the Hard Stuff).

One of the latest installments in the Akashic Books "city noir" series is Long Island Noir, edited by Kaylie Jones and featuring stories by Reed Farrel Coleman, Sarah Weinman and over a dozen other authors. Criminal Element is offering a sweepstakes you can enter to win a free copy of the anthology.

It's the start of a new month, and that means Omnimystery News is once again providing a list of "Firsts on the First," new series characters being introduced in novels published during May.

Mystery Melange

The program for the 10th Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival was announced yesterday and inludes headliners Jo Nesbo, Harlan Coben, John Connolly, Kate Mosse, Peter Robinson, Peter James and Ian Rankin. (Hat tip to the blog It's a Crime--or a Mystery)

In the interview roundup this week, the acclaimed and prolific author Robert Randisi stopped by Petticoats and Pistols, talking about his westerns and what makes a good story;  the blog Kittling: Books talked with writing duo Joyce and Jim Lavene about their cozy mysteries and how they write as a team; Existential Ennui (love the blog title) had a Q&A with spy novelist Jeremy Duns.

Not so much a Q&A as a guest post, Les Edgerton gives tips via Kristen Lamb's blog on how to create a remarkable writing voice.

More award and award nomination congratulations to report this week:

• This year's nominees for the Arthur Ellis Awards for crime fiction authors were handed out by the Crime Writers of Canada.

• The Los Angeles Times Book Award winners were also announced, with Stephen King awarded the prize for in the Mystery/Thriller Category for his novel 11/22/63.

• The Mystery Writers of America gave the Mary Higgins Clark Award to Sara J. Henry for her novel Learning to Swim.

• CrimeFest in the UK announced shortlists for Audible Sounds of Crime Awards, given for the best abridged and unabridged crime audiobooks in both printed and audio formats; the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award for the best humorous crime novel; and the eDunnit Award for the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format.

• Tonight is also the night of the annual Edgar Awards Banquet, where this year's award winners will be announced. For a list of the finalists, you can check the In Reference to Murder Recent Mystery Awards link. Just in case you can't wait, Dan Wager, the "Hungry Detective," lists his picks.

Mystery Melange

Melville International Crime has just released Dead Man Upright, thus restoring all five of Derek Raymond's "Factory Novels" to print for the first time in nearly a decade. Melville calls the series books "among the grimmest and yet most heartfelt works of noir ever composed. Brooding and metaphysical in their purpose, Raymond's novels are both innovative works of style and searing indictments of the inherent violence of bureaucracy." For a clip of the author reading from his novel He Died with His Eyes Open, click here.

This September, Hard Case Crime will release James M. Cain's final unpublished crime novel, titled The Cocktail Waitress, and is teasing fans with the new cover for the book. You can also find an excerpt of the first chapter via that same link. Stephen King adds ""Here, long after anyone would have expected it, is the voice of James M. Cain, as fresh and as relevant as ever. The Cocktail Waitress will involve you, and then shock you with an ending you’ll never forget. This is a true rarity: a reader’s novel that’s also a literary event."

The Washington Post takes a hard look at flawed FBI forensics processes and how the Department of Justice's promises to protect the rights of defendants became more of an exercise in damage control, leaving prisoners locked away or in the dark for years longer than necessary.

Mystery Fanfare has the winners of this year's Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Awards in the crime fiction categories that include Contemporary Mystery, Historical Mystery, First Mystery, Amateur Sleuth and Suspense/Thriller. Congrats to all!

Mystery Melange

Lots of congratulations to spread around:

• The Left Coast Crime conference handed out this year's Lefty Awards, including Best Humorous Mystery Novel to Donna Andrews (The Real Macaw); Bruce Alexander Memorial Historical Mystery Award to Ann Parker (Mercury's Rise); Golden Nugget award for best mystery set in California to Kelli Stanley (City of Secrets); Best First Mystery Novel to Darrell James (Nazareth Child).

• The Short Mystery Fiction Society announced the Derringer Awards, including Best Flash Story: "Lessons Learned" by Allan Leverone; Best Short Story: "Touch of Death" by B.V. Lawson; Best Long Story, (Tie) "A Drowning at Snow's Cut" by Art Taylor and "Brea's Tale" by Karen Pullen; Best Novelette: "Where Billy Died" by Earl Staggs. I was traveling over the past week when this was announced, so I haven't really had a lot of time for reflection about this one, but I must say I am humbly grateful to be given such an honor by the SMFS. There were many very fine stories in all the cateogories this year.

• The Dilys Award (presented by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association for the book they most enjoyed hand-selling) went to Ghost Hero, by S.J. Rozan. (Read more about Dilys Winn, for whom the award is named, here.)

• The International Thriller Writers announced the finalists for this year's Thriller Awards in the novel and story categories.

• Spinetingler Magazine has compiled its finalists for the best crime fiction of 2011 in several categories, and now it's up to you to vote for your favorites.

In other news, Omnimystery News has posted its monthly Firsts on the First, a listing of books with new series characters being published in this new month.

Today is the Tenth Annual Write of Spring one-day conference sponsored by the Minneapolis-based Once Upon a Crime Mystery Bookstore. Some 40 authors will be on hand to discuss and sign their books.

Mike Ripley's latest "Getting Away with Murder" column is up at Shots Mag Online. The Ripster discusses the shocking and sudden death of the 25-year-old Scandinavian superstar author Nisse Ektorp, as well as other news and reviews of the latest crime fiction books from around the globe.

Edgar Week is approaching, and there's still time to register for the Symposium, with panels on social media, debut novelists, what makes characters memorable, and more, including an Oline Cogdill Q&A with author Martha Grimes, the 2012 Mystery Writers of America Grand Master. Other Edgar Week events include an Agents and Editors Party, a launch party for the latest MWA anthology, Vengeance, and the annual Edgar Awards banquet.

The Poisoned Pen, in partnership with Phoenix Public Library is sponsoring a companion event to Comicon, with their own CozyCon at Burton Barr Central Library on May 5th. Authors attending include Avery Aames, Kate Carlisle, Jane Cleland, Donis Casey, Hannah Dennison, Earlene Fowler, Rebecca Hale, Carolyn Hart, Beth Kendrick, Jenn McKinlay, Paige Shelton and Betty Webb. A free open panel with all authors is scheduled from 10-11am, followed by a paid conference from 11:45 to 4:30pm. Cost for the conference is $25 which includes lunch. Seats are limited so call and register via 480-947-2974.

The Writers' Police Academy has opened submissions for the Golden Donut short story contest. The rules are simple—write a story about the photograph on The Graveyard Shift website using exactly 200 words, including the title.

Here's something fun that was brought to my attention recently:  a website with all 1,399 episodes of CBS Radio Mystery Theater episodes online, searchable by plots, actors and writers. Check it out, but make sure you have the time, 'cause you'll want to hang around awhile.

Mystery Melange

A note from Shotsmag: Crime fans can win a pair of weekend passes to CrimeFest 2012 (May 24-27, Bristol, UK) by entering a new flash fiction contest titled Flashbang. It's free to enter, and bestselling author Zoë Sharp will pick eight winners and runners-up. But be succinct: they're looking for a crime story in just 150 words.

The Los Angeles Police Museum unveiled a new Black Dahlia exhibit, sponsored by author James Ellroy, who wrote a book on the case in 1987. The exhibit includes highlights from the extensive police files, never-before-seen photographs, news clippings, police memorabilia and other intriguing artifacts curated by Ellroy and volunteers.

YouTube features many book trailers and author interviews, but doesn't have a "literature" category, so it's hard to find them all. Reddit is trying to remedy that problem by building a new site for literary videos.

Speaking of interviews, this week's Q&A roundup includes Timothy Hallinan (the Poke Rafferty series), guest-blogging at Poe's Deadly Daughters.

Passes to the Los Angeles Time Festival of the Book are now on sale; this year's event, taking place April 21 and 22, features author Robert Crais (Elvis Cole and Joe Pike mysteries). Saturday also includes Anne Perry in Conversation with Denise Hamilton, as well as three crime fiction panels:

• 12:30 pm - Crime Fiction: A Haze of Mystery with Cara Hoffman, Alice LaPlante, Scott O'Connor and moderator Donna Rifkind
• 2:00 pm -  Crime Fiction: Tangled Webs, with Dan Barden, Miles Corwin, T. Jefferson Parker  and moderator Dick Lochte
• 3:30 pm - Crime Fiction: Out of the Box, with Nelson George, Gary Phillips, P.G. Sturges, Paul Tremblay and moderator Celeste Fremon

Sunday has even more crime fiction

• 11:00 am - Crime Fiction: Buried Secrets, with Denise Hamilton, Gregg Hurwitz, Thomas Perry, Dan Pyne and moderator Tod Goldberg
• 12:30 pm - Crime Fiction: California Noir, with Joel Engel, Gar Anthony Haywood, Bart Schneider, Kelli Stanley and moderator Susan Kandel
• 3:30 pm - Crime Fiction: Listening In, with Joseph Kanon, Philip Kerr, Olen Steinhauer and moderator Paula L. Woods

Mystery Melange

The first edition in 2012 of Needle Magazine is out, with 18 brand spanking new stories on the noir side, including "Push Comes to Shove" by yours truly. This is one of the few remaining print zines around, which you can order via Lulu. And right now, if you use the coupon code "marbooks12," you can save 20% off the list price.


The debut issue of print magazine Grift, edited by John Kenyon, is also out on the shelves, with fiction and nonfiction from Lawrence Block, Scott Phillips, Ray Banks, Chris Ratigan, Keith Rawson, Craig McDonald and more. You can also order this one from Lulu. As part of the focus for this 'zine, Kenyon said he wants contributors to, "Avoid things on either end of the intensity spectrum: we are not interested in cozies, nor are we impressed with stories drenched in buckets of blood with high body counts. Make us think, challenge us; it's not the size of the gun, it's what you do with it."

This week's Beat to a Pulp offering is from Frank Wheeler Jr., English teacher, reviewer and author of the upcoming book, The Wowzer.

The Lambda Literary Foundation announced the finalists for the Lambda Awards that honor achievement in LGBT writing for books published in 2011, including a mystery category.

Jen's Book Thoughts continues this year's crime fiction March Madness bracket with matchups between Heroes & Villains. This week, vote in Round 2 for your favorites.

The Q&A roundup this week includes Steve Brewer, author of the Bubba Mabry mysteries; Steve Torres, author of six novels including his most recent, The Concrete Maze; and Paul D. Brazill, out with his latest collection of short stories, Snapshots.

If you're hoping to see your own short story included in an upcoming anthology, Angie's Desk has a listing of some markets seeking submissions.

Writing fiction for the YA crowd? Literary agent Laura Langlie has some advice.

If private eye fiction is your genre, Guns, Gams and Gumshoes (a/k/a Colleen Collins and Shaun Kaufman) always has entertaining and informative tips, including the recent post "What Records Can PIs Get via Databases or by Phone?"

Wondering how to market your books to libraries? Publishers Weekly has a free audio file from a presentation on that topic at this year's Independent Book Publishers Association.

Mystery Melange

The Left Coast Crime conference has announced the lineup for 2013 at Cheyenne Mountain Resort in Colorado Springs. Guests of Honor are Laura Lippman and Craig Johnson, with Fan Guests of Honor Tom and Enid Schantz, Toastmaster David Corbett and "Troubador" Parnell Hall.

If you're in Los Angeles, Sunday, March 25th at 8 p.m., check out Noir At The Bar at The Mandrake Bar on La Cienega Blvd. Authors Hilary Davidson (The Next One to Fall), Gary Phillips (The Underbelly), Gar Anthony Haywood (Assume Nothing), Johnny Shaw (Dove Season) and Jordan Harper (author and staff writer on CBS's The Mentalist) will read and sign their work, with Mysterious Galaxy on hand to sell books.

The Friends of Mystery handed out their annual Spotted Owl Award to crime fiction author Bill Cameron, for his novel County Line. The honor is bestowed upon a writer living in the Northwest region including Alaska, Washington, Oregon, Idaho or the Canadian province British Columbia.

The March Madness tournament created by Jen Forbus is ready for contestants. This year's theme is Heroes and Villains, and she's soliciting your choices for the best fictional entries in both categories. But you'll need to hurry, because the deadline is this Friday, March 16th.

The Thrilling Detective 'zine turns 14 on April 1st, and to celebrate, editor Kevin Burton Smith is asking for your favorite P.I. novel of all time. Send along your top choices via e-mail, Twitter or the Yahoo newsgroup, and he'll tally up the responses and compile a list of the Top 14.

A big welcome to two new 'zines: Big Click Magazine and Blood and Tacos. Big Click is published by Jeremiah Tolbert, with editors Seth Cadin and Nick Mamatas and will appear bimonthly in various electronic formats. The first issue features short ficition by Ken Bruen and Anonymous-9 and interviews with Tom Piccirilli and Joe Lansdale. Blood and Tacos is the brainchild of author/screenwriter Johnny Shaw and will be published quarterly, with stories from authors creating new pulp heroes and book reviews (and even a recipe or two) in each issue.

In sad 'zine news, Flashshot is no more, after ten years. It was an unusual publication, in that it e-mailed stories to subscribers. The driving force behind the project. G.W. Thomas, posted on the website: "Ten years of psychotic killers, cheating hubbies, alien invasions, criminals caught and uncaught, monsters, housewives, Santa Clauses, leprechauns and New Year's celebrations. Ten years. 73,000 minutes, 1217 hours, 50+ days of his life…Made a lot of friends, not so much money."

Mystery Melange

There's a new story up titled "Dyer" at Beat to a Pulp. It's written by Richard Thomas, whose debut novel Transubstantiate was released in 2010.

Spinetingler's eBook tournament is down to the Elite 8. Go now and vote, if you haven't already (you can only vote once). Our good friend and fellow writer/blogger Patti Abbott is among the contenders.

Join Mystery Readers NorCal on Wednesday, March 14, for a Literary Salon with award-winning authors Cara Black (the Aimee Leduc Investigations series set in Paris) and Jacqueline Winspear (the Maisie Dobbs series set in the late 1920s and early 1930s). Space is limited, so it's recommended you reserve a seat by contacting Janet Rudolph.

If you find yourself in Houston, Texas, in April, here are a couple of events you might want to keep in mind:  Murder By The Book is holding two author luncheons, the first with Rita Mae Brown on April 12, and the second with Anne Perry on April 24. For more information and tickets, visit the bookstore's webiste.

Rhian Davies takes note of two contests for UK writers: Stylist magazine and Faber & Faber are seeking entries for a crime novel that features a female protagonist, with a deadline of July 12; Short Story Bloomsbury Publishing, in association with the Writers and Artists Yearbook, has a contest for a crime story in 1,000 words or less.

Congratulations to the nominees for the Dilys Award (see my post on Dilys Winn), given by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association to the mystery titles of the year that member booksellers most enjoyed selling. The winner will be announced March 31 at the 2012 Left Coast Crime Convention in Sacramento.This year's nominees are:

• When Elves Attack by Tim Dorsey
• Wicked Autumn by G. M. Malliet 
• Tag Man by Archer Mayor 
• A Trick of the Light by Louise Penny
• Ghost Hero by S. J. Rozan

The Strand Magazine Critics Awards nominees were also announced, with Lifetime Achievement nods going to Joseph Wambaugh and John Sandford. For a list of the Best First Novel and Best Novel lists, Mystery Fanfare has the scoop.

Mystery Melange

Heads up, publishers (and authors, if you need to remind your publishers): as Rhian Davies reminds us at It's a Crime (or a Mystery), today is the last day to submit books and short stories to the CWA Dagger Awards.

Time's also running out to enter the NoirCon 2012 Poetry Contest — the deadline is Friday, March 2nd. How do they define "noir poetry"? It's "Poetry that makes reference to the subject matter, dialog or style of film noir or the hard-boiled detective genre, or, (2) Poetry that invokes stark urban landscapes and atmosphere, and which either alludes to crime and perilous attachments or else seems to bear dark knowledge of this territory, or (3) Poetry that tells the story of tortured souls—lovers, psychopaths, obsessives—driven down deadly paths, following desperate plans that are doomed to failure."

Speaking of crime poetry, Gerald So is seeking bloggers to participate in the upcoming 5-2 Blog Tour for Poems on Crime to promote The Lineup #4. The deadline to letting him know you're interested is March 15th, and the tour itself starts in April, which is National Poetry Month.

Spinetingler has a nifty Tournament of 2011 Crime Fiction Ebooks they're starting today. Go vote and join in the fun.

It's not too late to read the February issue of Gumshoe Review online, edited by Gayle Surrette and filled with a wide range of reviewed books and the U.S. Books column that gives you information on new book releases.

Mystery Writers of America will continue its MWA University series with a one-day workshop of top-notch classes at the University of Wisconsin-Waukesha on June 16th. Talks include author Jess Lourey on "After the Idea"; Laura DiSilverio on "Dramatic Structure & Plot"; Daniel Stashower on "Setting & Description";  John Galligan on "Voice, Dialogue and Point of View"; Reed Farrel Coleman on "Character"; Hallie Ephron on "Writing as Re-Writing"; and Hank Phillippi Ryan on "The Writing Life."