Charity Begins at Tome

Crime fiction authors are often among the first to lend their talents, services and wares to help support charities such as the earthquake-related projects I mentioned the other day. Coming up Thursday, September 8th, the Severna Park Chartwell Country Club in Maryland will host mystery authors Donna Andrews, Marcia Talley, Louis Bayard, Thomas Kaufman, Rosemary and Larry Mild, and Tracy Kiely in an event to benefit breast cancer research organization METAvivor. Mystery Loves Company will also be selling books at the event.

In other charity news, Ed Gorman reports that author Paul Levine, who celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first novel To Speak for the Dead with a charity effort benefitting the Four Diamonds Fund (supporting treatment and research at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital), is doing it again this year with his second novel ebook release, Flesh & Bones. Craig Sisterson also notes proceeds from Norwegian author Jo Nesbø's thriller Headhunters, about an art theft which goes wrong, will be funneled directly to the Harry Hole Foundation to reduce illiteracy among children in the Third World.

Go hear a favorite author, buy a book, help other people. Sounds like a win-win to me.