Mystery Melange

Nancy Martin, Tom Straw, Clare Toohey and Lois Winston will take part in the panel "The Funny Side of Crime," sponsored by Mystery Writers of America/New York Chapter at the Mid-Manhattan Library tomorrow, January 19th at 6:30pm.

If you happen to be in Berkeley, California on January 26th, don't miss an opportunity to hear author Val McDermid at the Mystery Readers International NorCal Literary Salon. Space is limited, so you'll need to RSVP for directions by making a comment on Janet Rudolph's blog, Mystery Fanfare.

Curious about the state of e-Books in 2011? Over at TeleRead, Piotr Kowalczyk has an extensive report complete with highlights, tables and charts.

There's still time to register for Sleuthfest, the mystery writers conference March 1 to 4 in Orlando. Special guests this year are Jeffery Deaver, Chris Grabenstein and Charlaine Harris. Plus, do I have to mention the warm weather and a couple of theme parks you might have heard of where you can take the kids?

There's also still time to apply for two scholarships of up to $500 each awarded in the McCloy-MWA Scholarship Program to unpublished authors. The samples of mystery writing to submit can be three chapters of a novel or nonfiction, or three short stories or essays, or a full-length script. There's no entry fee or membership requirement, and applicants also get feedback from a judge. All applications must be postmarked by February 29, 2012.

Murder Must Advertise is a newsgroup for mystery authors to discuss advertising, publicity and marketing related to their books. It's free to join, and there are many benefits to membership including the chance to get some great ideas from your fellow authors. Also, coordinator Jeffrey Marks is putting together an anthology of short stories related to the ad/publicity/marketing theme, and he's looking for submissions. You can subscribe to the newsgroup on this page, and if you're interested in the anthology, contact Jeff via the e-mail listed here.

Meanwhile, Sandra Seamans' excellent blog My Little Corner has more short-story anthologies with open calls for submissions.

Have you decided to bite the bullet and purchase an e-Reader or tablet? Make sure it's not made out of clay first.