A book auction in the UK (open internationally) in support of British Ukrainian Aid is live through March 30th. There are many items you can bid on, from signed books and packages to editorial critiques to character naming. Some of the crime fiction highlights include an afternoon tea with Ann Cleeves in Whitley Bay, location of ITV’s series Vera (which is based on Ann’s bestselling novels); a mentoring session with bestselling author of psychological thrillers, Erin Kelly; a mentoring session with Sarah Hilary, award winning author of the D.I. Marnie Rome series; and lunch with Ken Follett at the Ritz.
The 2022 Audie Awards for excellence in audiobooks were awarded this week. The Best Audio Drama award went to Sherlock Holmes - The Seamstress of Peckham Rye by Jonathan Barnes, performed by Nicholas Briggs, Richard Earl, Lucy Briggs-Owen, India Fisher, James Joyce, Anjella MacKintosh, Glen McCready, and Mark Elstob; The Best Mystery was Later by Stephen King, narrated by Seth Numrich; and The Best Thriller was Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica, narrated by Brittany Pressley, Jennifer Jill Araya, Gary Tiedemann, and Jesse Vilinsky. For all the winners and finalists, check out this link from the Audio Publishers Association.
The International Thriller Writers organization is awarding one scholarship to a BIPOC Middle Grade author who is writing a crime fiction manuscript that features a BIPOC sleuth. Applications must be submitted before April 10, 2022. The scholarship author will receive a US $1,000 stipend and a free pass to attend ThrillerFest XVII, which takes place May 31-June 4, 2022 in New York City. The scholarship recipient's manuscript will also be reviewed by a top editor. Interested applicants can apply via this link.
Ian Rankin (Inspector Rebus), Maureen Jennings (Murdoch Mysteries), and dozens of Canadian Mystery and Crime Writers are set to participate in the first ever Maple Leaf Mystery Conference taking place online via Zoom from May 24th to 28th. Daily Author Spotlights include sessions with Rankin and Jennings, as well as Vicki Delany, Rick Mofina, and Iona Whishaw. There will also be panel discussions with top Canadian authors of cozies, humorous mysteries, thrillers, and more. Tickets for the entire 5-day event can be purchased for just $25.
The new issue of Black Cat Weekly #27 features a historic interview with George R.R. Martin, plus great mystery, science fiction, and fantasy stories by Nalo Hopkinson, Steve Liskow, Cathy Wiley, Lester del Rey, Larry Tritten, and others. The issue is free for everyone right now, with editors hoping readers will enjoy the publication so much, they'll subscribe. (Note that they have monthly and annual subscriptions available.)
Art Taylor recently hosted Christine Poulson at The First Two Pages, with an essay on her story "Some Other Dracula" from the new anthology, Music of the Night. While you're there, you can also check out last week's essay by fellow contributor, Peter Lovesey.
The latest edition of Geoff Bradley's magazine/fanzine, Crime and Detective Stories (CADS), #87, has articles from regular contributors including Marv Lachman, Liz Gilbey, Mike Ripley, Philip Scowcroft, Barry Pike, and Jamie Sturgem, including a long appreciation of Cyril Hare by his son Charles; a piece by Philip Gooden on J.C. Masterman; and an article by Pete Johnson about Nicholas Blake's best books. If you're interested in checking out a copy, contact the editor. (HT to Martin Edwards)
International Women’s Day has been observed since the early 1900s, with thousands of events occcuring around the world to celebrate women and their accomplishments. As part of this year's observations, Coleen Collins honored female PIs with links to articles and radio shows hosted by them including a cross-section of outstanding female investigators with their fictional counterparts.
Writing for The Irish Times, Louise Phillips asked "Why are there so many Irish women crime writers? Why is there so much crime against women?," noting that if crime fiction acts as a mirror to society, women have a lot of ugly truths to tackle.
If you're a true-crime fan, Publishers Weekly posted a list of "10 Groundbreaking True Crime Books" from the 1950s to the present.
Sam Wiebe, award-winning author of the Wakeland novels including Invisible Dead, applied the Page 69 Test to his latest, Hell and Gone.
A truly ancient murder mystery has become even more intriguing: the Spanish archeologist who helped piece together possibly the earliest case of murder in human history—some 430,000 years ago—has published another study that demonstrates evidence of nine additional murders in the same location.
This week's crime poem at the 5-2 Weekly is "True Crime Story: Imagining An Empire, Or, Where It Is That Crime Starts" by David Erdos.
In the Q&A roundup, Deborah Kalb spoke with Joyce St. Anthony, author of the Brewing Trouble mysteries and the new novel, Front Page Murder; Curtis Ippolito of Bristol Noir chatted with J.B. Stevens about his new short story collection, A Therapeutic Death, published by the Indie crime fiction stalwart, Shotgun Honey; Joan Long stopped by Writers Who Kill to discuss her debut novel, The Finalist, about five authors sent to an isolated island for the chance to complete a deceased novelist’s unfinished manuscript—until murder strikes; Gay Yellen of The Stilleto Gang interviewed fellow "gangster" Kathryn Lane about her Nikki Garcia Mysteries; Matt Miksa stopped by The Indie Crime Scene for a look at his second thriller, Don't Get Close, with FBI Special Agent Vera Taggart; Kellye Garrett spoke with the Los Angeles Times about her breakthrough mystery, Like a Sister (paywall; another free version here); and The Bookseller chatted with Ann Cleeves about her iconic characters and the hallmarks of crime.