The annual Fall for the Book at George Mason University and other locales in northern Virginia kicked off yesterday and continues through Friday. The festival includes a number of mystery-related events culminating in the presentation of the Mason Award to bestselling thriller writer David Baldacci by Donna Andrews. Here are some of the other upcoming crime fiction highlights:
- Mystery writer Edith McClintock, author of Monkey Love and Murder
- Mystery writer Charles Todd (Charles and Caroline both!), discussing Proof of Guilt
- Novelists A.X. Ahmad, author of The Caretaker, and Sujata Massey, author of the Rei Shimura mysteries and the new historical novel The Sleeping Dictionary
- Author Daniel Stashower author of The Hour of Peril: The Secret Plot to Murder Abraham Lincoln Before the Civil War, which explores how the famed Allan Pinkerton joined forces with the nation’s first female detective to foil an assassination attempt on the president in 1861
- A panel featuring members of Mystery Writers of America, including Ellen Crosby, Allison Leotta, Brad Parks, and David O. Stewart.
But there is a wide variety of other authors and poets who will be on hand, as well as additional awards including the Fairfax Prize to be given to Dave Barry; the Busboys and Poets Award to be handed out to Sonia Sanchez; and the Mary Roberts Rinehart Award, with Cheryl Strayed as the honoree. Also helping out this year, is the thriving indie bookstore One More Page, which will host some of the festivities. Best of all, events are free and open to the public.