Special Events Mean Member Opportunities
Besides our chapter’s monthly gatherings (see sidebar for 2010 meetings), we now find ourselves involved in so many extra-meeting activities that they needed their own page!
To learn more about our upcoming participation in the Brooklyn Book Festival and the Astoria/LIC International Film Festival, visit our brand-new Special Events page, via the link or the menu item on the right sidebar, and save-those-dates!
A Cowgirl Party Means Business
Our final gather-round of the programming year will be held Monday, June 14th at chapter favorite, Cowgirl! During our business meeting-slash-dinner party, the officers will report upon chapter progress, and we’ll celebrate the bounty of fantastic tidings the past year’s brought to so many members. There will be carousing and salsa, door prizes, an ample prix fixe dinner, and margaritas on tap at the cash bar. See details about the venue, cost, and how to RSVP at the Chapter Meetings page. C’mon out and kick up your heels!
Events: Register NOW for Chris Roerden
Chris Roerden, award-winning author and manuscript editor, is giving us a workshop on Tuesday, May 25th, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, here in NYC! The Writer’s Voice will be a 2-hour, interactive seminar designed for new writers and veterans alike, examining what that “fresh, new voice” is that agents and editors keep demanding, and providing hands-on practice in finding, or refining, your own. This workshop requires advance registration and payment, as seating is limited. The cost is $20 for chapter members, and $25 for non-members. Please see more details about the speaker, venue, and how to register at our Chapter Meetings page from the sidebar.
You may have one or more of Chris’s writing books on your shelves already, so don’t miss this chance to benefit from up-close and in-depth instruction right from the horse’s mouth- er- publishing professional’s voice!
Chapter Meeting: Joan Q. Public-ity on Tax Day
While adorable (from a distance), this is no longer considered the cutting edge of book promotion.
Joan Schulhafer has worked as an in-house publicist for Avon, Bantam, Pocket Books, Silhouette, and Kensington. Since opening her own agency, she’s worked with Nora Roberts, Jayne Ann Krentz, Heather Graham, Ray Bradbury, Elizabeth George, J.A. Jance, Neil Gaiman, Laura Lippman, and Tami Hoag among other notables. We’re delighted for the opportunity to pick her brain about how publishers’ campaigns are planned, what the goals and methods are, and how to think about promoting our own work with the innovation a pro publicist does.
On April 15th, we’ll gather at 6pm at the Muhlenberg Library with the program beginning at 6:30pm. More details as always, at our Chapter Meetings page.
Events: April 13th Crime Scene Panel at NYPL
New York’s wonderful Mid-Manhattan Library (at 40th St. and 5th Ave.) will be hosting a panel discussion with various members of Mystery Writers of America and our own chapter of Sisters in Crime.
Crime Scenes: From Cities to the Back of Beyond: Why & How Mystery Writers Choose their Settings will be held on April 13th at 6:30pm on the 6th Floor. Joining moderator Peggy Ehrhart will be panelists Lorenzo Carcaterra, Henry Chang, Julia Pomeroy, Laura Joh Rowland, and Wallace Stroby. Under discussion will be Evil *cue organ music* and everywhere it lurks, from seemingly harmless small towns to the glamourous metropolis, and even more exotic locales both in place and time.
Events: March 31st Kettle of Fish
5 of our local Sisters will be reading selections with international appeal at the legendary Kettle of Fish in Greenwich Village at 59 Christopher St. Lina Zeldovich, Pat King, Liz Zelvin, Peggy Ehrhart, and Cathi Stoler, who was nice enough to share her flyer, will be reading short selections from their works from 6:45 to 8pm. This is our first public reading- Hope to see you there!
March 18th Meeting: Small Print to Big Screen
We’ve all seen movies based upon other written works, but how does that process unfold in real-life? Our two guests know from personal experience. Philip Cioffari and Tim McLoughlin will discuss the joys and perils of working on stories that became films. This one, like all our meetings at the Muhlenberg Library, is open to the public. See more details at the Chapter Meetings link.
Lights, Camera, Adaptation!
Events: Peggy Ehrhart at NJ’s Town Book Store
This Saturday, March 6th, member Peggy Ehrhart will be signing her books at the Town Book Store in Westfield, New Jersey, at 270 Broad Street where it intersects with Elmer. This gem’s been in business for over 75 years, so if you’re in the area, come say hello to Peggy, and do some browsing!
February 18th Chapter Meeting: True Crime
Less than a year ago, people around the country were spellbound by the unfolding saga of the Craigslist killer, so-named during a week-long spree that saw three young women attacked and robbed in hotel rooms, one of them killed, by a man police allege is a former med student who used the online site to arrange “erotic” services.
While the accused awaits trial, we’ll hear about the evidence against him from Paul LaRosa, who co-wrote the book Seven Days of Rage: The Deadly Spree of the Craigslist Killer. This Emmy Award-winning news and documentary producer, also a veteran NY journalist, will tell us about the high-tech investigation, and also explain the unique research and process that authors use in writing true crime books.
Chapter member, and former cop, Kathy Ryan will moderate, and we’ll also be giving away a copy of Paul’s book! As always, dates, times, and directions available at the Chapter Meetings link on the sidebar.
Annual Open Mic Night!
Open Mic
Because, it’s been so popular the last two years, our January meeting (on the 21st) will again be an open mic night. That means anyone who wishes can read aloud a selection of her work in a fun, supportive atmosphere and listen to a lot of great stuff, too. On the date of our meeting last year, a plane actually landed on the Hudson just to be close enough to hear the dulcet tones and gripping tales. Whether in print or in-process, all writing’s welcome! More details and RSVP info at the Chapter Meetings link on the sidebar.
November Meeting Arriving Shortly!
Perhaps it’s our fast-paced world, or the way modern technology encourages communicating in brief, but there’s a revival in short fiction. Many of us enjoy writing shorts as additional creative outlets, though now, we’re also using them as entrees to help sell our novels or as support for an existing series. With that in mind, we’re hosting a panel next week to help define what takes a short submission from slush to stand-out.
Philip Cioffari teaches creative writing at William Paterson University. He has published a novel and a short-story collection and is also an award-winning film writer and director. A former reporter for The Los Angeles Times, Jack Getze has authored two mystery novels and edits Spinetingler, an online short fiction magazine.
Our chapter experts will include member Anita Page who’s published numerous short stories, in print and online, most recently in the MWA anthology The Prosecution Rests, edited by Linda Fairstein, and the current holiday anthology The Gift of Murder. Chapter member Terrie Farley Moran will appear in next year’s MWA anthology, edited by Charlaine Harris, and her story “Bright Star” was recognized in Otto Penzler’s Best American Mystery Stories of 2009. She will also be editing our chapter’s upcoming 2010 anthology. Moderating this terrific panel will be our longtime officer and board member, herself a short story and novel author, Peggy Ehrhart.
More details about location and scheduling at the Chapter Meetings page.
Lock in this Thursday’s Meeting
Coming up this Thursday, October 22, Stephen Morello, Deputy Commissioner of the NY City Dept. of Correction, will debunk the myths about Rikers Island, sharing fascinating stories of life (and even love) among a population of 14,000 daily inmates. And, he’s bringing visual aids! More details at the Chapter Meetings link from the sidebar.
Member News: Liz Zelvin’s Latest
Elizabeth Zelvin’s second novel from Minotaur, DEATH WILL HELP YOU LEAVE HIM is now for sale with all the usual suspects! She’s also having a book release party at local favorite, the Partners & Crime Bookstore in Greenwich Village, on October 27th. Everyone’s invited!
In the latest in this new series, the abusive boyfriend of one of Bruce Kohler’s friends is found dead in her apartment. Bruce, who quit drinking and entered recovery in the previous DEATH WILL GET YOU SOBER, now finds himself juggling sleuthing, sobriety, a crush on the bereaved girlfriend, and the lure of his compelling, but self-destructive, ex-wife who’s on her own collision course.
Many congratulations to Liz, and you can visit her website for more information, to view a cool book trailer, and to find out where else she’ll be appearing, both personally and virtually, in the days to come!
Don’t Forget The October Meeting!
Coming up on Wednesday, October 22, Stephen Morello, Deputy Commissioner of the NY City Dept. of Correction, will debunk pop-culture myths about incarceration and share the amazing, sometimes funny, truths about life on Rikers Island, where the daily inmate population hovers around 14,000.
Chapter Festivities in Brooklyn
Last Sunday’s Brooklyn Book Festival was a great opportunity for us to get together with other chapter members and enthusiastic lovers of the written word. The weather finally cooperated and cleared, and I’m sure the previous few days of rainy cabin fever helped the terrific turnout. There was a huge number of readings and literary discussions going on simultaneously, all free to the public. Individual venues were scattered outside Brooklyn Borough Hall and within the surrounding public buildings, and the public promenades of Columbus park were lined with exhibitor tables under blue canopies.
As first-timers, we christened the brand new banner you’ll see, and discovered that enough people hadn’t encountered us before that the name alone in huge letters made them curious. During two-hour slots, SinC chapter authors took turns signing and selling, giving away publisher copies and special freebies. Over the course of the day, we also sold 25+ copies of last year’s anthology, Murder New York Style, to readers who were excited to support local authors writing about their neighborhoods. It was a friendly, unabashedly book-loving crowd, and several other local authors and downright luminaries stopped by to visit.
Hopefully the gallery of pictures below gives some sense of the event (click any to enlarge), but if you notice empty sidewalk, that was definitely taken early in the day. Where there’s 1 Sister behind the table, it’s Robin Hathaway. The 2 Sisters are (l to r) Lina Zeldovich and Peggy Ehrhart. The 3 Sisters are K.J.A. (Ken) Wishnia, Cynthia Baxter, and Jill Brock. Sadly, the Sisters I missed memorializing were Sue Yellin, who volunteers with the Brooklyn Borough offices and who became our indispensable liaison, and also our new(ish) chapter member transplanted from New Orleans, Laura John Rowland. If we decide to do it again next year, and I certainly hope we will, I promise no one will escape the shutterbugging!
Sept. 24th Chapter Meeting: Pitching the Book
You’ve completed your manuscript, edited it a hundred times, and now you’re ready for an agent, but how do you pitch? Literary agents Donna Bagdasarian of Publication Riot Group, Inc. and Josh Getzler of Writers House will give us the DO’s and DON’Ts and answer all your questions. Jump back into the SinC swing with this fun and informative meeting!
For more details on this or other upcoming meetings, check our Chapter Meetings page.
Come to the Brooklyn Book Festival!
On Sunday, September 13th, 2009, from 10am to 6pm, avid readers will be at the 4th annual Brooklyn Book Festival. A stellar line-up of local and international authors is planned for this thriving public celebration of the written word. This free event takes place outside Borough Hall, and attracted over twenty thousand people last year. For the first time, we’re sponsoring a New York/Tri-State chapter table, and inviting all our published members in good standing to bring their books to sign and sell.
We anticipate 2-hour slots per author, and we’re also requesting a contribution of $20 to help defray the cost of the booth. If you’d like to participate, please e-mail clare2e (at) me (dot) com with your time of day preferences and how many titles you’d wish to display.
The deadline to sign up is August 21st, but early notification is much appreciated and we expect the slots to fill quickly. See you at the festival!
Brooklyn Book Festival
Our chapter will have a table at the Brooklyn Book Festival in September. More details to come, but in the meantime, save the date of September 13!
