Sisters In Crime NY

Greenwich Village’s legendary Kettle of Fish hosts monthly readings, and on March 31st, the readers will all be from our chapter! Get practice, publicity, or just warm encouragement from a friendly, fiction-loving crowd.

The theme of the evening is International Night, and any crime fiction you’ve written with an international setting or topic is eligible. If you’d like to join your local Sisters on stage, please submit your excerpted work of between 6 to 8 minutes (around 1500 words) to member Lina (underscore) Zeldovich (at) yahoo (dot) com. Final editorial selections will be the responsibility of Michael Mejias of Writers House, who organizes and curates the evenings. We hope that this will be a successful program, and only the beginning of more such opportunities for our members.

Add your name to Jack Kerouac’s and the other incredible authors who’ve read there, by submitting to Lina by Friday, February 20th for consideration!

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.

With sadness, we report that chapter member Winifred Seery of Glastonbury, Connecticut passed away on January 29th at the age of 75.   Her obituary with online guestbook is posted at the Hartford Courant.

We celebrate her wonderful contributions to our community as a writer and Sister, and wish her family all the best.

On February 18th at 6:30 pm, member Elizabeth Zelvin, psychotherapist as well as mystery author, will be presenting a program at the Mid-Manhattan Library on bad relationships and why they’re often so hard to leave.

Between this free program and our concurrent chapter meeting on the Craigslist killer, local Sisters have the darker side of Valentine’s Day covered!

Image site here.

THE FIFTH SERVANT, published by William Morrow, is a Jewish-themed historical mystery that takes place in Prague, 1592.  On the eve of Passover, in the fragile safety of the Jewish ghetto, a Christian girl is found in a local shop with her throat cut.  As a Christian mob grows restive outside the gates, a newly-arrived Talmudic scholar from Poland pleads the shopkeeper’s innocence to city officials, and is granted three days to conduct his own investigation amid the murky religious and political currents of this fascinating place and time.

To celebrate the novel’s release, there’ll be a Jewish-themed book party and signing at Partners & Crime on Tuesday, January 26th, at 7:00pm.  If the yummy food and drink aren’t enough, let the live klezmer music draw you in!

Mazel Tov, Ken!

Blame the holidays (okay, I will,) but we’re precisely a month behind in announcing the 4th installment in Maggie Barbieri’s Murder 101 series published by St. Martin’s.

St. Thomas University is a small school in the Bronx, and when a residential director goes missing near semester’s end, English Professor Alison Bergeron moves into his room for a most unwelcome subbing job.  It’s the hidden drugs in the toilet that finally get Alison’s cop boyfriend, Detective Robert Crawford, interested in helping her figure a way out of dorm detail.

The title’s available at all your favorite purveyors, of course, and you can learn more about Maggie and the series at her website.  Belated and very hearty Congratulations!

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.

Of course, at this time of year, we’re very thankful for our Sisters in Crime, and we’re grateful for all the good times and successes within our chapter.  That’s why we’re talking about our upcoming party to celebrate!

On Tuesday, December 8th, we kick it off at 6pm at the kitschy and delish Cowgirl restaurant.  All the details are posted on the Chapter Meetings page. We need final counts by Friday, December 4th, so polish up your spurs and RSVP for holiday festivity with your Sisters!

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.

Publishers Weekly is spearheading the first of this annual event as an opportunity to celebrate bookselling and the vibrant culture of bookstores. No matter your favorite independent nook or chain, stop by this Sunday and share the love!