Looking to transform your written conversations into riveting, believable dialogue? In this fascinating program, two defense attorneys, formerly with the District Attorney’s office, will play and read actual phone calls and transcripts from both incarcerated felons calling cohorts from Riker’s Island and communicating “in code” to perpetuate their wrongdoings, and civilians on their worst day, prompting them to emergency dial 9-1-1. What are those felons actually saying? Who are the people who respond to those calls? How do they handle them? And what can you learn to make your next novel your most authentic yet?
Moderated by Dawn M. Barclay (D.M. Barr), this program will feature Civil rights and Criminal Defense Attorney Gregory Zenon, and Gilbert Parris, owner of Gilbert C. Parris Criminal Defense Attorneys.
Gregory Zenon, Esq (zenonatlaw.com) holds a JD from Brooklyn Law School. Before opening his own firm, he worked as a senior trial attorney at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, prosecuting over 750 cases. The bureaus he worked in include Crimes Against Children, Manor Narcotics, Sex Crimes/S.V.U. and the Red Zone Trial Unit. He also specialized in Animal Abuse and ASPCA crimes. Zenon is a published author and lecturer on criminal law who is also a member of the Brooklyn Barrister Editorial Board.
Gilbert C. Parris, Esq. (gilbertparrisattorney.com), has been practicing criminal law for over 20 years. He spent years working as a State Prosecutor in Kings County, NY before “changing sides’ and now represents clients that are both accused of and being investigated for federal and state crimes. As a former prosecutor, Mr. Parris says he has a “behind the scenes” understanding of the thought process of a prosecutor and the shifting procedures of the DA’s offices. He leverages his unique experience on both sides of the courtroom to build strong defense strategies for every client.
For our monthly meeting on October 20th at 6:30 pm, fellow sib Edgar-nominated Mariah Fredericks will be talking with the best-selling and award-winning author Elizabeth Kerri Mahon about her new book PRETTY EVIL NEW YORK focused on Gotham’s most fascinating female criminals, including Ruth Snyder, immortalized in James M. Cain’s novella Double Indemnity; serial killer Lizzie Halliday, nicknamed the Worst Woman in the World; and Celia Cooney, the Bobbed Hair Bandit.
This event will be held on Zoom and is open to the public. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER.
Stop by table #427 at the Brooklyn Book Festival!
Our anthology will be on sale throughout the day, and the following Sisters in Crime authors will be selling and signing books:
10:00-11:00
Catherine Siemann
Lori Robbins
11:00-12:00
Elizabeth Mannion
Dawn Barclay
12:00-1:00
Constance Meccarello-Gerson
Nina Mansfield
1:00-2:00
Lori Robbins
Cathi Stoler
2:00-3:00
Nancy Good
Tina deBellegarde
3:00-4:00
Mally Becker
Nina Wachsman
4:00-5:00
Mary Jo Robertiello
Susie Case
Join us on Zoom as we launch our newest short story anthology with readings from the authors.
You’ll here excerpts from many of the stories, and get to meet the authors. The following authors will be reading:
Lori Robbins, Ellen Quint, Nina Wachsman, Nancy Good, Nina Mansfield, Mary Jo Robertiello, Susie Case, Cathi Stoler, Catherine Maiorisi, D.M. Barr, Elle Hartford, Catherine Siemann, Anne-Marie Sutton, and Kathleen Marple Kalb.
The evening will conclude with a word with the editors. Joseph R.G. De Marco & D.M. Barr.
REGISTER TO JOIN US ON ZOOM BY CLICKING HERE.
You can Pre-Order the anthology by CLICKING HERE.
We are also hoping to broadcast the event on FacebookLive. We hope to “see” you there!
SinC-New York/Tri-State’s First QueryFest
We’re delighted to announce the chapter’s first QueryFest! A true member perk, three leading editors and agents will be joining us to discuss best query practices, after which they will evaluate our members’ query letters in groups of four in private virtual rooms. These letters will be delivered in advance to give each group leader sufficient time to digest their contents and offer meaningful advice on how to improve them. You’ll also glean insight by listening to your fellow members’ queries and the advice given. It’s a great opportunity to polish up your pitch!
Thanks so much to the Query Advisors who will be leading this event:
Terri Bischoff, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Crooked Lane Books, began her life in books as a bookseller at Kramerbooks in Washington, DC. After moving home to the Midwest, she worked at a feminist bookstore before purchasing and operating Booked for Murder in Madison, WI. She spent 10 years at Midnight Ink as their acquiring editor and published 36-40 books a year. Terri has a wealth of experience and knowledge in both mysteries and in bookselling, particularly as a book buyer and reviewer. Terri’s interests lie in mainstream suspense, thrillers, quirky and humorous cozies, LGBTQIA, and diverse characters/storylines.
Nettie Finn, Associate Editor at St. Martin’s Press, began her publishing career at St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur in 2016, where she has been happily reading and editing ever since. For Minotaur’s list, she’s on the lookout for domestic thrillers, sharply plotted mysteries, unconventional sleuths, and cheerful cozies. She’s drawn to commercial and upmarket suspense with a focus on strong women and unique perspectives, and to anything with a powerful sense of place, such as international and historical fiction, as well as stories set in the south or with a gothic edge. On the St. Martin’s Press side, she’s looking for women’s and book club fiction with strong characters and lots of heart.
Victoria Skurnick has been with the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency since 2007. Among the suspense novels she represents are A Death of No Importance and Death of a Showman, by Mariah Fredericks, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary and the forthcoming The Hollywood Spy, by Susan Elia MacNeal, Jar of Hearts and Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier, and Bad Things Happen and The Good Killer, by Harry Dolan. In addition, Victoria represents literary fiction, women’s fiction and nonfiction, specializing in history and politics. Victoria was Editor-in-Chief of The Book-of-the-Month Club and senior editor at St. Martin’s Press and Pocket Books.
We look forward to seeing you all in May!
Multiple award winning author Ellen Byron talks with her agent, Doug Grad about the happiness and hell of publishing, Hollywood, and a career in storytelling.
Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. She writes the Catering Hall Mystery series, which are inspired by her real life, under the name Maria DiRico. Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS.
Doug Grad was an editor for twenty-two years at imprints of Simon & Schuster, Random House, Penguin, and HarperCollins. He acquired and edited numerous bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction, including the first two New York Times bestselling novels of historical fiction by Jeff Shaara. Over the years he’s worked with generals and admirals, war heroes, historians, politicians, astronauts, sports stars, coaches, comedians, mobsters, cops, journalists, musicians, truckers, cowboys and Native Americans among others. He opened his own literary agency in 2008 and has sold a wide range of fiction and nonfiction to Big Five publishers, as well as mid-sized and small publishing houses. His authors have hit the New York Times bestseller list, won prestigious awards, and have been critically acclaimed. Doug is married to a librarian, lives in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and two children and their pug dog, Winston.
Join us on Zoom for a celebration of Irish Crime Writing on this Saturday after St. Patrick’s Day!
Jane Casey, Brian Cliff, Arlene Hunt and Liz Nugent will be joining us for a discussion moderated by our very own Elizabeth Mannion.
Please note, unlike our usual monthly meetings, this event will be held on a Saturday at 2pm.
Crime is a family affair for Jane Casey. Married to a criminal barrister, she has a unique insight into the brutal underbelly of urban life, from the smell of a police cell to the darkest motives of a serial killer. This gritty realism has made her books international bestsellers and critical successes; while Detective Sergeant Maeve Kerrigan has quickly become one of the most popular characters in crime fiction. Winner of the Mary Higgins Clark Award for The Stranger You Know, Jane has twice won the Irish Crime Novel of the Year Award and has been nominated for several other prestigious prizes. She is a top ten Sunday Times bestselling author.
Brian Cliff is a visiting research fellow in the School of English at Trinity College Dublin, where he was a lecturer and assistant professor from 2007 to 2019. His recent publications include the Edgar Award-nominated Guilt Rules All: Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction (2020), co-edited with Elizabeth Mannion; Irish Crime Fiction (2018); Synge and Edwardian Ireland (2012), coedited with Nicholas Grene; and a reprint of Emma Donoghue’s Hood (2011), coedited with Emilie Pine. He co-organized “Irish Crime Fiction: A Festival” in November 2013, and is currently working on a monograph about community and contemporary Irish writing.
Arlene Hunt is a writer and reviewer. When not writing, or procrastinating about writing, she can usually be found halfway up a mountain with two German Shepherds for company. Arlene is the author of the QuicK Investigations series and No Escape. She is currently working on a new novel, to be published with Hachette later this year. https://arlenehunt.com/.
Elizabeth Mannion, Chapter Board Member-at-large, is a teacher and researcher with a focus on drama and an interdisciplinary range of Irish studies, from modern drama to contemporary crime fiction. Beth is the co-editor, with Brian Cliff, of the Edgar-nominated Guilt Rules All: Irish Mystery, Detective, and Crime Fiction (2020); editor of The Contemporary Irish Detective Novel (2016), and the author of The Urban Plays of the Early Abbey Theatre (2014). She teaches at Baruch College in New York.
Liz Nugent is a writer of award-winning psychological suspense novels Unraveling Oliver (2014), Lying in Wait (2016), Skin Deep (2018), and Little Cruelties (2020). All four books topped the Irish bestsellers list and Liz has won multiple literary awards. Her books have also been optioned for screen adaptations. Liz’s books have been translated into 16 languages. She has also written extensively for radio and television in drama and animation. http://www.liznugent.ie/.
Join panelists Terri Bischoff, Tiffany Yates Martin, and chapter member Sue Toth for what promises to be an informative evening about a topic we would all learn to love more about…editing! Chapter members will receive a Zoom invite in their emails.
Terri Bischoff, Senior Acquisitions Editor, Crooked Lane Books began her life in books as a bookseller at Kramerbooks in Washington, DC. After moving home to the Midwest, she worked at a feminist bookstore before purchasing and operating Booked for Murder in Madison, WI. She spent 10 years at Midnight Ink as their acquiring editor and published 36-40 books a year. Terri has a wealth of experience and knowledge in both mysteries and in bookselling, particularly as a book buyer and reviewer. Terri’s interests lie in mainstream suspense, thrillers, quirky and humorous cozies, LGBTQIA, and diverse characters/storylines.
Tiffany Yates Martin has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling, award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers, and is the author of the Amazon bestseller Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing. She’s led workshops and seminars for conferences and writers’ groups across the country and is a frequent contributor to writers’ sites and publications. Under the pen name Phoebe Fox, she’s the author of the Breakup Doctor series and her most recent release, A Little Bit of Grace (August 2020, Berkley). Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com or www.phoebefoxauthor.com.
Sue Toth: I’ve been a lover of the English language for as long as I’ve been able to read. My entire career has been dedicated to either writing and editing or teaching others how to write and edit. I teach writing and editing at the college level and teach fiction editing at the University of San Diego. For the past 20 years, my specialty has been in collaborating as an editor with fiction authors to get turn their books into the ones that readers can’t put down.
Please join us for our wonderful January open mic tradition. We will be treated to readings by Kathleen Kalb, Mariah Fredericks, Sharon Linnea, Peggy Katanich, Rhonda Barnat, Dawn Barclay, Nancy Good, Joan Ramirez, Connie Meccarello-Gerson, Lori Robbins, Marianna Heusler, Jeanna Weart, and Cathi Stoler. This evening is always a delight, full mystery, murder, and, usually, a litle mirth.
This year we will meet on Zoom. We will also be streaming live on Facebook!
In lieu of our annual December holiday party, our chapter will host Jane Cleland.
Cleland will discuss the importance of building meaningful relationships, understanding the complexities of the publishing business, selecting appropriate promotional strategies, and using more sophisticated craft techniques (all crucial to long-term writing success).
Jane K. Cleland writes both fiction and nonfiction, including the long-running and multiple award-winning Josie Prescott Antiques Mysteries [St. Martin’s & Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine] and the Agatha Award-winning bestsellers Mastering Suspense, Structure & Plot and Mastering Plot Twists [Writer’s Digest Books], recommended by Dan Brown, Louise Penny, David Baldacci, and Neil Gaiman. Jane is a member of the fulltime faculty at Lehman College, a contributing editor for Writer’s Digest Magazine, and the chair of the Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Award (BONA), in partnership with AHMM. She is a frequent workshop leader and guest author at writing conferences and MFA Residencies. She is offering free monthly workshops on the craft of writing in the “We’re All in It Together,” series.
Chapter members will receive the Zoom link in their emails. Cathi Stoler will be providing a drink recipe so that we can all share a celebratory toast prior to Jane’s talk.