What a few months it’s been for both THIRTEEN and its contributing authors, the fabulous Mesdames of Mayhem!

On Thursday, April 25, an excited audience gathered on the lower level of Indigo at Manulife in Toronto to enjoy readings by members of Crime Writers of Canada, and to find out the finalists for the Arthur Ellis Awards.

Entertaining the guests with readings from their work were Mesdames Rosemary Aubert, Catherine Astolfo, Melodie Campbell, Madeleine Harris-Callway, Rosemary McCracken, and Joan O’Callaghan. Also in attendance were Mesdames Lynne Murphy, Sylvia Maultash Warsh and Cheryl Freedman.

We could not be prouder!!! Two of the stories from THIRTEEN made the shortlist for the Arthur Ellis Award in the Best Short Story category: Watermelon Weekend by Madame Donna Carrick, and The Emerald Skull by Madame Sylvia Maultash Warsh.

Our own Madame Melodie Campbell who won the coveted 2014 Derringer for her novella, The Goddaughter’s Revenge, is again a finalist – this time for the Arthur Ellis Award in the Best Novella category and also for The Goddaughter’s Revenge. You can meet some of the memorable characters from the Goddaughter series in Madame Mel’s short story, Not My Body, in THIRTEEN.

As we announced last week, Madame Vicki Delany is a finalist for the Bony Blithe Award for light fiction, for her novel Gold Web. Vicki’s story, Sore feet and Gold Dust in THIRTEEN, is also from her Klondike series.

Madame Rosemary McCracken’s story The Sweetheart Scamster in THIRTEEN, was a finalist for this year’s Derringer Awards, bringing yet more recognition to the Mesdames. The Sweetheart Scamster is part of Madame Rosemary’s Pat Tierney series.

Arthur Ellis Awards winners will be announced at the AE banquet, on June 5th, while the winner of the Bony Blithe Award will be announced on June 7th at the Bloody Words banquet.

You won’t want to miss these popular events. Tickets for the Arthur Ellis Awards Banquet are available here, and you can register for Bloody Words 2014 here.

Hope to see you there!