HAPPY SPRING TO ALL OUR READERS!

April is an amazing month for Canadian crime writing and especially for the Mesdames. We don’t just emerge from hibernation – we ROAR!

What’s more, April opens crime writing award season! And we’ve got plenty of our members with entries in this year’s Arthur Ellis Awards and a number presenting at the Shortlist event in Toronto.

The  2019 Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist Event takes place on Wednesday, April 17th. The event stretches across the country from Halifax, Nova Scotia to Vancouver, B.C. with author appearances and of course, The Big Reveal.

Toronto’s event will be held at Ben McNally Books, 366 Bay St., on Wednesday, April 17th at 7 pm. We’ve got our fingers crossed for our Mesdames and a Monsieur who have books, novellas, or stories published in 2018. In addition, Mmes M. H. Callway, Lisa de Nikolits and Sylvia Maultash Warsh will be reading from their latest works and announcing the finalists in the French Crime Fiction Category.

We don’t just move. We fly high! 

Wow! Mme Lisa de Nikolits heads off to Italy this month for the launch of the Italian version of her novel No Fury Like That, published in 2017 by Inanna Publications. Her whirlwind adventure begins with the presentation in Turin of her book, entitled in Italian as Una furia dell’altro mondo, on Saturday, April 6th, by her Milan publisher Edizioni le Assassine. From there she heads off to Milan for more book presentations, meetings, and interviews. Then more festivities on April 12 at the Festival Off in Suzzarra, Italy. Her main launch activities wrap up with her presentation of her book at the inauguration of Villa Burba in Rho, Italy.

Lisa is grateful for Canada Council‘s support in making this trip to Italy for her book’s launch possible. Congratulations, Lisa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

PUBLICATION NEWS

Mme Rosemary McCracken’s story “Dining Out” is part of the collection for the 2019 Malice Domestic anthology, Mystery Most Edible. The anthology was published in March in anticipation of the Malice Domestic 31 conference taking place this May 3rd – May 5th in Bethesda, Maryland.

 

 

 

Mme Madona Skaff has a story in the Renaissance Press anthology Nothing Without Us. Her story entitled “Backbone” is part of “an own-voices, multi-genre fiction anthology with heroes who are disabled, neurodiverse, Deaf, living with mental illness.” Throughout April, Renaissance Press has a Kickstarter Campaign in support of this anthology.

 

Mmes Lisa de Nikolits and Rosemary McCracken have stories in the anthology “Best Laid Plans” due out in June 2019. The anthology, to be published by Superior Shores Press, features 21 short stories.

Lisa’s story is entitled “Fire Drill”. Rosemary’s story, “The Sweetheart Scamster”, was first published in the Mesdames’ 2013 collection Thirteen. The story was a finalist for a Derringer Award in 2014.

EVENTS

Join Mme Lisa de Nikolits for a panel on setting crime fiction in Toronto with four other members of Crime Writers of Canada (Desmond P. Ryan, Mary Lou Dickinson, Sharon Crawford, and Maureen Jennings). The panel is part of a series of monthly meetings held every 3rd Thursday by Toronto Sisters in Crime that take place in Room 200, Northern District Library Branch, Toronto Public Library, 40 Orchard View Boulevard (Eglinton & Yonge). Guests are $5.

Mme Lisa de Nikolits hosts an evening of Culture, Arts and Entertainment on Tuesday, April 30th from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. The evening features Terri Favro (author), Stedmond Pardy (poet), Ruth Zuchter (poet), Peter Graham (musician and Nancy Ceneviva (artist). Snacks and soda provided. Drop in, no registration is required. The location is the TPL’s Annette Street Branch, 145 Annette Street. For further information, call 416-393-7692.

 

 

 

In the Key of 13 Anthology Contest

The Contest closed on March 1, 2019. We expect to announce the winner and finalist(s) later this month.