It’s spring and the Mesdames have come roaring back from winter with events, publications and even better, terrific recognition from our writing communities!
Do come out and meet us in person at our many events in May and June!
CONGRATULATIONS!!
MME MELISSA YI WINS THE DERRINGER!
Mme Melissa Yi’s is the winner of this year’s Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Derringer Award in the “short” Short Story category for her story “My Two Legs”. It appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Issue September/October 2022.
“My Two-Legs” is told from the point of view of a loyal dog desperate to save his human, his “two-legs”, who’s been the victim of a terrible crime. Melissa based her hero on her family’s beloved late dog.
Medals will be given out to the winners of the four Derringer categories at Bouchercon 2023 in San Diego.
And Melissa’s reworked fairy tale, “White Snow and the Seven Dreams” placed third for the Joy Kogawa Award for Fiction, beating out over 200 entries!
CWC AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE – FOUR NOMINATIONS!
The Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem hit it out of the park this year with four nominations for the CWC Awards of Excellence, three for Best Short Story and one for Best Novella! And two of the stories are from our fifth anthology, In the Spirit of 13, edited by Donna Carrick and published by Carrick Publishing.
The winners of the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence will be announced on Thursday, May 25th, 12 noon via video. Here’s the link: Crime Writers of Canada – Crime Writers of Canada – Home (crimewriterscanada.com)
Sylvia Warsh’s chilling thriller, “The Nature of Things”, was published in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Issue May/June 2022. A divorced man vacationing at a cottage learns that spying on his neighbors and fantasizing about them can prove fatal.
Blair Keetch’s story, “To Catch a Kumiho”, is part of In the Spirit of 13. Korean mythology tells of a fox-tailed demon or kumiho. Little does the P.I. hero of Blair’s story suspect that he’s about to encounter one in human form…
M. H. Callway has two nominations. The first is “Must Love Dogs – or You’re Gone” for Best Short Story. In this black comedy, Frieda must work off her late ex-husband’s debt to a Russian gangster in a dog grooming salon. It appeared in Gone, An Anthology of Crime Stories, Red Dog Press, November 2022.
Her novella, Amdur’s Ghost, is also part of In the Spirit of 13. In this adventurous tale, Dr. Benjamin Amdur, newly appointed to the most obscure public health department in Ontario, is forced to search for his missing predecessor by the new Minister of Health. With no leads, he consults the town’s self-proclaimed medium.
NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS!
Mme Rosalind Place‘s story “Too Close to the Edge” will appear in the horror anthology, Dastardly Damsels, Crystal Lake Publishing. Publication date to be announced.
Melodie Campbell’s new book, The Merry Widow Murders, published by Cormorant Books, will be released on Saturday, May 13th . The official launch event is at MOTIVE, Crime and Mystery Festival, Toronto, June 2, 2023.
1928 AT SEA: Lucy Revelstoke, unconventional widow of a young British lord and daughter of a Canadian mobster, is crossing the Atlantic on a state-of-the-art ocean liner. Rubbing elbows with the era’s elite and reconnecting with her husband’s aristocratic friend, Tony, should make for a swell trip. But a dead body dumped in Lucy’s stateroom the first night of the voyage threatens to capsize the new life she’s built for herself.
Who is this dead man? And how did he get into her room?
Together with Tony, plus her pickpocket-turned-maid Elf, Lucy rushes to investigate, just steps ahead of the authorities who will certainly dig too deeply into her dodgy Canadian past.
Melodie’s book is already getting great reviews. Maureen Jennings, author of the Murdoch Mysteries and the Paradise Café series, writes:
“Delightful is one of the first words that come to mind. The 1920s shipboard setting is beautifully observed; the plot will keep you guessing and the heroine, is … well …delightful. Not to be missed.”
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MAY EVENTS!
TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY
Toronto Public Library, Ashdale-Gerrard Branch: On Thursday, May 4th at 7 pm, Mmes Lisa De Nikolits, Rosemary McCracken, Lynne Murphy and M. Blair Keetch will be sharing their crime writing journeys in the program, So You Want to Be a Crime Writer? Moderated by Mme M. H. Callway. The branch is located at 1432 Gerrard Street East. More details in the link below:
So you want to be a crime writer? : Gerrard/Ashdale : Program : Toronto Public Library
WORD ON THE STREET
Word on The Street takes place at Queen’s Park Crescent, May 27 and 28th, from 11 am to 5 pm at Queen’s Park Crescent, Toronto. WOTS features over 100 Canadian and Indigenous authors and Canada’s largest book and magazine marketplace. The Mesdames will be sharing a table with Mme Caro Soles. Mme Lisa De Nikolits is a featured author at Word on the Street on Sunday, May 28th.
We will be posting details of our table location and the names of the Mmes and Monsieurs attending as soon as these become available. Annual Festival | The Word On The Street Toronto
JUNE EVENTS – MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Toronto International Festival of Authors
MOTIVE Crime and Mystery Festival returns this year from June 2 to 4th at Harbourfront in Toronto. See this link for information on guest authors and tickets. MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival (festivalofauthors.ca)
Mme Melodie Campbell will be a featured author. The launch of her 17th book, The Merry Widow Murders, will take place immediately after Opening Ceremonies on June 2, as part of the festival. Maureen Jennings will be in conversation with Melodie.
Melodie will be conducting a Masterclass in comedy writing on Sunday, June 4th, 1-2:30 pm: “Kill them with Comedy! How to write Humour into your Crime Stories.” And she will be interviewing renowned author Linwood Barclay.
Crime Writers of Canada will be hosting a table where author members can sell their books. Readings by CWC authors are also scheduled. Several Mmes will be partaking in these activities and we’ll be keeping you posted on the details.
CRIME WRITING IN A COLD CLIMATE
Mme Lynne Murphy will be hosting Crime Writing in a Cold Climate, a series of 4 virtual lectures on Canadian crime writers. The lectures are for Senior Adult Services in Toronto Annex and will take place on Friday afternoons from June 2nd to 23rd, 1:30 to 3:00pm.
Lynne is having a guest writer each week. M.H. Callway will speak about police procedurals, Rosemary McCracken about cozies and Melodie Campbell about thrillers. True crime author, Lorna Poplak, will talk about her research on historical Canadian crime. This is a ticketed event.
MORE NEWS AND EVENTS!
Great news! Mme Marian Misters announced that Sleuth of Baker Street Bookstore in now a used mystery bookstore. What better place to find that rare mystery you’re eager to read? Sleuth’s will also order any book on request. The store will be open Friday to Sunday, every second week from 12 noon to 4 pm as of April 21st. For more details, please visit Sleuth’s website at https://sleuthofbakerstreet.ca/
Peter Robinson, was one of Canada’s greatest crime writers. He won six CWC awards for his writing and his Inspector Banks books became a hit series on ITV (UK). More than that Peter was friend and mentor to many emerging Canadian crime writers, including some of us Mesdames.
Sadly Peter passed away in October, 2022. His Celebration of Life will take place on Thursday, May 18th, 6 to 9 pm at Balmy Beach Club, 360 Lake Front, Toronto. (Foot of Beech Avenue, south of Queen St. East).
It will also be the launch of his last book in the Inspector Banks series, Standing in the Shadows.
Mesdames of Mayhem 