May and June are super months for our Mesdames and Messieurs. We are celebrating Therese Greenwood’s win for her short story in our 13th Letter anthology. Cathy and Melissa were finalists. More publications are coming, including a workshop on publishing and Melodie, Lisa and Rosemary are involved with the 3-Day MOTIVE Festival.
CRIME WRITERS OF CANADA AWARDS ANNOUNCED!
Huge congratulations to Mme Therese Greenwood! Her wonderful tale, “Hatcheck Bingo” won the CWC award for Best Short Story. “Hatcheck Bingo” was published in our very own anthology, The 13th Letter!!
Here’s what the CWC website had to say:
“Hatcheck Bingo” is fresh and original with deeply Canadian historical roots. The post-WW1 period is effectively woven through the action. Our hat-check girls are clever and resourceful, moral if not entirely law-abiding. Underlying the effervescent Prohibition-era atmosphere are serious undercurrents invoking postwar PTSD, sex discrimination for jobs, and ruthless cross-border power struggles over lucrative booze trafficking routes. The jury specially commends the masterful use of these themes as essential drivers to the deliciously twisty crime story. Wit and humour sparkle to the last bubble, like the best smuggled champagne.”
And big congrats to Mmes Cathy Astolfo and Melissa Yi for their nominations!
We also just learned that The 13th Letter beat out 250+ entries to be a finalist for the Derringer Best Anthology Award!
CONGRATULATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS
Mme M. H. Callway’s story, “The Lost Diner”, is scheduled to appear in the July Issue of Pulp Literature Magazine.https://pulpliterature.com/
Perfect for Pride month. Check out Mme Melissa Yi’s Pride & Provocateur, her queer Pride and Prejudice, with Lixie the glass dildo artist vs. Mr. D’Arcy the tech billionaire in Dildo, Newfoundand.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melissayi/pride1?ref=1mdfbl
Melissa also has a Bookbub on June 14th. Stockholm Syndrome, will be free on all platforms June 14th. https://windtreepress.com/portfolio/stockholm-syndrome/
Stockholm Syndrome was selected as one of the best crime novels of the season by CBC Radio’s The Next Chapter’s Mystery Panel.
“Two doctors. One killer. One woman in labour. A killer infiltrates the obstetrics ward of a Montreal hospital, taking one pregnant woman and one resident doctor hostage at gunpoint. Dr. Hope Sze struggles to deliver her patient’s baby with blood on the floor and death in the air. And when Dr. Tucker tries to rescue their tiny crew, only to end up hostage material alongside them, Hope’s heart just might break, even before the kidnapper drills a bullet through her skull.”
MESDAMES ON THE MOVE
Mme Lorna Poplak will present her book, The Don: The Story of Toronto’s Infamous Jail at the Toronto Public Library’s Don Mills branch at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Topics will include what brought her to write the book, its characters, and an examination of some thorny issues. Register by calling the branch at (416) 395-5710.
As part of the Festival of Bizarre Toronto History, Lorna also appeared on a virtual panel with moderator Adam Bunch and fellow-author Ed Brown on June 3, where they explored the grisly history of the Don Jail. For more details about the festival and Lorna’s session, visit www.bizarretoronto.com/.
Mesdames Lisa De Nikolits, M.H. Callway and Rosemary McCracken will be presenting How to Get Published on Saturday, June 21st, 1 to 3 p.m. at Maria A. Shchuka Library, 1745 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto.
Join them for a workshop about writing, editing and getting published. Participants will learn how to traverse the full landscape of writing, from story creation, to writing, to editing, to finding a publisher and staying published. They will also look at the necessary relationship between authors and the online experience, as well as the hurdles women face in the world of publishing versus that of men. Q and A to follow.
To register, please call Maria A. Shchuka Library at 416-394-1000.
If you identify as a person with a disability and require an accessibility accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Accessibility Services by email at accessibleservices@tpl.ca or voicemail, 416-393-7099, to make a request. Please contact us at least three weeks in advance.
MOTIVE CRIME FESTIVAL
MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival is back for another exciting weekend, Friday, June 27th to Sunday, June 29th this time TIFA will be roaming the mysterious halls of Victoria College on the University of Toronto’s campus! With cosy crime, police procedural, psychological thriller and true crime taking the stage, the Festival will be a weekend of suspense, twists and turns as we uncover the secrets behind some of the world’s most gripping stories. Meet the masters of mystery over the long weekend with criminally good conversations, readings, book signings, workshops and more. https://festivalofauthors.ca/motive-2025/
Check out the Mesdames at the events below:
Murder, Mystery & Mistaken Identities: Melodie Campbell and Maureen Jennings
On Saturday, 28 June, 5 PM. – 6 PM murder has never been so moreish. Mme Melodie Campbell joins Maureen Jennings for Murder, Mystery & Mistaken Identities, moderated by Janet Smyth.
“From luxury liners to Toronto’s underbelly, two of Canada’s finest mystery authors return to the MOTIVE stage to take us on journeys back into the past. With The Silent Film Star Murders, Melodie Campbell’s glamorous and gleeful high-seas mystery, theatrical rivalries, silver screen scandals and one extremely suspicious snake set the stage for murder. Lady Lucy Revelstoke and her quick-witted maid, Elf, return to investigate who’s playing a deadly role aboard the Victoriana. In stormy 1930s Toronto, Murdoch Mysteries creator, Maureen Jennings’ P.I. Charlotte Frayne faces two crimes on opposite ends of the social ladder in March Roars. With wrongful arrests, hidden biases, and tangled personal histories, Charlotte’s pursuit of truth forces her to confront a justice system in crisis. Whether it’s champagne-fueled drama or razor-sharp noir, this event delivers the intrigue, wit, and social history that make classic mysteries feel brand new.”
A book signing will follow this event.
Tea, Cake & Murder: Fatal Friendships, Deadly Acts: Hannah Mary McKinnon and Eliza Reid
On Saturday, June 28, 11:00 AM – 12 PM, start your day with tea, cake and murder as Lisa de Nikolits interviews Hannah Mary McKinnon about her book Only One Survives and Eliza Reid (former First Lady of Iceland) about her book, Death on the Island. Both are fabulous reads.
“What happens when survival comes at the cost of those you love? Join bestselling thriller queen Hannah Mary McKinnon and former First Lady of Iceland and dazzling author, Eliza Reid as they pull back the curtain on two gripping tales of betrayal, ambition and murder. From a snowbound cabin with a doomed rock band in McKinnon’s Only One Survives to a deadly diplomatic dinner party on an isolated Icelandic island in Reid’s debut fiction Death on the Island, both authors explore the razor-thin line between loyalty and self-preservation when no one can leave, and everyone has a secret worth killing for. All served with tea, coffee and a slice of cake! “
A book signing will follow this event.
Crime Writers of Canada in Conversation
Mme Rosemary McCracken will be in the CWC Author Tent at MOTIVE Mystery & Crime Festival 2025 on Saturday, June 28 and on Sunday, June 29, 11 AM until 4 PM, at University of Toronto’s Victoria College, 73 Queen’s Park Crescent, Toronto.
From 4 to 5 PM on Sunday, June 29, Rosemary will join six Crime Writers of Canada outdoors on the Victoria College campus, where she will read from her new Pat Tierney mystery, Riversong, which will be out this year.
Mid-Month Mayhem
Our Mid-Month Mayhem spotlight for June will be on Mme Jane Burfield!
Mesdames of Mayhem 