DEAR READERS
Spring is finally upon us, and we have huge news to share: wonderful recognition from the Crime Writers of Canada Awards of Excellence for four Mesdames Plus exciting conferences and events, a cool book launch and a new short-story publisher!
June will get even busier, so we are telling you about two great events early that month as well.
CONGRATULATIONS!
Four of the Mesdames are finalists for the 2025 CWC Awards of Excellence! Winners will be announced on May 29th. Congratulations to all! Here are the details:
CWC Best Short Story, Mme M. H. Callway for “The Lost Diner”, which appeared in Issue 47 of Pulp Literature Press magazine and Mme Sylvia Warsh whose hilarious story, “Polly Wants a Freaking Cracker”, was chosen for Malice Domestic: Murder Most Humorous.
For CWC Best Non-Fiction Crime Book, Robert Cree with Mme Therese Greenwood, for The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People and Mme Lorna Poplak, On the Lam: Great and Not So Great Escapes from Prison.
And there’s more!
Big congratulations to:
Mme Melodie Campbell for the successful launch of The Pharaoh’s Curse Murders, the third book in the Merry Widow Mystery series set in the 1920s. Melodie’s book is now available on Amazon and bookstores in Canada and the US.
Mme Melissa Yi’s wonderful Derringer-winning story, “My Two Legs”, was chosen for the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s anthology, Hot Shots, celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Derringer Awards. Hot Shots is now available on Amazon.
Guest author, Hope Thompson’s film, It Happened in the Stacks, was chosen for the April 30th screening and panel at V-Tape, This is the Feminist Archive: Mystery & True Crime.
CONFERENCES AND FESTIVALS
BONY BLITHE MINI-CON, May 15th
The Bony Blithe Mini-Con is coming up fast, headed by our very own Cheryl Freedman. It takes place on Friday, May 15th from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. EDT on the fully accessible first floor of The High Park Club, 100 Indian Road. Registrations are accepted up to Monday, May 11th. To register, go to www.bonyblithe.ca and follow registration and payment instructions.
Here’s a sneak peek at the five panels at BB:
AI for Authors: Good or Bad? M. H. Callway joins the panel to discuss if AI should be used by authors.
Crossing Genres: Lynne Murphy will be on the panel exploring the trend of more and more genres crossing over into crime writing.
Down the Research Rabbit Hole: Rosemary McCracken will be on the panel that asks if you can get so obsessed with research that you never get around to writing your book!
Finding Inspiration: Marilyn Kay joins the panel to explore where authors find inspiration: one’s own life, from books, or simply filling a gap available books have missed.
Pivoting: Authors on the panel look at changing from novels to short fiction, moving from traditional to indie publishing, trying non-fiction instead of fiction and more.
Authors, this is a chance to sell your books at the book table, give out bookmarks and chat with potential readers and fellow authors like Mme Sylvia Warsh. And readers, what better way to discover a new favourite author or two and maybe buy some new books to celebrate the coming of summer?
For more information, contact info@bonyblithe.ca. Hope to see you there. Bony Blithe awaits you.
TRICON, Halifax, May 15th-17th
Mme Madona Skaff will be at TriCon, The Trident Conference for Speculative Fiction, in Halifax, May 15 – 17th. She will be on a panel and doing a reading.
TriCon is a professional writing, editing and publishing event aimed at writers of fantasy, science fiction, horror and other speculative genres. The conference aims to support and grow the local creative industry.
Here is the link for more details: https://tricon-halifax.com/
BOOK LAUNCH PRIDE AND PROVOCATEUR, MAY 14TH
On Thursday, May 14th, Mme Melissa Yi launches her latest book, Pride and Provocateur, a modern take on Jane Austen set in Dildo, Nfld. The virtual launch party on Facebook will have cinnamon coffee cake. Here’s the link.
And Melissa will be doing an open mic at Riverbed Reads, a hybrid event, on Wednesday, May 13th, in Ottawa at 7:30 pm.
COMING IN JUNE – MOTIVE Crime and Mystery Conference, June 5-7th!
Mme Lorna Poplak is delighted to announce that she will be sharing the stage with retired Toronto police inspector (and newly minted memoirist!) Hank Idsinga at the fifth edition of the Toronto International Festival of Authors MOTIVE Crime & Mystery Festival. Their event “Out from behind Bars” will encompass a discussion of their books On the Lam and The High Road, descriptions of gripping cases and daring escapes, and insights into the Canadian criminal justice system.
Stand by for more panel announcements, featuring Melodie Campbell and Lisa De Nikolits.
Passes are now available on the Toronto International Festival of Authors MOTIVE website for the festival, which will be held at Victoria University at the University of Toronto on June 5-7, 2026.
MORE IN JUNE – QUEER NOIR AT BAR June 3rd!
Queer Noir at the Bar returns on Wednesday, June 3rd at 7 p.m. at a new venue, The Churchmouse pub, 475 Church Street. Hosted by Guest Author, Hope Thompson and Jeffrey Round.
We hear there may be some special guests and a reunion for Toronto’s Noir at the Bar!
NEWS FROM TORONTO SISTERS IN CRIME
Mmes M. H. Callway, Marilyn Kay and Melissa Yi attended the Toronto Indie Authors Conference (TIAC) held April 18 and 19th at the Toronto Reference Library. A review of the conference by Marilyn is featured in the Toronto Sisters in Crime May Crime Scene newsletter.
And the May newsletter also features an article about the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem by Mme M. H. Callway: “13 Fun Things to Know about the Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem”. It outlines our history and our achievements – in 13 points, naturally!
ANNOUNCEMENT AND AN OPPORTUNITY!
The Seaboard Review of Books is looking to roll out a regular short fiction feature. They’ve already built up a small store of entries, and now with their public call, more are starting to arrive.
Submissions are open until May 29th. More details can be found in their official announcement here: https://www.theseaboardreview.ca/p/call-for-submissions-may-29-2026
Many thanks to James M. Fisher, Editor-in-Chief at Seaboard, for sharing this opportunity.
Mesdames of Mayhem 