A WONDERFUL MESSAGE!

We would like to express our deep gratitude to the Mesdames of Mayhem for your enthusiastic support of The Many Names of Robert Cree. You have been our biggest and warmest supporters since the day it hit bookstore shelves. We feel it was your early support online and by word of mouth that raised the book’s profile and got the word out to booksellers and awards committees. Thank you so much for supporting Elder Robert’s story and helping it find a wider audience.

Blessings, Elder Robert Cree and Therese Greenwood.

LAUNCH DATES FOR THE POWER OF 13!

CONGRATULATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS!

Mme Lisa De Nikolits’ new novel, That Time I Killed You, a noir domestic thriller published by Level Best Books, is now available on Amazon and the Kindle Store. That Time I Killed You eBook : de Nikolits, Lisa: Amazon.ca: Kindle Store

Join Mme Lisa de Nikolits for the launch of That Time I Killed You on September 2, 2026,  6:30 p.m. at BookBar, 600 Markham Street,
Mirvish Village,Toronto.  

It’s more than a book launch, this is a conversation about inspiration, creativity, and the unexpected connections between art and fiction. Lisa will be joined by artist Erik Mohr, creator of the Chaos Interrupted series—whose artwork became a muse for elements within the novel—as they explore how chaos can spark unforgettable stories and compelling works of art.

Rosemary McCracken is delighted to announce that her short story, “The Millenium Project”, will be published in Canadian Chronicles, an anthology of 17 Canadian crime stories by 17 Canadian authors to be released on September 8th. Published by Crimeucopia and now available for pre-order.

Mme Cathy Astolfo’s book about Brantford and a nearby (fictional) village, The Grand Art of Murder, is now available on Kindle Unlimited. Naturally, this idyllic setting has lots of murder! A short story and second book are also on their way. 

Jayne Bernard has an upcoming story in Sisters in Crime , Canada West’s fourth anthology, Home Sweet Homicide. Publication date is October 24, 2026. Now available for pre-order.

TERRIFIC EVENTS!

And Lorna will be back at the  Deer Park Library, 40 St.Clair Ave. E. at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, August 26. Among other topics, she will be discussing wrongful convictions, miscarriage of justice, and the abolition of the death penalty in Canada 50 years ago. This event is free and signed books will be available for purchase.

Thursday, August 20^th, 4 pm, Toronto Sisters in Crime will do the Toronto Crime Walk, learning about the dark and criminous side of their city. This is a members only event and members must pre-register.

GET READY FOR FALL!

Brews and Clues, the popular pub book readings founded by crime writer and retired police officer, Des Ryan, start up again at 7 pm, Thursday, September 10th at the Stout Irish Pub, 221 Carlton Street, Toronto.

Word has it that the Mesdames and Messieurs will be guests later in the season to promote The Power of 13. We’ll share the details soon!

Word on the Street Toronto will take place the same weekend, September 26 and 27^th.  Crime Writers of Canada and Toronto Sisters in Crime will be co-hosting a table and the Mmes and Messrs will be lending a helping hand. More details coming.

Several Mesdames and Messieurs of Mayhem are attending Bouchercon which will be held in Calgary, Alberta this year. To date, this includes M. H. Callway, Therese Greenwood, Rosemary McCracken, Ed Piwowarczyk, Sylvia Warsh, Hope Thompson and Melissa Yi.

Information on panels is coming through. To date, Mme M. H. Callway will be on the panel “Deadly Canada”, with fellow authors Tony Bidulka, Charlotte Morganti and David Sweet, Friday, October 23^rd at 10:15 am.

Rosemary McCracken is on a panel about cozy mysteries. Details TBA.

Melissa Yi is the moderator for “In A Previous Life: Careers that Morphed into Fiction.” A career provides much material for writing books. Sometimes, the transition from doer to writer doesn’t go as expected.

ANNOUNCEMENT!

Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award

After six years of being asleep in the closet, the Bony Blithe Light Mystery Award “for books that make us smile” is back, thanks to our wonderful sponsors: the Toronto Chapter of Sisters in Crime and author Jan Field. The award is the jolly plaque (shown above) plus $1000. The 2027 award will be presented once again next year at the 2027 Bony Blithe Mini-con on Friday, May 14 (mark your calendars).

The award is for books that are fun to read. No angst, no gravitas, no brutality or horribleness. It’s for traditional mysteries, cozies, capers, satires, heists, humorous books (from gentle humour to laugh-out-loud fun), books that don’t hammer us with A Message. In other words, books that entertain us, that make us feel good, that make us smile.

We are accepting entries in e-book format only. You can find the full rules posted on the Bony Blithe website www.bonyblithe.ca and elsewhere, but in a nutshell, you are eligible to submit to the award if:

• Your book was published for the first time between January 1 and December 31, 2026. The book can be published in any format: print, e-book, or audio book.
• Your book is in English.
• Your book is a minimum of 60,000 words.
• You are a Canadian citizen (you don’t have to be living in Canada) or a permanent resident of Canada. Your publisher does not have to be Canadian.

Either you or your publisher can submit your book. Right now, we are rebuilding our sadly out-of-date list of publishers we can contact to submit books to the award.

If you are published by a publisher who submits books to award contests, please send the name of the publisher plus contact info for whoever is responsible for submitting books to us at award@bonyblithe.ca.

For more info, write to us at info@bonyblithe.ca.