New England Crime Bake 2018 MEAN STORY STREETS & BEATS Greetings from the Cochairs C. MICHELE DORSEY & EDITH MAXWELL ommunity. That’s what makes New England CCrime Bake more than a conference. For seven- teen years, people dedicated to writing and reading quality crime fiction and non-fiction have come to- gether in New England for a weekend of camarade- rie, conversation, and comfort. We greet old friends and embrace new at Crime Bake. We engage in lively dialogue about craft, trends, and our love of words. We rejoice in our similarities and celebrate our differences. We are old and young, readers and writers, plotters and pantsers. The spirit of our community is the secret to our longevity. We revel in the accom- plishments of our members and comfort and encourage those when success seems distant and impossible. If you are new to the New England Crime Bake community, welcome. We hope you will find lasting friendships and nurture your love for reading and writing. Don’t be shy. Ask questions, join a conversation, pitch an agent. We all remember our first Crime Bake and want you to become part of the community we cherish. Veteran Crime Bake members, we welcome your return and participation. Enjoy seeing old friends, while meeting new partners in crime. Our community thrives on the strength of your membership. On behalf of the New England Crime Bake committee, we welcome you all to Mean Streets and Story Beats, with Guest of Honor Walter Mosley. C. Michele Dorsey Edith Maxwell New England Chapter New England Chapter Mystery Writers of America Sisters in Crime 1 The Al Blanchard Award l Blanchard was MWA-NE chapter president and a Amember of Sisters in Crime when he and then presi- dent of Sisters in Crime Gin Mackey seized the initia- tive to organize a regional mystery conference for New England. As Crime Bake celebrates its seventeenth year, we once again acknowledge Al’s contributions to this conference and to the mystery community. Al exemplified everything that is best about mystery writ- ers. He was the grateful recipient of mentoring and ad- vice from writers who came before him, and he was al- ways ready to reach out to new and aspiring writers to share his experience and knowledge. Al was a dedicated, determined, and prolific writer whose career A MAINE MYSTERY was exploding at the time of his tragic death Secrets, Psychotherapy, at this conference in 2004. We still miss his Managed Care and MURDER warmth and generosity and mourn the loss of his talent. The New England Crime Bake Committee established the Al Blanchard Award in his memory to annually honor the best crime short story by a New England writer or set in a New England setting. Stories may include the following genres: mystery, thriller, suspense, caper, and horror. (No torture or killing of children or animals.) Attendance at the Crime Bake conference is not required. “A well-plotted thriller with a likable, female protagonist strong enough to be featured in her own series.” The winner will be announced at the —Kirkus Reviews “Termination of Benefits is a brilliant debut. I sat up until 2:30 Saturday night banquet. Leslie Wheeler reading the last hundred pages. It was impossible to put down.” —Steve Steinbock, mystery writer and reviewer, will introduce the Blanchard Award final- The Jury Box Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine BUY NOW AT JANESLOVEN.COM, ON AMAZON, ists from 8:45 to 9:00 Saturday morning. AND IN INDIE BOOKSTORES. 3 Guest of Honor WALTER MOSLEY alter Mosley is the author of nearly 50 Wcritically acclaimed books, perhaps most famously the bestselling mystery series featur- ing Easy Rawlins, a heroic character who prowls the mean streets of post-WW II Los Angeles. His most recent mystery is Down to the River unto the Sea, in which former NYPD detec- tive Joe King Oliver, having spent 10 years at Rikers after being framed by one or more for- mer colleagues, puts his investigative skills to work figuring out who on the force set him up, and the reasons why. In a starred review, Booklist said of Down to the River unto the Sea: “Mosley writes with great power here about themes that have permeated his work: institutional racism, political corrup- tion, and the ways that both of these issues affect not only society at large but also the inner lives of individual men and women.” Walter is best known for his crime fiction, but he does not confine himself to that genre. His most recent novel is a work of literary fiction, John Woman, about which Kirkus said: “The versatile, justly celebrated creator of Easy Rawlins, Leonid McGill, and other iconic crime solvers raises the stakes with this tightly wound combination of psychological suspense and philosophic inquiry. Somehow, it makes sense that when Walter Mosley puts forth a novel of ideas, it arrives with the unexpected force of a left hook and the metallic gleam of a new firearm.” His work also includes science fiction, political monographs, and a young adult novel. His short fiction has been widely published, and his nonfiction has appeared in The New York Times Magazine and The Nation, among other publications. He is the winner of numerous awards, including an O. Henry Award, a Grammy, and PEN America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. 4 Lifetime Achievement Award KATE FLORA hile writing is a solitary act, writers thrive when fos- Wtered by a supportive community. The New England Crime Bake Lifetime Achievement Award is given each year to a person or persons who have contributed to the New England mystery community with generosity and vision. A scholarship to New England Crime Bake will be awarded the following year in their names to a person with financial need who demonstrates the same spirit of community. We are pleased to award the 2018 Lifetime Achievement Award to Kate Flora for her enduring commitment to the New England Crime Bake, of which she was a founder. Kate is a talented writing teacher and mentor, who has generously nurtured countless writers. She has written the acclaimed Thea Kozak and Joe Burgess series, several true crime books, and numerous crime stories. Kate is also a Level Best Books founding editor. Crime Bake Book Raffle Three (3) two-part raffle tickets can be found Raffle tickets can be found inside your registration envelope. insideEveryone your will registration receive one 2-part envelope. raffle ticket, Retain which the is ripped in stubshalf. Onelabeled half isKEEP deposited THIS in a COUPONcontainer in andfront deposit of the raffle theyou others would likein the in the raffle Grand basket Foyer. Youof yourretain choice.the other half to claim your prize. The Book Raffle Baskets are located in the Main Lobby next to the Check-In desk. All raffle tickets must be deposited by 12:30 Saturday. All raffle tickets must be deposited byThe 12:30 drawings p.m. will Saturday. be held in Salons G/E/A/B during Saturday’s lunch. The drawing will be held during Saturday’s 12:30 to 1:30 lunch break in the Ballroom. 5 We are authors, readers, publishers, agents, booksellers, and librarians bound by our passion for the mystery genre and our support of women (and men) who write mysteries. www.sincne.org @sinCNE [email protected] facebook.com/sincne Agents & Editors Terri Bischoff www.terribischoff.com Terri Bischoff joined Midnight Ink as Acquiring Editor in October 2009. She leads all editorial directions and creates the seasonal lists. She has dramatically increased the number of titles per season, publishing 36 to 40 titles per year. Grace Doyle www.amazonpublishing.amazon.com Grace Doyle is Editorial Director of Thomas & Mercer, Amazon Publishing’s mystery, thriller, and true-crime imprint, which is home to authors including Robert Dugoni, Marcia Clark, Rachel Caine, T.R. Ragan, Gregg Olsen, Marcus Sakey, Matthew FitzSimmons, Anne Frasier, Lee Goldberg, and Barry Eisler. Lori Galvin http://aevitascreative.com/agents/ Lori Galvin’s book deals include Hannah Kirshner’s travel memoir, Foreign Woman Works in Sake Bar (to Viking), and Cambria Brockman’s debut thriller, Tell Me Everything (to Ballantine; Netflix has optioned film rights). She is looking for voice- driven thrillers, psychological suspense, and mysteries that include a propulsive narrative and a strong sense of place. Linda Landrigan www.alfredhitchcockmysterymagazine.com Linda Landrigan is Editor-in-Chief of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She edited the commemorative anthology Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense (2006), and the e-anthology Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Presents Thirteen Tales of New American Gothic (2012). Jaime Levine https://www.hmhco.com/ Jaime Levine primarily acquires upmarket suspense, mysteries, and thrillers. She has worked at Diversion Books; Thomas Dunne Books; and at Grand Central Publishing, where she edited #1 bestselling duo Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child, the estate of Robert Ludlum, and writers Julianna Baggott, Eric Van Lustbader, Kyle Mills, Jamie Freveletti, Octavia Butler, and Jacqueline Carey. 7 Agents & Editors Christina Morgan serendipitylit.com Christina Morgan started working in publishing in 2005 as an agency assistant at Curtis Brown Ltd. She then went on to hold editorial positions at Amistad/HarperCollins and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. She joined Serendipity in 2017. Paula Munier www.paulamunier.com Paula Munier is an agent and author whose first crime novel, A Borrowing of Bones, just debuted from Minotaur. Her other books include the bestselling Plot Perfect and The Writer’s Guide to Beginnings. In her fab day job at Talcott Notch Literary, she reps many great crime writers. Kimiko Nakamura www.deemura.com Kimiko Nakamura is a literary agent with Dee Mura Literary.