(MWA) Panel: “Creating Unforgettable Characters” In-Person
Join us for an inb-person Mystery Writers of America (MWA)-NY Panel discussion on Monday, Monday 18, at the Tredyffrin Library in Strafford, PA. The topic is “Creating Unforgettable Characters.” Details below. See you there for a fun evening!
“Creating Unforgettable Characters”
At the heart of any memorable story is a character who probably remains with the reader long after the last page ends. Is it the strong backstory? The distinct personality? A unique voice? Does the character evolve and grow throughout the story? Do all of these attributes create a remarkable and lasting impression? Come find out Monday, May 18!
Bios of Panel
Michael Bradley (moderator) is an award-winning author from Delaware. He spent eight years as a radio DJ before realizing he needed a real job and turned to IT. Never one to waste an experience, he leveraged his familiarity with life on the radio to infuse his suspense novels with a unique blend of familiarity and intrigue. His third novel, Dead Air (2020), garnered critical acclaim, winning a Foreword INDIES Award and an IBPA Benjamin Franklin Award. The novel has been called “absorbing and filled with shocking twists.” His new novel, titled,Those Who Shall Die, is set for release on July 7. It has already garnered praise, being called “a well-written, clever whodunit with crafty twists.”
John Dobbyn (panel member): After graduation from Harvard College, Boston College Law School, and Harvard Law School, and three years in the US Air Force, John Dobbyn practiced as a trial attorney before working forty-seven years as a professor of law at Villanova Law School. As a fiction writer, he has had seven award-winning novels published by Oceanview Publishing and over thirty short stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine. His latest novel is Deadly Depths.
James McCrone (panel member): James McCrone’s stories pose questions about the nature of power, the choices we make, and the lessons we don’t learn. He’s the author of the thriller trilogy Faithless Elector, Dark Network and Emergency Powers, about stealing the presidency and creating a puppet government, and Bastard Verdict, in which a looming second referendum on Scottish independence threatens to expose irregularities in the first. He’s the current president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime chapter and a member of Mystery Writers of America and the International Association of Crime Writers. He lives in Philadelphia. His latest novel, Witness Tree, is out on submission. You can learn more at his website: JamesMcCrone.com
Jane Kelly (panel member): Jane Kelly is the author of the Meg Daniels Mysteries, Meg Daniels Mysteries Weekenders, Writing in Time Mysteries and Widow Lady Mysteries. Her stand-alone novels include Nightingale Songs, A Death in Scilly, and The Secret Audience (2026). She holds an MS in information studies from Drexel University and an MPhil in popular iterature from Trinity College, University of Dublin. She is a past president of the Delaware Valley Sisters in Crime and has served on the board of the New York Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. The fourth and sixth books in the Meg Daniels series, Missing You in Atlantic City, and Strangers in the Avalon Dunes, won the Independent Publisher Book Award silver medals for mid-Atlantic fiction. She lives in the Philadelphia area.
Registration is required. Adults 18+.
This program fulfills PA Forward’s Civic and Social Literacy: “The ability to positively impact the community, engage in respectful discussions, understand civic roles and responsibilities, participate in community activities, and drive positive change.”
Registration is required. Adults 18+.
This program fulfills PA Forward’s Civic and Social Literacy: “The ability to positively impact the community, engage in respectful discussions, understand civic roles and responsibilities, participate in community activities, and drive positive change.”
Date:
Monday, May 18, 2026
Time:
5:00pm – 6:30pm
Time Zone:
Eastern Time – US & Canada (change)
Location:
King Meeting Room
Chester County Library System:
Tredyffrin Library
Audience:
Adults
Categories:
Adults Arts & Culture Civic & Social
Registration is required (scroll to the bottom of the page) There are 35 seats available.