Mystery Writers of America - New York Chapter

Chapter meeting: Crime Craft (crime and sleuthing)
2023-11-07 18:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
This month’s CrimeCraft discussion will center on sleuths and sleuthing. Most (but not all) mysteries require some kind of sleuth to assemble information and clarify what happened. The sleuth can be a police officer, private investigator, lawyer, reporter, writer, teacher, librarian, retiree—the list is endless. What makes a fictitious sleuth effective? Memorable? Unique? Loved or loathed? If you are a sleuth’s creator, what did you consider when developing your character? Whom would you choose to portray your character on stage, screen or television? Join the Zoom here.
Note: CrimeCraft will resume in February and Spotlight meetings in March.

Our First Crime Craft Meeting of 2024
2024-02-06 18:00 - 20:00
Our discussion begins Feb 6, at 6 p.m. on Zoom. For the Link check Groups.Io and Member broadcast (email).
Please note: this is a member benefit. If you have not renewed your subscription, please do so at this link:
MWA Membership Application

Upcoming Library Event! Criminal Tendencies: What Makes a 'Good” Villain?
2024-03-21 17:30 - 19:00 | Harlem Public Library 9 West 124th Street
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Date: March 21, 2024
Time: 5:30-6:45 p.m
Location: Harlem Public Library 9 West 124th Street
Topic: Criminal Tendencies: What makes a “good” villain? What are the essential qualities for a villain? How do you delve into a villain’s motivations? Do you try to make the villain sympathetic to the reader? Hear how three mystery authors spin an intriguing tale of villainy.
Moderator: Elizabeth Mannion
Panelists: Catherine Maiorisi, Charles Salzberg, Cathi Stoler
Register here:
https://www.nypl.org/events/programs/2024/03/21/mystery-writers-america-panel-discussion-criminal-tendencies-what-makes

Upcoming Literary Event! It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: How to (and How Not to) start your novel
2024-04-20 11:00 - 12:30 | Morris County Library, 30 East Hanover Ave., Whippany, NJ
April 20 Morris County Library 30 East Hanover Ave. in Whippany, N.J. 11 a.m.
Morris County Library’s Local Author’s Day
It Was a Dark and Stormy Night: How to (and How Not ) Start Your Novel
Writers sometimes talk about how they began their novel “in the wrong place” and need to revise accordingly. What on earth do they mean? This workshop and panel discussion with three award-winning mystery authors will help new writers figure out how to draw readers into their story from the first page.
Panelists: Mally Becker, Nev March and Lori Robbins

Upcoming Literary Event! Plotting Intrigue
2024-05-22 18:30 - 20:00 | Maplewood Lubrary Hilton Branch, 1688 Springfield Ave., Maplewood, NJ
May 22 Maplewood Library Hilton Branch 1688 Springfield Ave., Maplewood, NJ
6:30 p.m.
Plotting Intrigue Join us for an exploration into the minds of mystery writers as they unravel the secrets behind crafting captivating plots. Our panel will share their strategies for keeping readers on the edge of their seats. Discover how these authors draw from imagination, real-life events and research to create complex characters and engaging narratives. A Q&A will follow. The event also will feature a networking opportunity for local authors after the discussion.
Moderator: Russ Colchamiro
Panelists: Peggy Erhart; James Hockenberry; Gerri Lewis; Jeff Markowitz

Writing Workshop from Our Partners at Sisters in Crime
2024-09-11 10:00 - 16:00 | Ripley-Grier Studios, 520 Eighth Ave, New York
The NY/Tri-State Chapter of Sisters in Crime is hosting a writing workshop with Hank Philippi Ryan from 10 am to 4 pm on September 11 at Ripley-Grier Studios, 520 Eighth Avenue, NYC. Ryan, an investigative reporter for WHDH-TV, Boston and the author of several mystery novels. will also be critiquing the first 250 words of manuscripts. The cost is $25 for members of the Sisters in Crime chapter and $60 for nonmembers. Anyone interested should fill out this form (which includes payment information):
https://forms.gle/mCgA45NfKpYLJHNr8
Email nytristatesinc@gmail.com with any questions

Writing a Series: Getting It Started and Keeping It Going
2024-11-11 06:30 | Hoboken Public Library (NJ), 500 Park Avenue, Hoboken, NJ, United States
What should you consider before starting a mystery series? How do you keep the ideas and energy flowing? What’s the secret to keeping characters fresh and interesting over the long haul to maintain and build readership? Coinciding with National Novel Writing Month, four mystery authors talk about the joys and challenges of creating a series.

Crime Craft: The Art of the Short Story with Award-Winning Author Barb Goffman
2025-05-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Zoom
If it’s Tuesday it must be time for another Crime Craft: Join award-winning author Barb Goffman on Tuesday, May 20, for a sure-to-be-enlightening look at the art of crafting short stores. This virtual event kicks off at 6:00 p.m. and can be accessed here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]
Short story author Barb Goffman (www.barbgoffman.com) is the 2024 recipient of the Golden Derringer Award for lifetime achievement, given by the Short Mystery Fiction Society. She has won the Agatha Award four times, the Macavity twice, and the Anthony, Derringer, and the EQMM Readers Award once each. She’s been a finalist for major crime-writing honors forty-eight times, including two current nominations for the Anthony Award in the Best Short Story and the Best Anthology categories.

Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, Black Cat Mystery Magazine, and many anthologies. She works as a freelance editor, often focusing on cozy and traditional mysteries, and she is an associate editor of Black Cat Weekly. Her newest story is “Keep It Dark,” published in In Too Deep: Crime Fiction Inspired by the Songs of Genesis.

Crime Craft: The First Two Pages
2025-06-17 18:00 - 20:00
Join award-winning author Art Taylor on Tuesday, June 17, for a discussion on the importance of the first two pages. The presentation kicks off at 6 p.m. and can be accessed here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]
Taylor is the Edgar Award-winning author of two collections: The Adventure of the Castle Thief and Other Expeditions and Indiscretions and The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense. His debut book, On the Road with Del & Louise: A Novel in Stories, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. His short fiction has also won the Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity Awards, and he was the 2025 recipient of the Short Mystery Fiction Society’s Golden Derringer for Lifetime Achievement. He is a professor of English at George Mason University. www.arttaylorwriter.com.

Unlocking the Secrets of the Dead: Forensics
2025-10-25 13:00 - 16:00
This expert panel will explore the fascinating world of forensics and how scientific methods are used to help solve crimes. The discussion also will look at how forensics are portrayed in books. The event will feature a Q&A and a networking opportunity. This free event will be open to MWA members and the public.
Date: October 25, 2025
Time: 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.
Location: Morristown and Morris Township Public Library,
1 Miller Road, Morristown, NJ.
Refreshments will be served!
Moderator: Nev March
Panelists: Lieutenant. Art Weisgerber; Dr. Lauren Thoma; Kimberlee Moran
Nev March is the first Indian-born author to receive the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction. Her debut novel, Murder in Old Bombay, also won an Audiofile award and was an Edgar and Anthony finalist. Her sequel, Peril at the Exposition, describes conflict during the gilded age that planted the seeds of today’s red-blue divide. Her third book, The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret, traces the origins of the Spanish American war over Cuba from the perspective of her immigrant detective duo. Nev’s books deal with issues of identity, race and moral boundaries. After a long corporate career, Nev returned to her passion—writing —and now teaches creative writing at the Rutgers-Osher Institute. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and president of New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America.
Lieutenant Art Weisgerber has been the commanding officer of the Crime Scene/Identification Unit at the Norwalk, Connecticut, Police Department since 2011. The unit is responsible for the processing of forensic evidence at major crime scenes and fatal-crash scenes along with evidence collected by other divisions. Weisgerber joined the department in 1988 and has worked in the patrol division, narcotics unit, and detective bureau as both a detective and detective sergeant before assuming command of the crime scene unit. During his time in the detective ureau, Weisgerber was assigned to the cold case unit and closed several cases by arrest or identification of human remains. He also is an adjunct police instructor for the State of Connecticut Municipal Police Officer Academy and teaches crime scene procedure/investigation privately for the Spector Criminal Justice Training Network.
Dr. Lauren Thoma is a forensic pathologist working in Central New Jersey who has performed nearly 2,500 autopsies and testified over sixty-five times in superior court in New Jersey and New York and in federal court. Originally hailing from the Philadelphia suburbs, she obtained her B.S. in biology at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, and her M.D. from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. She underwent four years of residency training in anatomic and clinical pathology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and completed fellowship training at Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of the City of New York in forensic pathology and forensic cardiac pathology/europathology. Dr. Thoma holds board certifications in anatomic, clinical, and forensic pathology and has lectured at the New Jersey State Police Academy and NJSP Crime Scene Investigation School. She has a special interest in long-term unidentified cases, overdose fatalities, and quality improvement in death investigation.
Kimberlee Sue Moran has over twenty years of experience as a forensic consultant and educator, both in the UK and United States. She is an associate teaching professor in the Rutgers-Camden Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice. Kimberlee has worked on several cases in a range of capacities. She runs training workshops for local law enforcement that include blowing up transit buses and digging up dead animals. Her doctoral research was in the field of ancient fingerprints, and her current research is in taphonomy, the process of decomposition. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Science and an active member of the Society for American Archaeology, the UK Fingerprint Society, the Association for Women in Forensic Science, and Forensic Archaeology Recovery. Kimberlee holds an undergraduate degree in archaeology from Bryn Mawr College and a master’s of science in forensic archaeological science from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London. She is the coeditor of Forensic Archaeology: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Kimberlee served on the Crime Scene Investigation subcommittee of the NIST-led Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) from 2015 until 2024. She is passionate about public outreach, STEM education, and science in the service of justice. Kimberlee is the recipient of the 2021 Chancellor’s Teaching Excellence Award and the 2021 Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Crime Craft: 'The FBI in Books, TV and Movies - Myths and Misconceptions'
2026-02-17 18:00 - 20:00
Join host Kate Hohl on Tuesday, February 2/17, at 6:00pm EST for the February Crime Craft with retired FBI Agent Jerri Williams: “The FBI in Books, TV and Movies – Myths and Misconceptions.”
What most people know about the FBI they’ve learned from entertainment media. From the perspective of a retired agent who has also worked as a technical consultant for TV shows, Jerri Williams will explore what crime fiction and crime dramas get right and wrong about the FBI and present teachable moments.

Williams spent 26 years as a special agent, specializing in economic fraud and corruption investigations. She’s now on a mission to show the public what the FBI is and what the FBI does. The FBI Agents Association has recognized Williams as its Distinguished Service Honoree for sharing FBI stories. Through her police procedural novels, nonfiction book, blog, and true crime podcast, FBI Case File Review, she debunks misconceptions about the FBI found in books, TV, and movies. She has worked as a consultant for major TV studios, assisting producers and showrunners in developing realistic FBI characters and storylines. Learn more at jerriwilliams.com.
Join here.
