Mystery Writers of America - New York Chapter

Crime Craft: "The Craft of Historical Crime Fiction"
2025-09-26 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Join host Kate Hohl for “The Craft of Historical Crime Fiction” with acclaimed author Wanda M. Morris on Tuesday, October 21, at 6:00pm EST via Zoom.
Wanda is the acclaimed author of several legal thrillers, including All Her Little Secrets, Anywhere You Run, and What You Leave Behind. Her debut novel, All Her Little Secrets, has been optioned for a limited series starring and executive produced by three-time Emmy winner Uzo Aduba with Wanda serving as an executive producer.
Her second book, Anywhere You Run, was named one of the Top Ten Crime Fiction Books of 2022 by The New York Times, and one of the best books of 2022 by NPR, Publisher’ Weekly, and Amazon. It was also listed as one of “Fifteen Standout Historical Fiction Books to Read This Year” by Oprah Daily. Anywhere You Run won the 2023 Lefty Award for Best Historical Novel, the 2023 Georgia Author of the Year Award for Best Mystery, and the 2023 Anthony Award for Best Historical Novel and was longlisted for the Mark Twain American Voicein Literature Prize. Wanda is a former corporate lawyer and now writes full time. She is married, the mother of three, and lives in Atlanta.
Join here:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83794864332?pwd=[REDACTED]

Author Reading Saturday, October 4
2025-10-04 12:00 - 14:00 | 58th Street Library, 127 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, United States
Three New York-based mystery authors will read aloud from what they’ve written from noon to 2 p.m. Saturday, October 4, at the 58th Street branch of the New York Public Library.
Dawn M. Barclay writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense as D.M. Barr and nonfiction under her own name. In 2025, Level Best Books released her latest domestic thriller, Deadly When Disturbed, and the first of her true crime travel guides, Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England. She will read a short story titled “I’m Still Here” that will be appearing in an upcoming anthology: Ya Got Trouble: Crime Fiction Inspired by Broadway Show Tunes. Contact her at dawnbarclayauthor@gmail.com.
Born and raised in Chicago, Delia Pitts graduated from Oberlin College with a bachelor’s degree in history. After working as a journalist, she earned a PhD in African history from the University of Chicago. She is a former university administrator and US diplomat. Her contemporary noir mystery, Trouble in Queenstown, won the Shamus award for best hardback PI novel of 2024. The follow-up book in the series, Death of an Ex, was published by Minotaur Books in 2025. Delia is also the author of the Ross Agency Mysteries, a series set in Harlem, and several acclaimed short stories. Delia will read a brief excerpt from Death of an Ex. Check her out at www.deliapitts.com.
Gary Cahill’s first crime short story, “That Kind Of Guy,” a modern-day homage to the 1920s and ’30s hard-edged, rough-and-tumble Black Mask magazine, ran in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Subsequent short work, including “Corner of River and Rain,” “The Damnedest Things,” “Fathers, Sons, Ghosts, Guns,” “The Way To A Man’s Heart,” “Sirens,” and “On A Two-Way Street,” have appeared in print, online, e-book, and audio versions with The First Line Literary Journal, Pulp Magazine, Mystery Magazine (formerly Mystery Weekly), Plan B Magazineand on the podcast Shotgun Honey. Gary will read from an as-yet unpublished look at the Irish and Irish American zeitgeist in 1980s Hell’s Kitchen. Contact him at garycahill66nj@yahoo.com.
The library is at 127 East 58th Street., between Park and Lexington Aves. The 4, 5, N, and R trains stop at 59th/Lex, the E train at 53rd/Lex. Buses run north on Third Avenue and South on Lex. The M57 and M31 buses run crosstown on 57th Street. The room for the Authors’ Readings is up one flight of stairs; there is no elevator.
For more information email the New York chapter of Mystery Writers of America: info@mwany.org

Panel Discussion: Red Herrings: The Twist in the Tale
2025-10-18 13:00 - 15:00
Join us on October 18 for a free panel discussion on the art of misdirection. Deception, a web of lies, and the chase for clues are the core of a compelling mystery. How do you use red herrings to heighten tension and suspense to keep readers turning pages? What challenges do red herrings pose as a tool to propel the story? This panel discussion with three mystery authors is open to MWA members and the public.
October 18
1 p.m.-3 p.m.
Lee Memorial Public Library
500 Crescent Avenue Allendale, NJ
Register here
Moderator:
Carol Binkowski writes mysteries under the pen name Caryl Janis, most recently including To Sketch a Killer and Research Can Be Murder — both urban cozies set in New York. A member of MWA, SinC, and Liberty States Fiction Writers, she has participated on panels at mystery conferences including Bouchercon, Malice Domestic, and ThrillerFest. Carol is also a musician and author of nonfiction books about music and history.
Panelists:
Tom Coffey grew up on Staten Island. His first novel, The Serpent Club, was published in 1999 by Pocket Books and received a starred review from Publishers Weekly. His second novel, Miami Twilight, came out two years later. In 2008, Toby Press printed Blood Alley, which also earned a starred review from PW. In 2015 the independent Oak Tree Press published Bright Morning Star. In 2023, Coffey signed a three-book deal with Level Best Books. Public Morals, which gained four- and five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, was the first novel in The Devine Trilogy, which is named after the family at its center. The series examines the arc of law enforcement in New York from the 1980s to the present. The second book in the series, Special Victim, was published in 2024, and also earned strong reviews across multiple platforms. Coffey is finishing the last book in the trilogy, Stop and Frisk, and it will come out in 2026. Coffey graduated from the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and attended film school at the University of Southern California. After a long career in journalism that included stints at The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and New York Newsday, he retired in 2023 from The New York Times. He lives in Lower Manhattan with his wife and daughter.
Peggy Ehrhart is a former English professor with a doctorate in medieval literature. Her Maxx Maxwell mysteries, Sweet Man Is Gone (2008) and Got No Friend Anyhow (2011), were published by Five Star/Gale/Cengage and feature a blues-singer sleuth. Peggy is currently writing the Knit & Nibble mysteries for Kensington Books. Her amateur sleuth, Pamela Paterson, is the founder and mainstay of the Arborville, New Jersey, knitting club, nicknamed Knit and Nibble. Knit & Nibble #12, Last Wool and Testament, was released in May 2025; An Eggy Way to Die will appear in Kensington’s 2026 Easter novella anthology, Easter Egg Murder.
Charles Salzberg is a former magazine journalist and nonfiction book writer, author of From Set Shot to Slam Dunk, an oral history of the NBA, and Soupy Sez: My Zany Life and Times with Soupy Sales. His first novel, Swann’s Last Song, was nominated for a Shamus Award (he lost). Second Story Man, winner of the Beverly Hills Book Award, was nominated for a Shamus (he lost), aas was Canary in the Coal Mine (lost again). Devil in the Hole was named one of the best crime novels of 2013 by Suspense magazine. He’s been a visiting professor of Magazine and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and taught writing at Sarah Lawrence, Hunter, the Writers Voice, and the New York Writers Workshop, where he is a founding ember. His latest novel is Man on the Run.

MYSTERY AUTHORS TO READ DECEMBER 6
2025-10-25 08:00 - 17:00 | 58th Street Library, 127 East 58th Street (between Park and Lexington Avenues), New York, United States
Three local members of Mystery Writers of America will read from their work at noon on Saturday, December 6, in the 58th St. branch of the New York Public Library.
Tom Coffey, a native of Staten Island, is a longtime journalist, having worked for The Miami Herald, the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, New York Newsday, and The New York Times. Two of his novels, The Serpent Club and Blood Alley, have earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly. The first two books in his current series, The Devine Trilogy (named for the family at its center), have earned four- and five-star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. Tom will read from the third book in the trilogy, which will be published in 2026.
Andrea Clark has had a varied career. She retranslated E.T.A. Hoffmann’s Nutcracker for Alfred A. Knopf. She analyzed scripts for TV producer David Susskind. “My Divorce,” her thesis film for the MFA program at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, won an Academy Award in the Student Film Category. She studied writing with Elizabeth Hardwick and Hallie Ephron. Andrea will read from the opening chapter of her work-in-progress, Kate’s Dilemma.
Andrew Kass‘s short work has appeared in the magazines Glimmer Train and Central Park and in The New York Times; he has a new story upcoming in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. His novella Deadline received an honorable mention in the 2024 Black Orchid Novella Award. His feminist Civil War spy thriller, A Woman of Agency, is due out next year. Andrew will read from “Hotel Room”December 6 poster—a noir story inspired by a 1931 painting by Edward Hopper.
The library is at 127 East 58th St., between Park and Lexington Aves. The 4, 5, N, and R trains stop at 59th/Lex; the E at 53rd/Lex. Buses run north on Third Ave. and South on Lex. The M57 and M31 buses run crosstown on 57th St. There is also a parking garage under the library.
The room for the Authors’ Readings is up one flight of stairs; there is no elevator.
For more information please email the New York chapter of MWA: info@mwany.org

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.

Pick Your Poison at CrimeCONN 2026 on May 16
2026-03-12 08:00 - 17:00
CrimeCONN 2026
Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.
May 16 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
CrimeCONN 2026 invites you to Pick Your Poison
The mystery genre is full of subgenres and sub-subgenres. You can discover how writers convert their life experiences or compelling interests or just plain curiosity into mystery and suspense at CrimeCONN 2026.
Considered one of the premier small-scale mystery writers and lovers conferences, CrimeCONN is cosponsored by the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, and the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut.
The one-day event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 16 and offers a virtual attendance option. The headliner this year is New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, in conversation with John Valeri, acclaimed mystery reviewer and online host.
USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan will hold this year’s one-hour writers workshop, as well as appear on a panel led by Reed Farrel Coleman. Other bestselling and award-winning authors joining panels include Alison Gaylin, Lynne Constantine, Peter Blauner, Kate White and Hilary Davidson. MWA-NY President Daniella Bernett also will serve on a panel.
CrimeCONN also features a perennial favorite, Michelle Clark’s forensic science panel. Michelle is a highly regarded Connecticut death investigator who brings in experts from around the region who give invaluable insight into the real world of crime fighting.
You’d be hard pressed to find more to learn, inform and inspire in the world of crime writing than CrimeCONN 2026. Lunch and coffee will be served all day.
Discounts for seniors, students, and MWA members.
Register here:
Pick Your Poison. Crime writers who write what they know. And love. The mystery
genre is full of subgenres and sub-subgenres. Learn how writers convert their life
experiences or compelling interests or just plain curiosity into mystery and suspense.
9:15
Stir it up. Hear writers dish on the role of food in suspense writing.
Moderator: Tom Straw. Ang Pompano, Devon Delaney, Debra Sennefelder
10:15
Sir or Madam, will you read my book? How music informs, enriches and provokes
crime fiction.
Moderator: Jim Fusilli. Peter Blauner, Alison Gaylin, Mary Anna Evans
11:15
Put me in, coach! Hits, misses, and score settling. Authors on the enduring mysteries
of sports.
Moderator: Charles Salzberg. Tessa Wegert, Elise Hart Knipness, Kevin Wade
12:00
Lunch
Writers Workshop.
Hank Phillippi Ryan
1:00
Forensics Panel
Moderator: Michelle Clark. TBD
2:00
Different strokes for different folks. How life’s passions, obsessions, and simple
curiosity can lead to the writing life.
Moderator: Reed Farrel Coleman. Rich Cohen, Daniella Bernett, Hank Phillippi Ryan
3:00
Can’t hold us down. How strong women have come to define 21 st Century crime
writing.
Moderator: Gabi Coatsworth. Kate White, Hilary Davidson and Lynne Constantine
Keynote
Alafair Burke interviewed by John Valeri.

Californian Rob Osler Visiting Mysterious Bookshop in NYC
2026-03-24 08:00 - 17:00
MWA California member Rob Osler visits The Mysterious Bookshop in NYC on Thursday, March 26, to discuss his new book, The Case of the Murdered Muckraker, the second in his Harriet Morrow Investigates series. He’ll be joined in conversation by Mariah Fredericks. Book one, The Case of the Missing Maid, won the Lefty Award for best historical novel and is a nominee for the best LGBTQ+ novel at the Lambda Literary Awards. The event is scheduled to run from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Unforgettable, That's What They Are: An MWA NY Panel Discussion!
2026-03-25 08:00 - 17:00
Join us for “Creatiing Unforgettable Characters,” a Mystery Writers of America New York Panel, from 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 18, at the Tredyffrin Public Library, 582 Upper Gulf Road, Strattford, Pa.
Man walking away on misty road. Man standing alone on rural foggy and misty asphalt road. Selective focus
Michael Bradley (moderator) is an award-winning author from Delaware. He spent eight years as
a radio DJ “on the air” 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 to release on July 7th. It has already garnered praise, being
called “a well-written, clever whodunit with crafty twists.”
After graduation from Harvard College , Boston College Law School, and Harvard Law School and spending three years in the US Air Force, John Dobbyn practiced as a trial attorney before teaching law for forty-seven years 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’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, 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: www.JamesMcCrone.
Jane Kelly is the author of the Meg Daniels Mysteries, Meg Daniels Mysteries Weekenders,
Writing in Time Mysteries and Widow Lady Mysteries. Her standalone 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 literature 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 Independent Publisher Book Award silver medals for mid-Atlantic fiction. She currently lives in the Philadelphia area.

Reading and Mingling in Soho
2026-03-31 19:00 - 21:00
You asked, we delivered! For all of you asking for more in-person events, come check out our get-together for authors and friends of mysteries in fact and fiction at our exciting new location, Bibliotheque (54 Mercer Street, NYC), at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31.
Readers:
Jeffrey Somers
Elizabeth Crowens
James McCrone
Lori Robbins
Gary Cahill

Come Read and Mingle at Bibliotheque
2026-04-08 08:00 - 17:00
MWA-NY is planning four more reading-and-mingling evenings, all from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. at Bibliotheqe in Soho, on Wednesday, June 24; Thursday, July 30; Tuesday, Sept. 29; and Thursday, October 29. If you are an MWA member in the New York chapter and would like to read at one of these upcoming evenings, please email M.C. Hal Glatzer at info@mwany.org, and put AUTHOR TO READ in the subject heading.

MWA-NY Hosting First Spring Fling
2026-04-11 08:00 - 17:00
MWA-NY is hosting its first Spring party on from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, at the Tailor Public House at 505 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.
Great memories and new friendships await.
Join us as we celebrate the world of mystery.
It would be a crime to miss it!
Registration link: https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZC8F25BEMUKJL

Cookie-bites! The Central Jersey/Princeton local group will meet on May 7
2026-04-11 08:00 - 17:00
Cookie-bites! The Central Jersey/Princeton local group will meet on May 7 (3-4pm)

RSVP by May 5 to nevmarchauthor@gmail.com

Annual General Membership Meeting
2026-04-13 19:00 - 20:00
Annual General Membership Meeting
April 13
7 p.m.
Please join us to hear about all the wonderful plans MWA-NY has in store for 2026.This is an opportunity for members to ask the board questions.
Zoom link: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/88598730265?pwd=[REDACTED]

2026-04-29 17:00 - 19:00
ATTENTION CONNECTICUT MWA-NY CHAPTER MEMBERS!!
Please join fellow members for a writerly meet and greet.
This will be a fun opportunity to chat with others about the world of books as well as a chance to meet local coordinators Tessa and Lynne, both panelists at the upcoming CrimeConn in May.
If you’d like, please feel free to bring a friend for an enjoyable evening.
Wednesday, April 29, at 5:00 p.m. at South Bay in Fairfield, Connecticut
South Bay offers a full menu and Happy Hour drinks
https://southbayct.com/fairfield/index.php
Please rsvp so our local coordinators can be on the lookout for you:
Tessa Wegert tessa@tessawegert.com or
Lynne Constantine liv@livconstantine.com
See you on the 29th!!!

CrimeCONN Set for May 16 in Connecticut
2026-05-16 08:00 - 17:00
CrimeCONN 2026
Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn.
May 16 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
CrimeCONN 2026 invites you to Pick Your Poison
The mystery genre is full of subgenres and sub-subgenres. You can discover how writers convert their life experiences or compelling interests or just plain curiosity into mystery and suspense at CrimeCONN 2026.
Considered one of the premier small-scale mystery writers and lovers conferences, CrimeCONN is cosponsored by the Mystery Writers of America, New York Chapter, and the Ferguson Library in Stamford, Connecticut.
The one-day event will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on May 16 and offers a virtual attendance option. The headliner this year is New York Times bestselling author Alafair Burke, in conversation with John Valeri, acclaimed mystery reviewer and online host.
USA Today bestselling author Hank Phillippi Ryan will hold this year’s one-hour writers workshop, as well as appear on a panel led by Reed Farrel Coleman. Other bestselling and award-winning authors joining panels include Alison Gaylin, Lynne Constantine, Peter Blauner, Kate White and Hilary Davidson. MWA-NY President Daniella Bernett also will serve on a panel.
CrimeCONN also features a perennial favorite, Michelle Clark’s forensic science panel. Michelle is a highly regarded Connecticut death investigator who brings in experts from around the region who give invaluable insight into the real world of crime fighting.
You’d be hard pressed to find more to learn, inform and inspire in the world of
crime writing than CrimeCONN 2026. Lunch and coffee will be served all day.
Discounts for seniors, students, and MWA members.
Register here.
Pick Your Poison. Crime writers who write what they know. And love. The mystery
genre is full of subgenres and sub-subgenres. Learn how writers convert their life
experiences or compelling interests or just plain curiosity into mystery and suspense.
9:15
Stir it up. Hear writers dish on the role of food in suspense writing.
Moderator: Tom Straw. Ang Pompano, Devon Delaney, Debra Sennefelder
10:15
Sir or Madam, will you read my book? How music informs, enriches and provokes
crime fiction.
Moderator: Jim Fusilli. Peter Blauner, Alison Gaylin, Mary Anna Evans
11:15
Put me in, coach! Hits, misses, and score settling. Authors on the enduring mysteries
of sports.
Moderator: Charles Salzberg. Tessa Wegert, Elise Hart Knipness, Kevin Wade
12:00
Lunch
Writers Workshop
Hank Phillippi Ryan
1:00
Have a drink on me. What happens when real killers literally pick their poison?
Moderator: Michelle Clark, Connecticut Death Investigator in conversation with Dr. Shana Straub, Connecticut Forensic Pathologist.
2:00
Different strokes for different folks. How life’s passions, obsessions, and simple
curiosity can lead to the writing life.
Moderator: Reed Farrel Coleman. Rich Cohen, Daniella Bernett, Hank Phillippi Ryan
3:00
Can’t hold us down. How strong women have come to define 21 st Century crime
writing.
Moderator: Gabi Coatsworth. Kate White, Hilary Davidson and Lynne Constantine
Keynote
Alafair Burke interviewed by John Valeri.

Panel Discussion: Creating Unforgettable Characters
2026-05-18 17:00 - 18:00 | Tredyffrin Library, 582 Upper Gulph Rd., Strafford, Pennsylvnia, 19087, United States
MWA Panel: “Creating Unforgettable Characters” In Person
Join us on Monday, May 18, for a free panel discussion on character development. 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? This panel discussion with three mystery authors is open to MWA members and the public.
Monday, May 18
5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
Tredyffrin Public Library
King Meeting Room
582 Upper Gulph Road
Strafford, PA 19087
Registration is required. There are 35 seats available.
Moderator:
Michael Bradley 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.”
Panelists:
John Dobbyn: 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: 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: 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 literature 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.
https://ccls.libcal.com/event/16690759

MWA-NY Hosting First Spring Fling
2026-06-11 18:00 - 21:00
Spring Fling 2026
MWA-NY is hosting its first spring party on Thursday, June 11.
Great memories and new friendships await.
Join us as we celebrate the world of mystery.
Special Guest:
New York Times bestselling author
Susan Elia MacNeal
It would be a crime to miss it!
Deets:
MWA-NY Spring Fling!
Thursday, June 11, 6 – 9 p.m.
The Tailor Public House
505 8th Ave. New York, NY 10018
Registration link:
https://www.paypal.com/ncp/payment/ZC8F25BEMUKJL
