Mystery Writers of America - New York Chapter

Unforgettable, That's What They Are: An MWA NY Panel Discussion!
2026-03-25 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
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
