Mystery Bytes: January 26

So many things going on in the Mystery Community. Mystery Bytes is a sporatic round-up of Mystery News.

Contest:

The Wolfe Pack and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine invite submissions for the 4th annual Black Orchid Novella Award. The contest seeks a novella that demonstrates literary excellence in the tradition of Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe stories. Each entry must be an original work of fiction, not published elsewhere. Stories are to be 13,000 to 20,000 words in length and are to conform to the tradition of the Nero Wolfe stories: no overt sex or violence, and the emphasis must be on the deductive skills of the sleuth. The stories are not to include characters from the Nero Wolfe series. The winner will receive $1,000; the winning novella will be published in AHMM. Deadline is May 31, 2010. For details, go to: NeroWolfe.org

Bookstores:

Jim Huang posted on his blog yesterday that The Mystery Company, his mystery bookstore in Carmel, IN, is closing his doors. There will be a final party on Saturday, January 39, 1-3 p.m. and then he'll wrap up operations in early February. At this time, there are no plans for selling the business, but interested buyers should contact Jim. Jim will be moving to a new job out of state at Kenyon College where he'll be the general manager of the college bookstore. To read more, go HERE.

Classes: Info from Les Klinger, Sherlockian Scholar.

February 6: UCLA. Sherlock Holmes. Explore the world of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson, as the fog swirls through Victorian London and it is always 1895! The course includes a critical reading of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic stories; an examination of Holmes's progenitors and rivals; analysis of the classic problems of "Sherlockian" scholarship; and study of the lives of Holmes, Watson, and other familiar persona of the tales. Examples of Holmes and Watson on screen and radio also are presented. No prior knowledge of the subject required. Recommended advance reading: A Study in Scarlet, "A Scandal in Bohemia" (from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes), and The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. Required text: The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: Complete Short Stories and The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes: The Novels or similar complete edition.
Westwood: 202 Extension Lindbrook Center, 9am-4pm

Magazines:

The Crime Factory (originally a print magazine from Australia, ed by David Honeybone) is now Crimefactory, an Internet based .pdf format with short stories, features and reviews on crime/mystery fiction. Issue #1 includes an excerpt from Killer by Ken Bruen, Scott Phillips' tribute to Charles Willeford and more. Click here to read the first issue.

Hat Tip to The Rap Sheet.