ShortCon, The Premier Conference for Writers of Short Crime Fiction

Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Alexandria, Virginia. 

 

Presenters include: 

 

SJ Rozan, author of nearly 100 short stories (and 20 novels) and editor or co-editor of three anthologies, is recipient of two Edgars as well as Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and other awards. She’s received lifetime achievement awards from The Private Eye Writers of America and the Short Mystery Fiction Society and teaches a summer writing workshop in Assisi, Italy. Rozan will lead a three-hour writing workshop focused on short crime fiction. 

Jeffrey Marks, publisher for Crippen & Landru, is the author of numerous short stories and biographies of mystery writers, the editor of four anthologies, and has been nominated for Agatha, Anthony, Edgar, Macavity, and Maxwell awards. Marks will lead a seminar on crafting a short story collection. 

Michael Bracken, author of almost 1,300 short stories and editor or co-editor of 32 published and forthcoming anthologies, is an Anthony, Edgar, and Shamus nominee and multiple Derringer Award recipient. Bracken will discuss writing for anthologies. 

 

Stacy Woodson, author of 40 short stories and co-editor of three published or forthcoming anthologies, received Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine’s Readers Award for her first short story and has since received two Derringer Awards and been nominated for both Macavity and Thriller awards. Woodson will moderate an end-of-day discuss with all the presenters. 

Included in the registration fee for this one-day conference is breakfast, lunch, and two breaks. 

For more information and to register, visit https://www.eastcoastcrime.com/#/

Cartoon of the Day: Estate Sale

 Totally!!! Thanks, Judie, for sharing this cartoon!

Father Brown Series 12 News!

Britbox will release Father Brown, Series 12, on January 23, 2025, in the U.S. After that there will be a weekly episode of 45 minutes (ten episodes in Sseason 12). And, there will be a Season 13 (2026). 

Season 12 will see Mark Williams return to the fan-favorite role, which he recently raved about saying: "The best thing about playing the character is that I am never, ever bored by him." 

Father Brown is a British period detective television series based on the iconic titular character, created by GK Chesterton who made the character popular with compelling short stories.

Returning alongside Mark Williams as Father Brown are Claudie Blakley as Mrs. Devine, Tom Chambers as Chief Inspector Sullivan, John Burton as Sergeant Goodfellow, Ruby-May Martinwood as Brenda, and John Light as Flambeau.  

Andrew Pyper: R.I.P.

Canadian writer Andrew Pyper, whose debut novel Lost Girls launched a career of bestselling, award-winning literary thrillers, died yesterday at the age of 56.  

From the Toronto Star: 

Pyper passed away at his west-end home Friday of complications from cancer, his agent confirmed to the Toronto Star. 

The writer, who once said “I write scary stories for a living,” followed up Lost Girls — which won the Arthur Ellis Award for best first novel in 2000 — with such works as The Demonologist, The Damned, The Only Child, and The Homecoming. His books earned him international publishing deals, were translated in multiple languages and acquired for TV and film development. 

His most recent book, William, described as “psychological horror meets cyber noir,” was published this past fall under the pen name Mason Coile. Pyper took great delight in sharing the news that it had been chosen by the American Booksellers Association as well as People magazine as one of the best reads of September. 

 

“(Andrew) was an inventive, surprising, and profoundly collaborative writer, who clearly loved telling stories,” said Daphne Durham, Putnam Books’ executive editor who acquired and edited William as well as Exiles, which is to be published next year under the Coile pseudonym. 

 “Everyone loved working with Andrew because he was such a pro, but he was also a delightful, warm, funny person.”

Read More Here. 

Cartoon of the Day: New Year's Resolution

 

THE BACK ROOM: A great place to chat with your favorite authors on Zoom!

I love The Back Room, the brain-child of Hank Phillippi Ryan and Karen Dionne. Each event is an evening of cocktails and personal conversations with your favorite authors on Zoom. After general introductions by the hosts and the authors, participants are separated into small groups. The authors then rotate around to each group. Participants are able to ask questions, discuss issues and books, and so much more. It's an intimate mystery event in your own home!

To start off 2025, this Sunday, January 5 at 7 p.m. EST, The Back Room will host Alafair Burke, Joseph Finder, Rachel Howell Hall, and Lisa Williamson Rosenberg. 

For more information and to register:

https://the-back-room.org/how-it-works/

 

Vera, Season 14, News!

Vera, Season 14, the final season, with Episode 1 today in the US on BritBox. Sadly there are ONLY TWO episodes. Episode 2 airs next week (1/9/25). I will miss this sensational show. Brenda Blethyn is a treasure! See what she has to say about leaving the show (scroll down). In the meantime, you can catch up on all past seasons on BritBox. Or, you can read all the Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope mysteries. They are terrific! 

The long-running British crime-drama series inspired by Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope novels has finally come to an end, and BritBox presents this final season. Vera: Season 14 follows DCI Vera Stanhope (Brenda Blethyn) as she takes on her last investigations for the Northumberland & City Police. From a man’s body found on the bank of the River Tyne to a young student left dead at the foot of legendary local stones The Dark Wives, these two cases are sure to culminate in a compelling and emotional finale for this beloved onscreen sleuth. 

Vera, Season 14 Episodes

Inside

Episode 1: DCI Vera Stanhope investigates the murder of a young man found near a river. As she unravels the case, a complex web of relationships, secrets, and deceit emerges, leading her to question any deeper motives behind the death.

The Dark Wives

Episode 2: A body is found near local stones called The Dark Wives. Vera investigates the murder of a bright young student, uncovering connections to her childhood memories. Past and present intertwine as she solves the case in an emotional farewell.

From Brenda Blethyn: 

“Working on Vera has been a joy from beginning to end and I’m sad to be saying Cheerio. But I am so proud of our achievements over the last fourteen years. I’ll be forever grateful to the wonderful Ann Cleeves who created Vera, and to Elaine Collins who saw fit to cast me in the role. The Producers, dream cast and crew have been fabulous and I’m going to miss them, but I won’t forget their huge talent, the camaraderie, laughter or kindness we shared nor the friendship of the people of the north east and our fans worldwide. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Brenda Blethyn on why she's leaving:

Speaking at a Q&A event held at London's BFI in November, the 78-year-old actress revealed that while she was sad to step away from the role, she hadn't spent a summer at home for 14 years. 

When asked how difficult it was to make the decision, Brenda said: "It was a big decision because I love the job, I love the people I was working with and I know they loved it too so it was a little bit of an emotional responsibility as well because if I stop, it's going to stop. "I saw on the catering list one day, just on a typical day there were 76 people, so that's all those people. I console myself with the fact that there's a big studio opening in Sunderland next year so there will be lots of jobs available," she continued. "I was aware that people who would like to continue on it wouldn't be able to and that made me feel sad but as much as I like my Newcastle family, I have a family at home and I hadn't had a summer for 14 years and I thought, 'Bren, go and have a summer. Go home,'" explained the actress, who has homes in south London and Ramsgate, Kent with her husband, Michael Mayhew. 

She added: "So it was a difficult decision."

Cartoon of the Day: Cat's New Year's Resolution

Flora!!