Farewell to Bullets Across the Bay

Farewell to Bullets Across the Bay
by Randal Brandt

To celebrate the conclusion of the popular exhibit, Bullets Across the Bay: The San Francisco Bay Area in Crime Fiction, the Library at the University of California, Berkeley is holding a closing reception on Friday, February 24, 2012 from 6:00-8:00pm in the Morrison Library. The reception is co-sponsored by Mystery Writers of America, NorCal Chapter and Sisters in Crime, Northern California Chapter and will be open to the campus community and the general public. The program will feature five local mystery authors—Mark Coggins, Janet Dawson, Diana Orgain, Sheldon Siegel, and Simon Wood—reading selections from their favorite Bay Area crime and detective novels, followed by an opportunity for audience members to engage the readers and exhibit curators in Questions and Answers.

Bullets Across the Bay exposes the richness of the University Library collections for the study of detective narrative and genre fiction set in the San Francisco Bay Area. From 19th-century dime novels to today’s bestsellers, the exhibit features examples of novels both iconic and obscure that provide commentary on topics such as cultural diversity and historical events represented in popular literature. It also highlights resources for the academic study of the mystery genre and chronicles the careers and influence of some of the titans of the Bay Area mystery scene: Dashiell Hammett, Anthony Boucher, Marcia Muller, and Bill Pronzini—as well as the work of many other authors whose writing contributes to the richness of fiction on either side of the Bay Bridge.

The exhibit is on display in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery through February 29, 2012. It is free and open to the public during the operating hours of Doe Library.

Randal S. Brandt is a librarian at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He is the creator of Golden Gate Mysteries, an annotated bibliography of crime fiction set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one of the co-curators of Bullets Across the Bay.

Bullets Across the Bay: Video of Panel

Here's the link to the Bullets Across the Bay, a panel at UC Berkeley Library, with Eddie Muller, Kelli Stanley and Corpa Luchi. I moderated the panel. Very fun panel about San Francisco, the Bay Area and Crime Fiction.  

Be warned, though, this is an hour panel. No time to watch? If you're in the Bay Area, be sure and stop by the UC Main Library for the great book and memorabilia exhibit: Bullets Across the Bay. Thanks to Randal Brandt for coordinating this panel.

http://youtu.be/hYT9n-vSlgo

Bullets Across the Bay

From Randal S. Brandt:

Bullets Across the Bay: The San Francisco Bay Area in Crime Fiction, an exhibit in the Bernice Layne Brown Gallery at the University Library, University of California, Berkeley, opened on September 8, 2011. Drawing from the collections of numerous campus libraries, the exhibit surveys the rich history and tradition of mystery, detective, and crime novels set in San Francisco and the East Bay. It explores a variety of themes, including the influence of Dashiell Hammett and The Maltese Falcon, the legacy of Anthony Boucher and the founding of the Mystery Writers of America, the history and cultural diversity of the region as reflected in crime fiction, juvenile mysteries, crime films set in San Francisco, and more.

The exhibit is on display through February 2012 and is free and open to the public whenever the Library is open.

In conjunction with the exhibit, on Friday, October 14, 2011 from 4:00-6:00pm, the Library will present a special mystery edition of the Story Hour in the Library series featuring a panel discussion with authors Kelli Stanley, Eddie Muller, and Lucha Corpi, moderated by Janet Rudolph. This event is also free and all are welcome to attend. It will be preceded by a Q&A session with the exhibit curators at 3:00pm.

See you in the Library!

Randal S. Brandt is a librarian at The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He is the creator of Golden Gate Mysteries, an annotated bibliography of crime fiction set in the San Francisco Bay Area, and one of the co-curators of Bullets Across the Bay.