The Ink-sponsored panel at Bloody Words, June 3 at 6:30 p.m.

Moderator Anthony Bidulka. 

Would you cross this man?

The Russell Quant series is a multi award nominee including for the Crime Writers of Canada Arthur Ellis Award and Saskatchewan Book Award. The second book in the series, Flight of Aquavit, was awarded the Lambda Literary Award for Best Men’s Mystery.








Tony rides herd Friday, June 3 over the

'Writing the Open Range' panel at Bloody Words:

Panelist Sharon Wildwind



Sharon, a nurse, lives in Calgary and writes the Elizabeth Pepperhawk - Avivah Rosen series,  a Vietnam-War era set of mysteries about a nurse, a military policewoman and their combat-hardened pal Benny. A fascinating look at attitudes and anguish of a time almost forgotten only 40 years later. Sharon is a long-time member of Mystery Writers Ink in Calgary.

Panelist Garry Ryan 


Garry lives in Calgary and writes the Detective Lane series set in that city. A veteran of 30 years teaching teenagers to properly punctuate, he is more laid-back than his previous career would indicate. The fifth book in his series, Malabarista, is coming out this September.

Panelist Joan Donaldson-Yarmey

Joan, a travel writer with seven titles to her credit, used to live in Edmonton. She takes readers off the main roads into rural regions of Alberta with her mystery series starring travel writer Elizabeth Oliver.

Panelist Susan Calder

Susan's debut mystery, Deadly Fall, features insurance adjuster Paula Savard, and has recently been released from TouchWood Editions. Susan is a long-time member of Mystery Writers Ink.










Follow the full Bloody experience at 

Writing the Open Range

A New Canadian Mystery Award: the Bony Blithe

The Bloody Words Mystery Conference, Canada's largest and longest-running conference bringing together mystery authors and readers, is pleased to announce a NEW Canadian literary award: The Bloody Words Light Mystery Award (aka the Bony Blithe) "for books that make us smile."

This award, which includes a $1000 cash prize as well as a stunning trophy, will be awarded annually at the Bloody Words Mystery Conference. The inaugural award will be presented next year at Bloody Words XII (June 1-3, 2012) in Toronto.

Eligibility:

The award is open to any Canadian citizen or permanent resident and is for full-length (at least 60,000 words) mysteries (print or e-book) published in the previous year. The 2012 award is for books published between January 1 and December 31, 2011. Books may be submitted by the publisher or the author. No YA or noir, please.

You do not have to be registered for Bloody Words to enter this contest.

What is a "light mystery"?

"Light mysteries" cover anything from laugh-out-loud books to gentle humour to good old-fashioned stories with little violence or gore.

Submission procedure:

Send four (4) hard copies of the book(s) by December 15, 2011, to:

Caro Soles
12 Roundwood Court
Toronto ON M1W 1Z2

You may start submitting books now. For the deadline of December 15, we go by the postmark or equivalent. If the book has not come back from the printer by December 15, 2011, you may send us copies of the ARC.

Note: If you are sending the book(s) from outside Canada, make sure the customs declaration has NCV (no commercial value) or $0 for the dollar value.

If your book is an e-book, contact us about submitting it electronically. Please be aware, however, that we may require hard copy for e-books.

Shortlist and award announcements:

The shortlist for the 2012 award will be announced on March 28, 2012. The award will be presented at the Bloody Words XII banquet at the Downtown Toronto Hilton on Saturday, June 2, 2012.

For more information:

Write to bw-award@bloodywords.com

or visit http://www.bloodywords2012.com/BW-award.html

Good luck...
Cheryl Freedman

Jayne Barnard Shortlisted for the Unhanged Arthur

Jayne Barnard Shortlisted for the Unhanged Arthur - by Anne Jayne

Crime Writers of Canada celebrated mystery writers on Thursday, April 28, with events in cities across Canada. Local groups held very different events, but they all ended the same way, with the announcement of the shortlists for the 2011 CWC Awards.

In Calgary, CWC members Jayne Barnard, Susan Calder, Linda Kupecek and Garry Ryan took to the podium at the Calgary Public Library to read their work to an appreciative audience that included a number of Ink members.

For Inksters, the news was excellent: Jayne Barnard, a long-time member and current Secretary-Treasurer of Mystery Writers Ink, was chosen by Crime Writers of Canada for the shortlist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Unpublished First Crime Novel (popularly known as the Unhanged Arthur). The judges selected only three manuscripts this year from more than sixty that were submitted to the contest.

Jayne's novel, When the Bow Breaks, is set in France and the Lower Mainland, and features RCMP officer Lacey McCrae. While off duty, Lacey intervenes in a child abduction. She rescues the victim but soon realizes the little boy is still in danger. Her determination to uncover the source of the threat causes conflicts at home and at work. How much will she sacrifice to save a child she only met once?

The other two nominees are John Jeneroux for Better Off Dead and Kevin Thornton for Uncoiled.

The Unhanged Arthur was a brainchild of world-renowned mystery author Louise Penney, who launched her career as a novelist by winning the Debut Dagger Award in the U.K. She thought that Canadian writers deserved a similar contest, and the Crime Writers of Canada agreed.

The Unhanged Arthur contest is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents who have never had a novel of any kind published commercially. Participants first submit the 5,000 words and a synopsis. The judges then invite up to ten authors to submit the full manuscript. Of those, up to five will be selected for the shortlist.

McArthur & Co. presents the Award and a cash prize to the winner at the annual Crime Writers of Canada banquet, which takes place in Victoria on June 2, 2011. McArthur & Co. has the right of first refusal, and may offer a book contract to the author who wins the Unhanged Arthur. The author may choose to accept that offer or to pursue other publication options.

Winners of the Award include Gloria Ferris for The Corpse Flower; Douglas Moles for Louder; D.J. McIntosh for The Witch of Babylon (Penguin Canada); and Phyllis Smallman for Margarita Nights (McArthur & Co.).

Congratulations to Jayne Barnard on the selection of her manuscript for the shortlist, which is a testament to her dedication to the craft of writing. Good luck at the Crime Writers of Canada banquet in Victoria: we'll be rooting for Jayne to receive the Award!

The Arthur Ellis Awards Short List is announced!

Best Crime Novel:

A Criminal to Remember, Michael Van Rooy, Turnstone Press

Bury Your Dead, Louise Penny, Little, Brown UK

In Plain Sight, Mike Knowles, ECW Press

Slow Recoil, C.B Forrest, RendezVous Crime

The Extinction Club, Jeffrey Moore, Penguin Group

Best First Crime Novel:

The Damage Done, Hilary Davidson, Tom Doherty Associates

The Debba, Avner Mandleman, Random House of Canada

The Penalty Killing, Michael McKinley, McClelland & Stewart

The Parabolist, Nicholas Ruddock, Doubleday Canada

Still Missing, Chevy Stevens, St. Martin's Press

Best French Crime Book:

Cinq secondes, Jacques Savoie, Libre Expression

Dans le quartier des agités, Jacques Côté, Éditions Alire

La société des pères meurtriers, Michel Châteauneuf, Vent d’Ouest

Quand la mort s'invite à la première, Bernard Gilbert, Québec Amerique

Vanités, Johanne Seymour, Libre Expression

Best Crime Nonfiction:

Northern Light, Roy MacGregor, Random House

On the Farm, Stevie Cameron, Alfred A. Knopf Canada

Our Man in Tehran, Robert Wright, HarperCollins Canada

Best Juvenile/YA Crime Book:

Borderline, Allan Stratton, HarperCollins

Pluto's Ghost, Sharee Fitch, Doubleday Canada

The Vinyl Princess, Yvonne Prinz, HarperCollins

Lost For Words (The Worst Thing She Ever Did), Alice Kuipers, HarperCollins

Victim Rights, Norah McClintock, Red Deer Press

Best Crime Short Story:

In it Up to My Neck, Jas R. Petrin, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine

So Much in Common, Mary Jane Maffini, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Big Touch, Jordan McPeek, Thuglit.com

The Piper's Door, James Powell, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine

The Bust, William Deverall, Whodunnit: Sun Media’s Canadian Crime Fiction

Showcase

Best First Unpublished Novel:

(Unhanged Arthur)

Better Off Dead, John Jeneroux

Uncoiled, Kevin Thorton

When the Bow Breaks, Jayne Barnard

Book Review: Those Who Fight Monsters

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives

Edited by Justin Gustainis


An anthology can be a tricky assemblage. A strong theme can result in stories of a similarity that wears on the reader, while a weak theme leaves disconnects from one story to the next, gaps that allow the reader's attention to leave the book entirely. Editor Justin Gustainis found a good balance with 'Those Who Fight Monsters.' All stories have a monster (or more than one) and a detective, yet each stands alone in respect to characters and plot.

The detectives cover the gamut from hard-boiled PI's giving - and getting - low blows on the mean streets to intellectuals expounding on crime in refined quiet rooms. Sleuths include the demon-fighting soccer mom trying to shepherd her daughter safely past demon-snares as well as the normal risks of adolescence, the disgruntled Security sorcerer who battles bureaucracy as well as beasts, and other detectives both amateur and professional.

The paranormal elements are equally varied. In addition to the usual vampires and werewolves, there are demons of compelling variety and more than one style of shape-shifter. Snakes, ugh. Fairy-tale creatures such as gnomes and fairies also appear. The detective isn't necessarily chasing a monster, nor is the monster always the villain. The settings are mostly urban, mostly modern, with an overlay (or underbelly) of fantasy elements.

One reservation about this collection was that some authors presumed a familiarity with their series work and left me faintly lost at first, while others seemed to be trying to fit several novels' worth of back story into the opening paragraphs and slowed the pace accordingly. Apart from that disparity, the collection was a joy to read and introduced me to several paranormal/mystery crossover authors I'd not heard of previously but will certainly follow up now.

All in all, these fourteen stories provide plenty of meat for both the detective-story aficionado and those fascinated by paranormal fiction. And, if you've ever pondered the fictional detective as a reflection of archetypes, Gustainis' introductory essay is a treat.

Jayne Barnard

Those Who Fight Monsters: Tales of Occult Detectives Edited by Justin Gustainis Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing March 2011 Available in both trade paperback and electronic formats.

Advance Review: The Witch of Babylon

You know you’re in good hands with an author when, half a page into the prologue, you are bewitched to the point you forget what century you’re in. The return to the book’s current reality (2003) half a page later was a brutal but effective wrench; it assured my intense interest throughout the remaining 370 pages.

But enough about the writing.

‘The Witch of Babylon’ is at once a complex art-history mystery centered on biblical scholarship, a breath-stealing thriller set in the early months of the Iraq invasion, and an intellectual exploration of links between Mesopotamian myths and European alchemical processes. Not to mention the archaeological journeys into subterranean realms. Oh, and a personal journey of growth by a spoiled young art broker after the death of the older brother who has always shielded him from consequences.

This is a square-on hard stare at the murky world of antiquities looting and trading. Add a soupcon of travelogue flavour over the streets of New York City and various parts of the Middle East, and there is much to enjoy about this book.

‘The Witch of Babylon’ was short-listed for a Debut Dagger in 2007, and won an Arthur Ellis award for Best Unpublished Crime Novel in 2008. It is being released by Penguin Canada in Spring 2011 and (at last count) has sold rights in 15 languages around the world.

My ARC was sent by the author, D.J. McIintosh, after my bugging her for three years to be allowed to read the full manuscript. When it finally arrived I read the whole book in a sprint, with only meal breaks, and will now read it again more slowly, to savour the unfolding story.

‘Witch’ is the first book of The Babylon Trilogy.

Jayne Barnard

April Speaker and Announcements

Hi, Inksters and Friends


Apologies if you're getting multiple copies of this announcement over the past week. Some mail servers are currently rejecting mail from our mail host due to spammers (not us) abusing the system.

April Speaker: Susan Calder on the post-sale editing process. Susan's first mystery novel Deadly Fall was accepted for publication last spring. She was immediately assigned an editor and plunged into the process of whipping the novel into publishable shape. Susan will share the joys and challenges of working with your editor after the novel's acceptance. 7 p.m. on April 14 at Owl's Nest books.


This month's guest blogger is Alberta playwright, personality and YA mystery author Marty Chan, encapsulating for those of us who missed his AWCS workshop the rationale behind his low-key promotional style.

Meeting Marty Chan



Arthur Ellis Awards Shortlist Event 2011


Join us for the announcement of the shortlist for Canada’s national award for crime writing. Hear author readings by local mystery writers Jayne Barnard, Susan Calder, Linda Kupecek and Garry Ryan. Come and join the conversation.

Presented by Calgary Public Library and the Crime Writers of Canada.
Thursday April 28
6.30-7.30pm
Calgary Public Library
Central Library
Main Floor
New and Notable Area
No registration required


In other news:

The Alexandra Writers' Centre Society Spring Session begins April 20th with a wide array of courses, workshops and weekend intensives. Included this session are 8 week courses in Creative Writing, Novel, Short Story, Humour, and Writing for Young Markets with Shirlee-Smith Matheson. Last year's INK speaker Caroline Russell-King offers a weekend intensive in playwriting; INK member Susan Calder will teach a Dynamic Dialogue workshop on Saturday, April 23.

For a full course list and more information visit: www.alexandrawriters.org or phone 403-264-4730.


The Shuswap Writers' Festival takes place May 27-29 in Salmon Arm, BC. This year's presenters and workshop leaders include mystery authors William Deverell and Michael Slade.



And TWO short story contests upcoming:


The Wolfe Island "Scene of the Crime"

SHORT MYSTERY STORY CONTEST, 2011
• Contest open to Canadian citizens or those resident in
Canada and not previously published in the mystery or crime
fiction genre.

First Prize: $100 Second Prize: $50 Third Prize: $35
Contest Guidelines

Robin Herrington Memorial Short Story Contest

• Adult category: 5000 word limit, prizes: $125, $100 and $75, plus two honourable mentions $25 each
• Student category (author is under 18 years old): 3000 word limit, prizes: $75, $50 and $35 plus two honourable mentions $20 each

Prize winners announced at When Words Collide a festival for readers, writers, artists, and publishers of imaginative fiction — Science Fiction, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller, Romance and other genres.

August 12-14, 2011 in Calgary, AB.


REMINDER: If you have news or upcoming events of general interest to Inksters and other Calgary-area mystery writers and readers, send them to info@mysterywritersink.com for inclusion in the next e-nnoucements.


Jayne Barnard
Secretary-Treasurer
Mystery Writers Ink