This Sunday, September 25, kicks off the six-day Fall for the Book Festival at George Mason University and at locations throughout Northern Virginia, DC, and Maryland. This year, the festival has a strong line-up of mystery and suspense events, and I’m pleased to be part of a couple of panels as a moderator; see below. The full schedule of crime fiction programming also includes appearances by Edith Maxwell (a preview event on Saturday, September 24), by Colleen Shogan and T. Dasu (on Monday, September 26), by Allison Leotta (on Tuesday, September 27), and by Lyndsay Faye (on Thursday, September 29).
Here’s where I’ll be part of the program myself:
Sunday, Sept. 25, 4 p.m. • Sisters in Crime: Mystery Writers Panel (I’m moderating the program)
Sherwood Center, 3740 Old Lee Highway, Fairfax, VA
Three regional chapters of Sisters in Crime join forces to discuss—and celebrate!—their recent anthologies of mystery fiction: Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (from the Chesapeake Chapter) andVirginia is for Mysteries, Volume 2 (from the Central and Southeastern Virginia Chapters). Editors and contributors include Donna Andrews, Diane Davidson (half of the writing duo Maddi Davidson), Maria Hudgins, and Heather Weidner. Sisters in Crime is a national organization whose mission is “to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition and professional development of women crime writers.”
Monday, Sept. 26, 1:30 p.m. • Elizabeth Hand (I’m introducing her)
Sandy Spring Bank Tent, Johnson Center North Plaza, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Elizabeth Hand is the author of the crime novels that follow off-beat, punk photographer Cass Nealy, who has been described as “one of literature’s great noir anti-heroes.” Hard Light,the newest book in the series, finds Cass on the run, fearing for her life after her boyfriend disappears. Publisher’s Weekly praises Cass for “conveying an expert’s knowledge of the 1970s East Village punk scene, Iron Age rituals, Paleolithic icons, and the intricacies of photography and film noir…. Gripping.”
Thursday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m. • Mystery Writers of America, Mid-Atlantic Chapter Mystery Writers Panel (I’m moderating the panel)
Merten Hall, Room 1203, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
Maya Corrigan’s Five-Ingredient Mystery series is a blend of rich flavor and suspense. She is a winner of the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Unpublished Mystery / Suspense. Her newest book is Final Fondue. Shawn Reilly Simmons is the author of the Red Carpet Catering mystery series, which “delivers a buffet of appealing characters, irresistible movie-industry details, and tantalizing plot twists.” The third book in the series is Murder on a Designer Diet.David Swinson’s recent novel The Second Girl is one of Booklist’s Best Crime Novels of the Year, called a “gritty knockout debut that screams for a series.” Dan Fesperman is the author of the new atmospheric literary thriller, The Letter Writer, set in Manhattan in 1942, just months after Pearl Harbor. Sponsored by the Mystery Writers of America Mid-Atlantic Chapter.
For complete information on the festival, visit www.fallforthebook.org.