Atlanta Chapter Sisters in Crime

RWA® Kiss of Death This chapter of the Romance Writers of America® was formed by writers world-wide to promote and support the reading and writing of suspense and mystery fiction with strong romantic elements. It is the fastest growing RWA® chapter with over 1000 members.

Western Writers of America

Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Horror Writers of America

CONFERENCES

Mystery Conferences

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Sleuthfest 2008 Feb. 28-March 2, 2008, Deerfield Beach, Florida. Presented by the Mystery Writers of America Florida Chapter, the event features Guest of Honor Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels, and Forensic Guest of Honor Doug Lyle, Macavity Award winning and Edgar Award nominated author of "Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers." During special Third Degree Thursday events, Sleuthfest features three tracks of hands-on instruction from bestselling, award-winning masters of the craft. The faculty includes Joan Johnston on writing that un-put-down-able novel, P.J. Parrish (aka Kristy Montee/Kelly Nichols) on strengthening your writing muscles, and Elaine Viets on character development for the short story. There will also be a workshop on the editing and revision for suspense/thriller writers, headed by Jeremiah Healey.

Left Coast Crime "Murder On The Rocks" March 6-9, 2008, Denver, Colorado. After a trip to Seattle, Washington, in 2007, Left Coast Crime, one of the largest crime fiction conventions in the U.S., will be going to the Rocky Mountains in 2008. Guest of Honor Stephen White, Toastmaster Elaine Viets, and Fan Guest of Honor Michael Masliah.

Malice Domestic XX April 25-27, 2008, Arlington, Virginia. International Guest of Honor Lindsey Davis, Guest of Honor Charlaine Harris, Toastmaster Daniel Stashower, and Lifetime Achievement Award Peter Lovesey. Established in 1989, Malice Domestic is an annual convention in metropolitan Washington, D.C., saluting the traditional mystery (books best typified by the works of Agatha Cristie).

Mayhem in the Midlands May 22-25, 2008, Omaha, Nebraska. Annual mystery conference sponsored by Omaha Public Library, Omaha's Sisters in Crime chapter, and Lincoln City Libraries. Small event limited to 200 attendees so you could have the chance to meet many authors, including 2008's Guest of Honor Alex Kava and Toastmaster of Honor Jeff Abbott.

Bloody Words June 2-8, 2008, Toronto, Ontario. Cancelled in 2007, this annual event moves back to Toronto for 2008. Guest of Honor Rosemary Aubert. Canada's oldest and largest gathering of mystery readers and authors, Bloody Words features author panels, workshops, book signings, the Hammett Awards, the infamous Bony Pete short story contest, and more.

Hardboiled Heroes and Cozy Cats June 13-14, 2008, Dallas, Texas. Annual mystery conference sponsored by Mystery Wristers of America's Southwest chapter. Special guests include Keynote Speaker Tony Hillerman and Guest of Honor (and featured speaker) Jan Burke. There will be a number of speakers and panels designed to polish the craft of aspiring writers and published authors alike. The event concludes with a banquet on Saturday evening.

Deadly Ink June 20-22, 2008, Parsippany, New Jersey. Guest of Honor Jane K. Cleland and Toastmaster Troy Cook. Jane Cleland, Robin Hathaway, Eileen Watkins, Troy Cook, Chris Grabenstein, Chris Abbott, Cheryl Solimini, Ed Rand, Roberta Rogow, David Brollier, Kate Gallison, Selma Eichler, Jack Getze , Jeff Cohen, M.E. Kemp, and Peggy Ehrhart will be among the panelists at Deadly Ink 2008. There will also be a writer's workshop entitled "Murderous Intent" as well as author book signings and other activities, including the annual Awards Dinner.

ThrillerFest July 9-12, 2008, Grand Hyatt, Manhattan. Along with last year's ThrillerMaster Award Winner James Patterson, authors Dr. Kathy Reichs, Brad Thor, and Eric Van Lustbader will be the Spotlight Guests. Sandra Brown will receive the ThrillerMaster 2008 Award. Events include an all-day CraftFest on Thursday, a cocktail party and readers reception on Friday, and panels, author book signings, and the Thriller Awards Banquet on Saturday.

Killer Nashville August 15-17, 2008, Nashville, Tennesssee. More details to be announced soon! 2007's event featured Guest of Honor Michael Connelly, Master of Ceremonies Daniel J. Hale, authors Hallie Ephron, Chris Grabenstein, P.J. Parrish, Rhonda Pollero, Chris Roerden, Chuck Samborchino, and Clay Stafford, Guest Agent Donna Bagdasarian, and Guest Editor MaryGlenn McCombs of Oceanview Publishing.

St. Hilda's Crime & Mystery Weekend August 15-18, 2008, St. Hilda's College, Oxford, UK. More information to be added soon! 2007's Guest of Honor was Val McDermid, Conference Chair was Andrew Taylor. Speakers included: Simon Brett, Colin Dexter, Dorothy Cannell, Natasha Cooper, PD James, Margaret Maron, Jill Paton Walsh, Anne Perry, Nancy Pickard, Danuta Reah, Rosemary Rowe. An established part of the UK crime fiction scene and one of its longest running events, the St. Hilda's weekend, a small, highly esteemed symposium held every year in August, focuses on crime fiction with an emphasis on women writers of the genre.

Bouchercon 39 "Charmed to Death" October 9-12, 2008, Baltimore, Maryland. American Guest of Honor Laura Lippman, International Guest of Honor John Harvey, Toastmaster Mark Billingham, Lifetime Achievement Award Winners Robert Rosenwald & Barbara Peters, Distinguished Contribution to the Genre Award Laurence Block, and Fan Guest of Honor Thalia Proctor.

Cape Fear Crime Festival October, 2008, Wilmington, NC. More details to follow. 2007's festival featured Guest of Honor Jon Jfferson (one half of the writing team of Jefferson Bass, authors of the "Body Farm" mysteries), Keynote Speaker William Bernhardt, and Rookie of the Year John Hart. Spend your Halloween weeking rubbing elbows with crime writers and crime fighters on the scenic southeastern coast of North Carolina. The three-day event includes author readings, book signings, panel discussions, and films, as well as evening readings and morning brunches, and other entertainment and special events.

Magna cum Murder October 24-26, 2008, Muncie, Indiana. Annual conference (also known as the Magna cum Murder Crime Writing Festival) for scholars, fans and writers, established in 1994. Guest of Honor Louise Penny, Banquet Keynote Speaker Sharon Randall. Over 40 writers participate in the weekend of panels, programs, interviews and presentations focusing on crime fiction. Sponsored by Ball State University.

Sisters In Crime Forensic U 2008 Information to be added soon. "50 Ways to Catch a Killer" November 1-4, 2007, St. Louis, Missouri. Interactive conference where attendees have the opportunity to learn from professionals who work in the field of forensics every day. Faculty include Dr. D.P. Lyle, author of Forensics for Dummies, Lee Lofland, retired detective and author of Police Procedure & Investigation: A Guide for Writers (coming out in July 2007), Eileen Dryer, RN and award-winning author, and Keynote Speaker Jan Burke, bestselling author of the Irene Kelly mysteries and crime lab advocate. Attendance limited to 200.

New England Crime Bake November 14-16, 2008, a joint Sisters in Crime/MWA event, will be held at the HIlton Hotel in Dedham, Massachusetts. 2008's Guest of Honor is Harlan Coben. (The 2007 Guest of Honor was Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher novels.) Event also features the Al Blanchard Crime Story Contest (entries due April 30, 2008 - winner published in Level Best Books' 6th anthology of crime fiction and receives $100 prize as well as admission to conference, New England's premier mystery event).

Murder in the Magic City February, 2009, Birmingham, Alabama. Annual one-day mystery conference sponsored by Southern Sisters (the readers group of Birmingham's local Sisters in Crime chapter), Homewood Library and Crosshaven Books.

Left Coast Crime "Say Aloha to Murder" March 7-12, 2009, The Big Island, Hawaii. After a trip to Denver, Colorado, in 2008, Left Coast Crime, one of the largest crime fiction conventions in the U.S., will be going to Hawaii in 2009. Co-Guests of Honor Ryhs Bowen and Barry Eisler, Toastmaster Lee Goldberg, Fan Guests of Honor Vallery Feldman and Pam Dehnke, and Ghost of Honor Earl Derr Biggers.

Bouchercon 40 "Elementary, My Dear Indy!" October 15-18, 2009, Indianapolis, Indiana. Guest of Honor Michael Connelly, Toastmaster S. J. Rozan, and Fan Guest of Honor Kathryn Kennison.

Another source of information about Mystery-related conferences not mentioned here is ClueLass where you can link to her Deadly Directory Online which lists numerous mystery conventions and events.

General Conferences

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ShawGuides - The Guide to Writers Conferences Information on literally hundreds of conferences around the world. For information on mystery-specific conferences, go to their Mystery Conferences listings.

MYSTERY GENRE

Genre-Related Sites

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ClueLass Absolutely the BEST place to start. Kate Derie's ClueLass site has up to date information on all aspects of the mystery genre. Kate also has links to genre site that aren't included here. CHECK IT OUT!

Mysterious Women Quarterly newsletter for fans of women mystery writers by Kathleen Swanholt.

Tangled Web Crime and mystery fiction site based in UK.

The Gumshoe Site

The History of the Mystery

Internet Crimewriting Network

DorothyL Listserv/Newsgroup

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How to subscribe to DOROTHYL to receive the e-mail (digest) version. (You may also find instructions on the official Dorothy L website.)

If your browser supports forms, go to The Crozet Post Office for the easiest sign on possiblity. You can also use the Crozet Post Office to go nomail, sign off, get files, etc.

Otherwise, send an email to: listserv@listserv.kent.edu. Leave the subject line blank (or put a period here if your mail program won't let you leave it blank). In the body of the email, type SUBSCRIBE DOROTHYL yourfirstname yourlastname. Of course, replace "yourfirstname" and "yourlastname" with YOUR first name and last name.

If your browser is configured to view newsgroups, you can read bit.listserv.dorothyl (DOROTHYL in the Newsgroup version).

THE WRITER'S REFERENCE SHELF

Names and Naming Characters

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All the Baby Names Hundreds of unique names and their meanings.

Baby Names!

Baby Name Chooser At a loss? This site will randomly select a male or female name. Try it!

Social Security Administration Name Distributions Lists most popular names by decade!

Other Sources of Baby Names

Frequently Occuring Names in America U.S. Census compilation.

Popular Names in Regions of the U.S.

The Etymology of Names

Names and the Naming System in Japanese

People Finder It's like having all the phone books in the country at your fingertips.

Arab Names Logical structure to Arab naming conventions.

Baby Names and their meanings in India

Last Names in India

What's in YOUR Name? - Fantastic site offering detailed descriptions of thousands of names, you can also search for names by country.

Distances and Maps

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MapQuest Door-to-door and city-to-city distances calculated for you.

City Maps Give city, address, or zip code and it'll produce a map for you.

Countries etc.

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US Population Clock

World Population Clock

World Rulers

Miscellaneous

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Statistical Abstract of the United States They have many of the popular tables online for instant access.

Local Times Around the World

Greenwich Mean Time

World Time Zones

Time Zone Converter Now, how many hours apart are we?

Measurement Unit Translation Convert just about any unit of measurement.

Calendar Conversion Ever wonder what day of the week a certain day fell on?

Computer Almanac All kinds of statistics on computer usage around the world.

The Universal Currency Converter

Newspapers

Fast Food Finder Nutritional information about all kinds of fast food.

The International Lyrics Server Full-text song lyrics database. You can find the lyrics to just about any song!

Lyrics for Top 40 Hits: 1930-1998

Ask an Expert Links to experts who'll answer your questions on virtually any topic.

CRIME WRITER LINKS

Police and Police Procedure

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Police Officer's Internet Directory, this is the only police web site you need to bookmark. Everything on the web that's law enforcement related can be found here, arranged in an orderly, easy to navigate fashion.

The Atlanta Police Department

Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI)

Police "Ten" Codes

Links RE Crime and Police

Crime Scene Investigation Page

Crime Scene Evidence FileAn Interactive Crime Scene Investigation.

The Bodyguard Page This site is a tremendous resource for info on self-defense (including firearms, martial arts, terrorism, etc.

Police Federation of England & Wales Links to police forces in the United Kingdom

Investigative Techniques

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Private Investigator Certificate Course offered by the University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education

International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts Homepage

Data Discovery This is a service which helps investigators discover criminal evidence on computers. Even though it's a service, they have lots of useful information about computers and crime.

Investigations.com Established in 1994 with the intent of being the Internet's most Comprehensive Web Page dedicated to providing Marketing, Networking, Resources and Referrals for Private Investigators!

Questioned Documents Examination Page Lots of info on handwriting analysis.

The Norwitch Document Laboratory Homepage Questioned documents examination. VERY informative!

The Fire & Arson Investigations Website

Shoeprint and Footprint Comparisons

Shoeprints and Tire Tracks A literature review of articles on shoeprints and tire tracks.

LSI SCAN Home Page Scientific Content Analysis. VERY interesting site. It shows how you can interpret statements given to the police or media.

Yoknapatawpha County Law Enforcement Crime Scene Evidence File Help solve the murder of Valerie Wilson, a resident of Yoknapatawpha County and assist in the apprehension of the accused. Fictional crime.

Courts and the Law

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FindLaw Just what it says. If you want to find the details of a particular law, here's where to look. Amazing site!

State and Federal Court Rules for ALL states in the U.S.

Law Research Search Engine

Extralegal Activities

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Guide to Lock Picking

Guns

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Glock by Goran All kinds of technical info about Glocks.

The Gun Page General information about guns.

The Unnofficial Tommy Gun Page

rec.guns FAQ Home Page Tons of info on guns (including sounds!).

Handgun Info for Women and Southpaws - Very useful!

Other Crime and Forensic Links

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Autopsy Diagrams A collection of diagrams (in .jpg file format) developed by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner.

Armed Forces Institute of Pathology

The Virtual Autopsy Excellent case studies that include pictures; a tutorial in basic anatomy and physiology.

The Routine Autopsy Detailed description of autopsy protocol.

Johns Hopkins Autopsy Resource Image Archive 5,000 black and white images from AFIP fascicles.

Zeno's Forensics Page A large, but well organized, collection of links.

PathMax A comprehensive site designed by a pathologist, Shawn E. Cowper, MD, for pathology education.

Mystery Writers of Northern California Great collection of links for mystery writers.

ClueLass' Links for Crime Writers

Virtual World of Spies and Intelligence You name it this site has a link to it. Including info on "how to recognize a letter bomb."

The Routine Autopsy This is an article that provides "an authentic detailed narrative account of a routine ... autopsy." Written by a pathologist.

Coroner FAQ Answers to questions commonly asked of coroners.

The Coroner's Report Information and Resources on Gang Intervention and Prevention.

THE WORLD OF PUBLISHING

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Authorlink Touted as a "unique information and news service for writers, literary agents and editors. Showcasing and matching quality manuscripts to publishers' needs. We're not agents. No copying or linking without permission."

Writers Write: Internet Writing Journal All kinds of information for writers. It offers everthing from guidelines for various paying sources to industry news. Check it out!

Literary Agent Finder The woman who runs this site helps writers find agents. She was recommended by one of our members.

Books Out of Print - Internet Edition Search books out of print.

MISCELLANY

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The Center for Southern Literature Located at the Margaret Mitchell House and Museum in Atlanta, the Center for Southern Literature hosts a variety of writers and journalists throughout the year in their popular Book Bash events as well as five on-going series of literary events - the Literary Salon series featuring popular authors, the Agents of Change series, the Six Degrees of Separation series, the History in Our Time series, the Meet the Press series, and the Emerging Writers series. Writers who have participated in these events include Nelson DeMille, Pat Conroy, Candace Bushnell, Tom Wolfe, Nora Roberts, Jeffery Deaver, Jane Smiley, Alexander McCall Smith, John Berendt, and numerous others. The Center also hosts creative writing (fiction and non-fiction) classes for adults and children and hosts an annual youth writing camp each summer.

L.A. County Coroner's Office Gift Shop Great place! Thanks, Karen Kennedy, for recommending we add this link. Take a gander!

Review and Recipe from the Alfred Hitchcock classic, "Marnie," at DifferentDrummer.cc This site features reviews and recipes for signature dishes from current, rental, and classic/crime films with easy-to-follow directions to recreate them for cozy meals at home or that special dinner party. It is presided over by Kathy Borich of the Heart of Texas Sisters in Crime chapter.

SEARCH ENGINES

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WHICH SEARCH ENGINE DO I USE?

Ask Jeeves

I recently heard about this site and it's wonderful for those of you who don't really want to worry about specific search engine techniques or if you're just in a hurry. You type in a question and Jeeves does the work for you. That's about all there is to it. No need to remember any fancy techniques. Just type and hit send. Very useful.

HotBot

When you are looking for a SPECIFIC term or terms HotBot is the best place to start. It will automatically search for ALL the terms you list. In other words, if you put as search terms, body decay rate it will look only for pages with ALL three of these terms. Most search engines will call up all pages with at least one of the terms in it.

Yahoo!

If you are looking for something that falls into specific CATEGORY then Yahoo! is the place to start. For instance, you want to find a site that will give you current currency exchange rates. Go to Travel (listed under Recreation and Sports), then Currency Exchange. If you want a newspaper in Peoria, Illinois. Go to Newspapers (listed under News and Xtra), then Regional, then States, then Illinois. Yahoo! is very well organized and will be useful for cateogry type searches.

AltaVista
Excite
Lycos
WebCrawler

Since not all web sites are listed with all search engines, you'll want to check several. Those listed to the left here are general search engines (with the capability of some category searches). Here's a hint for these search engines. If you put in the terms body decay rate they will look for pages with at least one of these terms. If you want to make sure that all the pages it finds has ALL three words in them, then put a plus (+) sign in front of each word. For instance, you'd put in the box +body +decay +rate. You can also use the minus (-) sign to eliminate terms. For instance, you want to know about insane asylums in Paris, France. You could search with +Paris +insane +asylum -Texas. The (minus) Texas will elimate pages on insane asylums in Paris, Texas.

WHICH SEARCH ENGINE DO I USE?
Ask Jeeves	I recently heard about this site and it's wonderful for those of you who don't really want to worry about specific search engine techniques or if you're just in a hurry. You type in a question and Jeeves does the work for you. That's about all there is to it. No need to remember any fancy techniques. Just type and hit send. Very useful.
HotBot	When you are looking for a SPECIFIC term or terms HotBot is the best place to start. It will automatically search for ALL the terms you list. In other words, if you put as search terms, `body decay rate` it will look only for pages with ALL three of these terms. Most search engines will call up all pages with at least one of the terms in it.
Yahoo!	If you are looking for something that falls into specific CATEGORY then Yahoo! is the place to start. For instance, you want to find a site that will give you current currency exchange rates. Go to Travel (listed under Recreation and Sports), then Currency Exchange. If you want a newspaper in Peoria, Illinois. Go to Newspapers (listed under News and Xtra), then Regional, then States, then Illinois. Yahoo! is very well organized and will be useful for cateogry type searches.
AltaVista Excite Lycos WebCrawler	Since not all web sites are listed with all search engines, you'll want to check several. Those listed to the left here are general search engines (with the capability of some category searches). Here's a hint for these search engines. If you put in the terms `body decay rate` they will look for pages with at least one of these terms. If you want to make sure that all the pages it finds has ALL three words in them, then put a plus (+) sign in front of each word. For instance, you'd put in the box `+body +decay +rate`. You can also use the minus (-) sign to eliminate terms. For instance, you want to know about insane asylums in Paris, France. You could search with `+Paris +insane +asylum -Texas`. The (minus) Texas will elimate pages on insane asylums in Paris, Texas.

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