Past Meetings
Videos and podcasts of past meetings, such as these from the January 2010 meeting with Joyce Carol Oates, are available on the
members only page.
PODCAST
>> A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates
(Quick download for listening)
>> A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates
(Full download to save to your computer)
VIDEO
>> A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates: Part 1
>> A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates: Part 2
>> A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates: Part 3
» March 3, 2010
REALITY-BASED PLOT: MASS MURDER THREAT HAUNTS YOUR SCHOOL
Threat Assessment Expert, US Secret Service DSAC Robert J. Sica
Imagine a principal and teachers trying to identify a potential mass murder scheme by their own students. What have schools learned since Columbine? US Secret Service Deputy Special Agent in Charge, Robert Sica — who testified on this subject in 2007 to the House Committee on Homeland Security — tells us how the agency applies risk assessment expertise to the threat that haunts the halls of academia. Just the kind of intriguing, real-life material novelists research to create tense, attention-getting, relevant plots. PS: Do you know someone who’s a student? Join us on March 3!
» NOTE: MWA-NY programs vary from craft commentary, to market insights, to plot and character inspiration from law enforcement and forensic professionals. Most programs are recorded, but only with the consent of the program's speaker. Because members of law enforcement discussing sensitive information are not always in a position to provide authorization for recording, we regret we cannot offer a video of the March 3 talk by Deputy Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Sica of the US Secret Service New York Office. When we invite an agent or detective to speak, we also invite you to come hear their stories "live." See how the real mccoy might influence the characters of your imagination. Ask for a business card. We will also continue to do our best to provide audio and video recordings for your enjoyment at home.
» February 3, 2010
Tales from the Selling Floor
Moderated by Julia Pomeroy
Two top independent booksellers and a publisher's national sales accounts manager reveal how booksellers choose mysteries, deconstruct such subjects as signings, book tours, retailer-publisher-distributor relationships -- and delineate the Ideal Author. Otto Penzler, Owner, The Mysterious Bookshop, and Publisher; Kizmin Reeves, President, Partners & Crime, Inc.; Charline Spektor, Co-owner, BookHampton bookstores; A.J. (Andrew) Murphy, National Accounts Manager, Macmillan Publishers.
(Quick and Full downloads available on members page)
(Video of meeting available on members page)
» January 6, 2010
A Conversation with Joyce Carol Oates
by Star Black
"Most of my writing," Joyce Carol Oates once said, "is crime fiction in one way or another."
One of our most versatile writers, this winner of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize
finalist has created some of the most enduring fiction of our time. Join us for a rare
opportunity to hear Joyce Carol Oates in a hall with fewer than 500 seats. In conversation with MWA-NY board member,
acclaimed author and artist Jonathan Santlofer.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The National Arts Club
15 Gramercy Park South (a.k.a East 20th Street)
6 P.M. Cocktails 7 P.M. Dinner 8 P.M. Program
»December 2, 2009
The Winter Revels!
A joyous holiday celebration for the entire New York mystery community with special honorary Santas --
Mary and Carol Higgins Clark.
» November 11, 2009
View the handout: 
(Quick download for listening)
(Full download to save to your computer)
» October 7, 2009
(Quick download for listening)
(Full download to save to your computer)
» September 9, 2009
Laura Lippman Live at MWA-NY!
Introduced by Alafair Burke
Famed Tess Monaghan creator -- now reaping critical praise for "artistic breakthrough" with stand-alones, What the Dead Know and Life Sentences -- up from Baltimore especially to open our fall season. Now you know why you'd made no plans for September 9th!
(Quick download for listening)
(Full download to save to your computer)
» June 3, 2009
MANHATTAN SUPREME—
Greatest courtroom drama moments with reporter Irene Cornell
and courtroom artist Christine Cornell
John Gotti and Bernie Madoff may come and go, but two veteran members of the
media corps always are watching from the front rows of our local courtrooms.
For several decades, WCBS880 Radio Network reporter Irene Cornell and her
freelance courtroom artist sister, Christine Cornell, have been bringing the players
and the drama to life for listeners and viewers in the tri-state area --- and beyond.
When the Cornells bring their most memorable moments and insights to our
MWA-NY + SinC season finale, you'll get a summer's worth of inspiration
(Quick download for listening)
(Full download to save to your computer)
» April 29, 2009
2009 Edgar® Week Symposium
8:15 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Lighthouse International – Lighthouse Auditorium
111 E 59th Street (between Lexington and Park Avenues)
New York, NY 10022
Join us for an entire day of top-notch panels. Novice or pro, you’ll benefit from hearing the experts discuss their strategies for all facets of writing and publishing.
VISIT: http://www.theedgars.com/symposium.html
» April 1, 2009
AUTHORS & AGENTS: THE SEARCH FOR A MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIP
They meet. Fall in love. Tie the knot. Publish happily ever after.
Hear both sides of the story. How do authors hook up with a hot agent? Where do agents go to meet nice authors? Once you're hitched, how do you make the relationship grow? And what about breaking up? Who gets the books?
Authors Jeffrey Cohen and S.J. Rozan are paired up with their agents Christina Hogrebe and Steven Axelrod for a fun and informative discussion about building long-term literary relationships. Moderated by Chris Grabenstein.
» March 28, 2009
Jane Austen, Mystery Writer
2 to 4 p.m.
The Jane Austen Society/NY Chapter hosts MWA/NY Chapter at its March 28, 2009 meeting.
Jane K. Cleland will speak on the elements of a good traditional mystery and Peggy Ehrhart will discuss the mystery in Emma. Tea will be served and books will be available for purchase.
LOCATION: Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church, 7 West 54th Street (between 5 and 6th Avenues)
MEETING FEE: $30 for members, $40 for guests
» March 4, 2009
Special Agent X Won’t Tell You His Name,
Just How Investigators Really Solve Cases
As an FBI special agent and case supervisor for 12 years (and today as a PI and investigative
counsel), Special Agent X has worked crimes from the kidnapping of Calvin Klein’s nine-year-old
daughter and the fleecing of helpless victims, to the mass murder of Pan Am 103 passengers over
Lockerbie, Scotland, to police corruption in the NYPD.
Don’t miss this chance to hear nitty gritty stories from which you’ll glean amazing plot ideas
and character insights -- and be sure to use this opportunity to query an investigator's investigator(who’d rather not publicize his name, thank you, on a postcard mass mailing).
» February 24, 2009:
The Mentor Panel:
How to Write & Sell Your First Mystery: Lessons from the Trenches
You've finished writing your mystery. It's been critiqued and polished. Now what? Marcia Markland, Editor Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's Press and Jessica Faust Literary Agent with BookEnds, LLC will discuss the challenges of getting the mystery published, describe the submission process, offer examples of do's and don'ts, and provide practical tips for improving your manuscript, synopsis, and query letter. Catherine Maiorisi will moderate.
(Quick download for listening)
(Full download to save to your computer)
» February 4, 2009
The Seven Mysteries Every Mystery Writer Must Read
Hear MWA’s Mystery Authority
Barry T. Zeman
It’s hard to write a fresh, original mystery if you don’t know the classics that have come before. Find out the all-time top seven mystery titles chosen by MWA National’s archivist-historian,
BARRY T. ZEMAN, the expert on mystery collections who has been known to face a hotel ballroom
full of librarians and whip them into a mystery-buying frenzy. It wasn’t easy (even for Zeman)
to select the seven Mystery Must Reads from the crowded field of greats, especially in a genre
with so many sub-genres. But, on February 4th, Barry will reveal his top seven titles at this
MWA-NY dinner exclusive.
» January 7, 2009
What they want from you now
Top mystery editors reveal all
Moderated by Larry Light
What are publishers looking for in 2009? What works?
What doesn't? What's the best way to approach them?
What shouldn't you do? Our panelists are from two large publishing houses: St. Martin's Minotaur,
Kelley Ragland, executive editor, and Mira Books,
Linda McFall, senior editor; a paperback original imprint: Dorchester Leisure,
Don D'Auria, executive editor;
and
a small publisher – Oceanview, Bob Gussin, CEO.
To hear their secrets and the latest inside scuttlebutt,
join us on January 7, 2009!
DON D'AURIA is the executive editor of Leisure Books. He has worked in publishing for over twenty years and for thirteen of those years has been directing Leisure's horror, western and, most recently, thriller lines. In that time, he launched and developed the thriller line, and the horror line increased from eight titles per year to twenty-four. Some of Don's books have won Bram Stoker Awards, Du Maurier Awards, Spur Awards and World Fantasy Awards. Don received a special award from the International Horror Guild for his contribution to the horror genre. Over the years, he has worked with many Edgar Award nominated authors, such as Max Allan Collins, David Housewright, and Andrew Coburn.
BOB GUSSIN, MD, was Johnson & Johnson's chief scientific officer. When he retired, he and his wife Pat Gussin (also a doctor), were both lifelong mystery buffs, so they decided they wanted to follow their passion and start a thriller/mystery publishing business. Oceanview is three years old.
KELLEY RAGLAND began at St. Martin’s Press in 1993 as an editorial assistant, acquired her first mystery in 1994, was involved in the conception of St. Martin’s Minotaur, which launched in 1999, and is now executive editor of Minotaur. Her taste in crime fiction runs the gamut from lighter to hardboiled, and she edits a range of mystery and thriller authors, including Chelsea Cain, Dana Stabenow, Linda Barnes, Jeffrey Archer, and Olen Steinhauer. Born and raised in St. Louis, she now she lives in New York with her family and considers herself a hardened New Yorker.
LINDA MCFALL has worked in publishing as both a publicist and an editor at Picador, Viking/Penguin, St. Martin’s Press, and Mira. She is currently a Senior Editor at Mira specializing in thrillers and commercial women’s fiction. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.
