* EVENTS *
Some events I'm involved in are virtual and some are in person! As hard as I try, I don't always keep this page current. I'm better at keeping my Facebook page and my blog up to date, so check there for more information.
Registration is open for New England Crime Bake 2024 event with the amazing Gabino Iglesias as our Guest of Honor! Held at the Boston/Dedham Hilton November 8 - 10, this annual conference is the premier mystery and crime writers' event. (And BTW: I share the pages with Gabino in CRIME HITS HOME!)
As Co-Chair of New England Crime Bake, I'd be remiss if I didn't invite you to our 2023 event with the amazing Deborah Crombie as our Guest of Honor! Held at the Boston/Dedham Hilton November 10 - 12, this annual conference is the premier mystery and crime writers' event.
Need more information about this event? Check out my blog for details on the
Newburyport Literary Festival and these terrific authors!
Saturday, October 16, 2021
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10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
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This program is online and registration is required.
Click Here
It’s every writer’s nightmare. You read something that is just way too familiar, and it’s attributed to someone else. What do you do?
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Maybe it’s your own work that doesn’t pass the sniff test. What exposes you to infringement claims, and how do you avoid pitfalls?
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But wait! There’s more! What about that satirical rant you made on your blog? Or the character you put in your story that was heavily inspired by your (former) pal’s main character?
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This session will make you think about inspirations, ideas, and words. It will introduce you to the ways writers can protect their work and themselves and will provide a basic understanding of current laws by highlighting recent cases. It will not, however, keep you out of trouble if you make an unwise decision.
As an alumna of Vermont Law School, I'm looking forward to speaking with "Swans" about my book, "The Troubles," and answering the inevitable questions of what life is like outside the confines of a career in law! Details on how to get a link to the event can be found here:
https://connect.vermontlaw.edu/events-calendar?cid=2&ceid=1064&cerid=0&cdt=9%2f30%2f2021
This event is open to Vermont Law School alumni and guests.
Date: Thursday, September 30, 2021
Time: 7:30 pm ET
May is Mystery Month at the Freethinker's Corner Bookstore
This wonderful bookstore is a book lover's dream. It's small and fiercely independent--perfect for finding your next unexpectedly favorite book. For the month of May, they are hosting many mystery and crime writers, so please click through to their website and see who else you'd love to hear.
13,
Online Event:
Thursday, May 13 at 7:00 pm ET
Registration link below.
Join us as we speak to New England mystery writer, Connie Johnson Hambley. Connie is a two-time winner of Best Fiction at the EQUUS Film Festival in New York City for "The Troubles," and "The Wake," thrillers of terrorism and identity found. "The Charity" is the first book in that trilogy. When writing her thrillers, every bit of personal experience is used by Connie to create a story that is as believable as it is suspenseful.
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This event is FREE, but registration is required at this link...
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/may-is-for-mystery-w-connie-johnson-hambley-tickets-150666295947
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From the Freethinker's website:
"Using her law and investment background in ways unique, creative, but not altogether logical, she has enjoyed robust professional pursuits which include writing for Bloomberg BusinessWeek, Massachusetts High Tech, and Nature Biotechnology. Proving that truth can be stranger than fiction, her experience at a major bank in Boston introduced her to the clever schemes people dream up to launder money. She is an experienced and dynamic public speaker and looks forward to entertaining her next audience and sneaking knowledge into them with humor. Connie's books are available in-store and through the website HERE."
April 25, 2020, 12:15 pm via ZOOM
Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England
Newburyport Literary Festival, Newburyport, MA
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Give a panel of talented authors names, setting, motives, weapon and more, then sit back and enjoy the fun as they create a brand new murder mystery on the spot!
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Join Sisters in Crime New England authors Richard J. Cass, Lorraine Sharma Nelson, Gerald Elias, and Connie Johnson Hambley as they build a story with YOUR clues while pulling back the curtain on the writing process! From each suggestion, the authors will talk about what goes into each decision and how one small detail can alter an entire story. Join us for this interactive and fast-paced improv with authors and enjoy the fun as they create a brand new murder mystery on the spot!
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2020 EVENTS
Saturday, November 7, 2020, 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM ET
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I'm beyond proud to be Co-Chair of this terrific conference.
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The New England Crime Bake is the premier conference for writers and lovers of crime writing in New England. Held every Veteran’s Day weekend, Friday through Sunday, Crime Bake has sold out annually for almost a decade. This year, that pesky virus is keeping us apart, so we've gone virtual! The conference is FREE this year and more of you can join us!
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Jointly sponsored by the New England chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, Crime Bake is a learning experience, a networking opportunity, and a wonderful time. Attendees include writers at all stages of their careers, representing every genre in crime writing, including mystery, thriller, suspense, YA, historical, and true crime. In addition to writers, the conference appeals to all lovers of reading and crime, including librarians, booksellers, agents, editors, publishers, and fans.
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VISIT THE CRIME BAKE WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION
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Thursday, August 20, 2020, 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM
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Host: Wilmington Memorial Library, Wilmington, Massachusetts
This is a virtual event. Link will be given upon request to the library or use contact link on this website.
Your Ideas. Our crime.
In the fun, fast-paced improv virtual event, authors, Connie Hambley, Edith Maxwell, Dale T. Phillips, and Lorraine Sharma Nelson, will brain storm to create a brand new mystery, using suggestions from the audience.
Contact any host for information and a link to the event.
Thursday, October 29, 2020, 7:00 PM until 8:00 PM
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Host: Leominster Public Library
This is a virtual event. Link will be given upon request to the library or use contact link on this website.
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Join current past presidents of Sisters in Crime New England Kate Flora, Sharon Daynard and Ruth McCarty and current president Connie Johnson Hambley for an insiders view of writing crime and managing a herd of creative minds. Easier said than done!
April 25, 2020, 3:00 pm via ZOOM
Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England
Newburyport Literary Festival, Newburyport, MA
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Give a panel of talented authors names, setting, motives, weapon and more, then sit back and enjoy the fun as they create a brand new murder mystery on the spot! Join authors Joanna Schaffhausen, Bruce Robert Coffin, Carolyn Wilkins and Connie Johnson Hambley as they build a story while pulling back the curtain on the writing process! Special Note: This will be the first time our popular Mystery Making panel will be presented via video, no doubt adding to the fun for all!
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October 17, 2020, 8:30 - 4:30
603 Writers Conference/New Hampshire Writers Project
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In this 90 minute video workshop, participants will be introduced to the many paths of a successful writing life. Far from being done after writing “The End,” a successful career in writing requires outreach and promotion, two things many writers find difficult. From building an author platform, to understanding your author brand, to the tools available for promotion, participants will explore free and fee-based platforms and services all designed to amplify your message and reach your core readers. Any single aspect of promotion could merit a day-long workshop in itself. From blogging to social media, to data mining via Amazon, participants will sample from an array of tools to determine which will work best for them.
The 603 Writers Conference is an event sponsored by the New Hampshire Writers Project.
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Event Cancelled: May 9, 2020, 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wendy Corsi Staub Workshop with Sisters in Crime New England
Publick House, Sturbridge MA
Sadly, due to COVID-19, this event may be rescheduled in the future. Please keep your eye here or on my Facebook page for updates. Better yet..."like" my page for immediate updates!
New York Times best-selling author Wendy Corsi Staub will present a day-long workshop to members and friends. Wendy created an exclusive workshop for our regional authors on "We Never Saw That Coming." This workshop will offer tools you can use right away in your own writing to craft solid suspense fiction that keeps the reader guessing.
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Event Rescheduled so sometime in 2020
Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England
Langley Adams Library, Groveland, MA
What happens when you put five creative and accomplished authors together on a panel and throw motives and weapons at them? You'll have to come to this event to find out! Authors Edith Maxwell, Amy Ray, Robin Hazard Ray, Sarah Smith, Connie Johnson Hambley will take clues, names, settings and more from the audience and improvise a new murder mystery on the spot!
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June 12, 2020, 8:30am - 3:30 pm ... hopefully...
Hudson Valley/New York State Elder Abuse Conference
New Windsor, New York
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Please refer back to this page for updates.
Sadly, as America's population ages, the incidences of elder abuse rise. I'll be speaking on the ugly realities of elder financial abuse and why our aging friends are the perfect victims for a range of crimes.
January 13, 2020, 6:30
Langley Adams Library, Groveland, MA
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Don't you just love talking about that great book you just read with a handful of friends? Join the avid readers of the Langley-Adams book club as we talk about my books. Explore Northern Ireland, family secrets, misguided love and so much more!
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2019 EVENTS
New England Crime Bake Writers Conference
November 8 - 10, 2019
Woburn Hilton
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I'll be moderating a panel on the "Book Business Insider: Trends and
Tactics for Today’s Marketplace," with an independent publisher, an experienced book marketer, and two popular book bloggers. We'll engage in a wide-ranging discussion of what’s hot, what’s not, what’s working, what’s not—and what that means for you and your work.
Who are my panelists? Amy Collins, Ed Vincent, Dru Ann Love, and Kris Zgorksi! I know! Amazing, right? The panel is Saturday at 11:20 AM
The New England Crime Bake is the premier conference for writers and lovers of crime writing in New England. Jointly sponsored by the New England chapters of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America, Crime Bake is a learning experience, a networking opportunity, and a wonderful time. Attendees include writers at all stages of their careers, representing every genre in crime writing, including mystery, thriller, suspense, YA, historical, and true crime. In addition to writers, the conference appeals to all lovers of reading and crime, including librarians, booksellers, agents, editors, publishers, and fans.
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As president of the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, I want to meet as many readers and writers in our beautiful six states as possible! Will I be close by? I'd love to meet you! Still too far to travel? Ask your local library or book store to invite me! I promise to bring some author pals!
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July 10, 7 - 9 pm, Maynard Public Library, Maynard, MA
Mystery Making: In this interactive workshop, mystery authors representing different sub-genres, including cozy/traditional and thriller/suspense, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery using suggestions provided by the audience. Fun, fast-paced, and fascinating, this improv game offers important insights into mystery writers’ minds and the conventions of the genre.
Authors Kate Flora, Connie Johnson Hambley, and Clea Simon will commit and solve a crime all while weaving together clues, motives, and characters supplied by the audience.
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July 17, West Hartford, CT, private Road Trip event
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July 26-28, Bookstock Literary Festival, Woodstock, VT: Sisters in Crime New England will be at the Bookstock Literary Festival, Vermont's premier festival of words! See you there!
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August 5, Windsor, VT, private Road Trip event
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September 10, 7 - 9 pm, Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, ME: Mystery Making! Authors Connie Johnson Hambley, Edith Maxwell, and Dick Cass will commit and solve a crime all while weaving a story with clues and characters given to them by the audience!
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25TH ANNIVERSARY GALA AND WORKSHOP
April 6, 2019 10:30 AM to 3:30 PM
Concord Colonial Inn, Concord, MA
More information: www.sincne.org
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Whoo Hoo! Our New England chapter of Sisters in Crime will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a gala luncheon and workshop on taking control of your writing career! I'm so proud to be the president of this amazing organization.
Come! Learn! Network! Eat! Laugh!
CRIMECONN: LAWYERS, GUNS, AND MONEY
May 18, 2019
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Ferguson Library, Stamford, CT
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This annual event in Connecticut is a crime fan favorite. The day long conference brings together fans and writers of the best crime fiction. I'll be speaking on a panel with other lawyers who write with Anthony Franze and Charles Salzberg. Richie Narvaez, past president of MWA NYC chapter, is moderating what is sure to be a lively discussion!
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MYSTERY MAKING PANEL!
May 11, 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Freethinkers Corner Bookstore, Dover, NH
Murder and mayhem on the spur of the moment! Audience members provide characters, setting, motives, and more and the authors create the crimes! Joining me as panelists for this fun, fast-placed interactive work shop in which authors from different mystery sub-genres create plots using information supplied by the audience, will be Charlene D’Avanzo, Toni Kelner, and Dale Phillips.
MAINE CRIME WAVE CONFERENCE
May 31 - June 2
Glickman Library, Portland, ME
More information here.
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A daylong writer’s conference at the University of Southern Maine’s Glickman Library in Portland includes panel discussions, theme-specific craft sessions, and more
WHERE: Ipswich Public Library
25 North Main Street
Ipswich, MA 01938
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DATE: Sunday, March 10, 2019
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TIME: 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Mystery Making: In this interactive workshop, four Sisters in Crime mystery authors representing different sub-genres, including cozy/traditional and thriller/suspense, will brainstorm on their feet to create a brand new mystery using suggestions provided by the audience. Fun, fast-paced, and fascinating, this improv game offers important insights into mystery writers’ minds and the conventions of the genre.
Panelists for Mystery Making will be:
Elisabeth Elo: Elisabeth's suspense novel, North of Boston, was named one of Booklist's Best Crime Novels, 2014 and was published in six countries. Elisabeth’s new thriller, Finding Irina M, will be released in March 2019 from Polis Books. Elisabeth has worked as an editor, an advertising copywriter, a high-tech project manager, and a halfway house counselor before earning a PhD in American Literature at Brandeis University. Since then, she's taught writing and literature at colleges in the Boston area. Her essays and short stories have appeared in a variety of publications, and a comic novel, Save Your Own, was published in 2006 under the name Elisabeth Brink. Elisabeth lived near the ocean for many years and now resides in Brookline, Massachusetts.
Connie Johnson Hambley: A former lawyer, Connie has been a featured columnist for Bloomberg BusinessWeek and an invited contributor to Nature, MassHighTech and other journals, but her passion is writing great suspense. Two of Connie’s independently published novels in The Jessica Trilogy won the Best English Fiction literary award at the EQUUS International Film Festival in New York City. Her short stories appear in New England’s Best Crime Stories: Windward and Snowbound, published by Level Best Books in 2016 and 2017, and in an upcoming issue of Mystery Weekly magazine. Connie is a Featured Speaker and Vice President of Sisters in Crime New England and a member of Mystery Writers of America.
Edith Maxwell: Macavity- and Agatha-nominated Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and the Local Foods Mysteries. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Her award-winning short crime fiction has appeared in many juried anthologies, and she is honored to serve as President of Sisters in Crime New England. A fourth-generation Californian and former tech writer, farmer, and doula, Maxwell now writes, cooks, gardens, and wastes time as a Facebook addict north of Boston with her beau and three cats. She blogs at WickedCozyAuthors.com, Killer Characters, and at Under Cover of Midnight.
Toni L.P. Kelner: As Toni L.P. Kelner, she's the author of the eight Laura Fleming mysteries and the three books in the "Where are they now?" series. She also co-edits urban fantasy anthologies with Charlaine Harris. Their most recent is AN APPLE FOR THE CREATURE, and GAMES CREATURES PLAY will be released in April 2014. Kelner will be solo editing her first anthology with DEAD BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, stories set in Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse world. In between novels and short stories, she sneaks in short stories about pirates, PIs, zombies, and demonic phone calls. As Leigh Perry, she writes the Family Skeleton series featuring a walking talking skeleton named Sid. The series debuted with A SKELETON IN THE FAMILY in September 2013, and THE SKELETON TAKES A BOW is due out in September 2014.
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November 9 - 11
Woburn Hilton
Woburn, Massachusetts
November 9 - 11
Woburn Hilton
Woburn, Massachusetts
Annual Writers' Conference sponsored by the New England chapters of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. Guest of Honor this year is the award-winning and iconic author Walter Mosley.
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For fans of mysteries, it's an incredible event to meet favorite authors.
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For authors, there is no better place than to be among your tribe!
November 8 - 11
The Big E
Springfield, Massachusetts
This annual event is a MUST for all horse lovers. I'll be meeting and greeting fans all day on Thursday at Taborton Books.
July 27 - 29
On the Green
Woodstock, Vermont
Meet and greet your favorite mystery and thriller authors on the green in front of the Woodstock Inn! The lit fest starts on Friday with a full program of events through the weekend. Poets, essayists, journalists and, of course, fiction writers will mix, mingle and connect with readers.
Sisters in Crime New England will have a bevy of authors there. Stop by and load up on your late summer reading with a few signed books.
Sisters in Crime New England authors will be signing their books at an exclusive event hosted by Barnes & Noble. Meet the authors of your favorite mysteries and thrillers, chat, and stock up on your summer reading with books that keep working even when encrusted with sand!
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Saturday, JUNE 30, 2018
Time Noon-4 P.M.
Place: Barnes and Noble UConn Hartford Bookstore
18 FRONT STREET, Hartford, Ct. 06103
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Marian Lanouette
Coralie Jensen
Ursula Wang
Steve Liskow
Katy Lee
Robin Ray
Sharon Yang
Mark Dressler
Penny Goetjen
Kathy Orzech
Connie Johnson Hambley
Jane Haertel
Maureen Boyle
Lisa Lieberman
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Women authors of Best New England Crime Stories discuss why they enjoy writing female protagonists as murderers. Join Sharon Daynard and Connie Johnson Hambley, with Christine Bagley as Moderator, as they make you laugh - and your skin crawl…
When: Friday, February 2, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Where: Porter Square Books, Cambridge, MA
Want some insight into the authors' evil minds? Read Christine's "On a Winter's Night", Sharon's "Ghosting Mrs. Muir," and Connie's "Black Ice" in Level Best Books' newest anthology, SNOWBOUND.
Also, treat yourself to WINDWARD featuring Christine's "The Burren," and Connie's "Giving Voice."
LEAGUE OF VERMONT WRITERS ANNUAL MEETING
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27 8:00 AM TO 3:00 PM
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VERMONT
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Join me at the League of Vermont Writers meeting as I talk about the Legal Constructs of a Great Mystery.
Writing a legal thriller or creating a tight mystery have more in common than you think. Attorney and author Connie Johnson Hambley will talk about constructing a great thriller using a legal mindset where the discerning reader is treated like carnivorous opposing counsel–each word counts and pacing matters. Oh, and are you going to write a legal thriller? Connie will give tips and insights into making sure you get your law right and sharpening the suspense through the use of facts and precedent. Don’t worry about not going to law school, short cuts and resources will be provided to make sure you’re writing the best stories possible.
Connie Johnson Hambley
- Author of tense twisting thrillers and timely true stuff-