Reds at the New England Crime Bake

HALLIE EPHRON: Last weekend was one of my all-time favorite conferences, the New England Crime Bake. It's my local

conference, sponsored by New England Sisters in Crime and the New England chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and held in Dedham, MA, practically in my backyard.

I've been to every single Crime Bake, 15 and counting. The first was one day, held in a college lecture hall with maybe 100 attendees. The first Guest of Honor was the late great Jeremiah Healy and the Jungle Red Writers hadn't been invented.

This year we packed a suburban Hilton with about 300 attendees for three days. As usual, the conference sold out in a few weeks. Guest of Honor was William Kent Krueger. Hank and Lucy and I represented the Reds. Conference chairs were Sharon Daynard and Ray Daniel.

Highlight for me was Kent's Saturday keynote. He talked about being miserable at his day job and yearning to be a writer -- correction, not just any writer, yearning to be Ernest Hemingway. It wasn't until he gave up on that goal and settled for being his own writer that he found success. And what a formidable success it's been.

It was a message for all of us aspiring writers: Don't reach for someone else's stars, reach for your own. 

Second highlight is always the banquet. This year we dressed to honor Kent's Minnesota (plaid shirts, moose antlers), dined on shepherd's pie laced with cheese curds, and danced to songs by Michigan artists. Lucy and Edith and I were first on the dance floor.

 Here's me and Kent in our plaids and caps. Lucy a reindeer and Hank a moose (Bullwinkle -- Jonathan, Hank's husband, came as Rocky.)

Of course we signed books. Hank signed a gazillion of her hot-off-the-presses SAY NO MORE.

My favorite thing is when someone brings me a copy of my mystery writing book to sign, and it looks like this:

 

Biggest challenge: The Wheel of Why. The nefarious Julie Hennrikus devised a diabolical challenge. Hank and I were on TEAM THRILLER. Competing against TEAM POLICE PROCEDURAL and TEAM COZY.  Given two character names (Fred and Ginger), four clues (lizard, umbrella, and two I've conveniently forgotten), and a motive (lust), in three minutes we had to come up with a thriller plot.

Can I just say that for a challenge like that, you want Hank on your team.  She had me at: "Fred and Ginger... not their real names..."

Join us next year, but register early or you'll be shut out! 

Who else was there? Share your highlights.

And what are your favorite events to hang out with readers and writers?

The Agents and Editors of This Year's Crime Bake

HALLIE EPHRON: My favorite conference is coming up this fall 11/8-11/10 near Boston, the 12th annual New England Crime Bake ("Crime Bake"/"Clam Bake" - Get it?) at the Hilton Dedham, MA, near Boston and a stone's throw from the Amtrak station.

And YES, you can still register for it.

This year the Guest of Honor is the fabulous Edgar winning author, Meg Gardiner.  

(Here's some photos of Crime Bakes past... with some folks you may recognize.)

This year author panels include a passel of folks who came to their first Crime Bake unpublished and went on to find agents and publishers.

Here are just a few:
- New England Sisters in Crime President Barbara Ross. (She writes Maine Clam Bake mysteries for Kensington)
- New England Mystery Writers of America President Steve Ulfelder. His first Conway Sax novel "Purgatory Chasm" was an Edgar finalist. His series is published by Minotaur Books.
- Edith Maxwell who writes not one but TWO series. Her latest, A Tine to Live, a Tine to Die, is the first in the cozy Local Foods Mystery series  published by Kensington Publishing.
- Liz Mugavero just published her first Pawsitively Organic series mystery, Kneading to Die, also from Kensington.
- Michael Nethercott's debut novel Seance Society is being published this fall by Minotaur/Thomas Dunne Books.

Oh, the agents and editors you'll meet!I've gone to the Crime Bake every year and been on the planning committee for 11 of them. This year I'm in charge of programming the agents and editors. So let me tell you some of what we have up our collective sleeves...

This year we're trying something new: a Page One Idol. Here's how it works:

Attendees bring the first 1/2 page of a work in progress and entrust it to an expert reader who reads it aloud (without revealing who wrote it) to a panel of agents and editors. They listen -- this is not the Gong Show -- and then share: would I keep reading? Why or why not?

It's a chance to hear what editors and agents perceive as serious writing problems, story issues, and what they can and can't sell in today's market. It will be like getting to be a fly on the wall watching an agent do what they're paid to do: separate the wheat the from the chaff.

We'll also have a Friday night panel discussion on how e-publishing is changing the book business. Eve Bridburg, agent and founder of our fabulous local writing "school" Grub Street, with moderate the discussion. Weighing in will be Kensington editor Peter Senftbleben, and writing opinion leader Jane Friedman who is the former publisher at Writers Digest Books and currently the web editor for the Virginia Quarterly.

We'll still have our one on ones, expanded this year to six minute sessions during which attendees pitch an idea to an agent or editor. There's no extra fee for this, but you do need to sign up in advance.

And what a fabulous lineup of editors and agents this year!

• Ann Collette - Ann is back! She had a fantastic year with the success of our own Barbara Shapiro's NY Times bestseller "The Art Forger." Ann is with Boston's Helen Rees Literary Agency. She's one of those agents who says what she thinks and fights like the devil for her authors. 
• Liza Dawson - Liza Dawson heads her own NYC literary agency, Liza Dawson Associates. Before becoming an agent she was a vice president and executive editor with a big mystery list at Morrow and Putnam. She handles crime fiction of all sorts. Her agency sold Susan Hasler's debut novel "Intelligence" to Thomas Dunne Books and recently optioned it to Happy Madison and Sony Pictures for a television series. This is her first time at Crime Bake.
• Denise (Deni) Deitz - Deni is an acquiring editor at Five Star, a publishing house with a unique focus on the library market. Some of our own authors who have had books published by Five Star include Susan Oleksiw, Toni L. P. Kelner, and Leslie Wheeler. This is Deni's first time at Crime Bake.
• Jane Friedman - Jane Friedman is former editor and publisher for Writers Digest Books. She is a widely regarded expert on the digital transformation of the publishing industry, and has spoken at venues such as the NEA, NPR Morning Edition and Publishers Weekly. She writes a wildly popular award-winning blog about writing and publishing and is the web editor for The Virginia Quarterly. This is her first time at Crime Bake.
• Ellen Larson - YA mysteries are wildly popular, and Ellen Larson edits a brand new line of them for the Poisoned Pencil, part of Poisoned Pen. Founded in 2012 and growing fast, Poisoned Pencil takes online submissions from authors and agents. This is her first time at Crime Bake.
• Gina Maccoby - Gina Maccoby heads the Gina Maccoby Literary Agency. Just a few among the award-winning mystery authors she represents are Linda Barnes, Rick Riordan, and Lee Goldberg. She is on the Board of Directors of the AAR and a member of the AAR's Contracts and Royalties subcommittees. This is her first time at Crime Bake.
• Gina Panettieri - Gina Panettieri, another agent we are welcoming back, heads Talcott Notch Literary Agents located in Connecticut. Another Crime Bake favorite who cannot be with us this year, Paula Munier, is now a literary agent working with Gina. Mysteries, thrillers, and suspense top the list of what they represent.
• Peter Senftleben - Associate editor at Kensington Books, Peter Senftleben is actively acquiring mysteries (adult and YA and "new adult') including cozies and stories with a romantic flavor. Some of the New England/Crime Bake authors he works with are Barbara Ross and Liz Mugavero. (His bio ascerts: "He does not want to see anything with terrorists of any kind.") This is his first time at Crime Bake.
• Marlene Stringer - Marlene Stringer heads the Stringer Literary Agency in Naples, Florida. She handles a wide range of commercial fiction including thrillers and mysteries, adult and YA.This is her first time at Crime Bake.
• Roseanne Wells - Roseanne Wells is an agent with the Jennifer DeChiara Literary Agency based in New York City. Roseanne loves "smart mysteries that center around a strong detective: Sherlock Holmes, Veronica Mars, Flavia de Luce from Alan Bradley’s "Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie." I look for sharp minds and witty banter, complicated narratives that keep me guessing, and an emotional arc as well as the whodunit plot.

I'll be there, too, along with Reds Hank Phillippi Ryan ("The Wrong Girl") and Lucy Burdette ("Topped Chef") and Julia Spencer Fleming ("Through the Evil Days"), all with new books!

Hope to see some of  you there. Meet you in the bar for Cosmos!

New England Crime Bake Rocks!

Hallie Ephron: Today we bring you tidbits from this weekend's 11th annual New England Crime Bake and I've been to every one of them! It's a 3-day conference held every year on the weekend before Veteran's Day at the Dedham Hilton, within easy striking distance of Boston. It's intimate (about 350 people), fabulous fun, and the always a hoot. Lucy and Jan and I are on the planning board right now.

We're in the thick of it, recovering from last night's blowout banquet (costume conga line and Everybody Dance Now! ...and they did!), heading back this morning to moderate a panel of "Plot Conjurers" and listen to two forensics expert before we pack it in until next year.

Here are two of my favorite quotes from Saturday's panels:

• On what it's like writing a character that's not fully formed: "Like showering wearing a raincoat." -- Archer Mayor
• On what a main character needs: "A goal and a gap" -- Joseph Finder

 And here are some photos of the highlights.

The BIG GUNS panel featured Joseph Finder and Hank Phillippi Ryan and Bill Landay -- here signing books after. They really are having fun!

 Our own Lucy Burdette with James Tabor after their panel on writing short stories.

 Dressed to kill for the banquet: Literary Agent Paula Munier and author / MWA/NE President Margaret McLean (with 80s hair about to cook the bunny.)

 Death investigator Michelle Clarke who looks adorable as Medusa (but don't look!).

 Michelle Dorsey and her main squeeze (who took second prize!) as Whitey Bulger with his main squeeze and Catherine Grieg

 A pair of AVENGERS (Nikki MADE these costumes -- which you'd have had to be there to appreciate), Nikki Bonanni and Jocelyn Kondrotas.

And I know you're all wondering what Hank and Jonathan came as... Sam Spade and Miss Wonderly, of course.

So come on down (up?) next year and be part of the fun! This is a conference that just keeps getting better!

Meet us at New England Crime Bake 2008, Nov 14-16

Last year, Jungle Red writers were at the New England Crime Bake, and we’ll be there again at the Dedham Hilton, (11/14-11/16) . This year’s guest of honor is the amazing, handsome, and hilarious Harlan Coben.

Remember last year we roasted good sport Lee Child when we tried Jack Reacher for murder at the banquet? This year’s banquet entertainment promises to be a hoot—mystery bingo, hosted by Harlan and with prizes to die for, all put together by our own Hank Phillippi Ryan.

At Crimbake 2008, JRW will be there--on panels, hanging out in the bar with everyone, schoozing with our favorite agents (old faves and some new faces). It would be great to put some faces with the names we've gotten know from the blog.

If you haven’t signed up yet, please do! And be sure to book a room at the conference rate, a bargain. They’re going fast.

In case you need convincing, the “10 reasons” to TREAT YOURSELF to Crime Bake 2008.

Top Ten Other Reasons To Register For Crime Bake Today

10. Early bird members who sign up soon (before October 1st) get a $30.00 discount. Put that in your gas tank for the drive to the commodious Dedham Hilton where Crime Bake will be held November 14-16.

9. After arriving at the Dedham Hilton, feast on pizza and conversation at the Free pizza party where you can meet and greet mystery readers, writers, agents and editors.

8. Following the Free pizza party, you get to choose to attend one of two fabulous and Free Friday night workshops: Practicing Your Pitch with Lynne Heitman, a huge hit at previous Crime Bake conferences or Creating Your Wave with publicist Susan Schwartzman about how to effectively market your mystery in today’s tough market.

7. Yes, another Freebie! Pitch Sessions! Crime Bake conference attendees are entitled to sign up for a Free 5-minute one-on-one session to pitch their work to a literary agent. This year, attendees will have the opportunity to list their top three agent choices. Don’t wait to take advantage of this fabulous opportunity.

6. The agents are coming, the agents are coming and they include some of the finest, including Janet Reid, Donna Bagdasarian, Susan Gleason, Christine Witthohn, Ann Collette, Esmond Harmsworth, Sorche Fairbank and Gina Panettieri.

5. Great Master Classes are offered again. Choose two from Planning The Plays: Painless Research with Kathy Lynn Emerson; Who's On First: Point of View with Hallie Ephron; Hitting It Out Of The Park: Ten Key Ingredients For a Successful Thriller with Gary Braver; and Peewee League: Writing for Young Audience with Peter Abrahams.

4. Manuscript Critiques are available. Attendees may submit a 15-page writing sample (novel or short story) in advance and receive a one-on-one critique with a published mystery author during the conference.

3. A fountain of forensic experts, including the popular Poison Lady, will hold panels where you can fill your writing well with ideas on how to commit those dastardly deeds.

2. You can dine elbow to elbow with agents, authors, editors and forensic experts at the Saturday Night Banquet where the menu includes delicious food and maybe even a book deal. Your fabulous Saturday night will be topped by “Mystery Bingo” hosted by our own prime-time Hank Phillippi Ryan.

1. The number one reason to register for Crime Bake today is the Number One New York Times, Los Angeles Times and London Times author and our Guest of Honor, Harlan Coben.