Several chapters of Sisters in Crime have hosted me lately for talks on writing short mystery fiction, and I’m grateful this week to be returning home—even virtually!—for a talk at my own local group, the Chesapeake Chapter. And because a couple of folks in our chapter have attended other events, I’ll try to mix this one up at least a bit too…
Here’s the write-up the organizers have shared in their invitation:
Sisters in Crime Chesapeake Chapter
Virtual Meeting
Saturday, May 8, 2021
Zoom mingling at 12:40 p.m.
Zoom meeting at 1:00 p.m.
The Art of the Short Story
Don’t miss our May meeting, where short story guru and Chessie Chapter member Art Taylor will share tips and tricks to take our short mystery fiction to the next level.
Art contributed the essay “The Short Mystery” to the new collection How To Write a Mystery: A Handbook by Mystery Writers of America, edited by Lee Child and Laurie R. King (publication date April 27). Drawing on his essay, Art will offer advice for writing short mystery fiction—with an emphasis on economy, efficiency, and focus. Examining excerpts from stories by Patricia Highsmith, Edward D. Hoch, Ruth Rendell, and more, Art will explore the shape and structure of the short story, how to do more with less, and how to make your reader an integral part of the storytelling too.
Join us!
About the presenter
Art Taylor is the author of the story collection The Boy Detective & The Summer of ’74 and Other Tales of Suspense and of the novel in stories On the Road with Del & Louise, winner of the Agatha Award for Best First Novel. He won the 2019 Edgar Award for Best Short Story for “English 398: Fiction Workshop,” originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, and his short fiction has also won the Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, and Macavity Awards and appeared in Best American Mystery Stories. He edited Murder Under the Oaks: Bouchercon Anthology 2015, winner of the Anthony Award for Best Anthology or Collection, and California Schemin’: Bouchercon Anthology 2020. He is an associate professor of English at George Mason University.
I don’t think this meeting is open to the general public, unfortunately—but looking forward to seeing many friends and (hopefully!) friendly faces as the get-together!