Mystery Melange

The Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival will take place in the historic city of Stirling from September 18-20. Headliners this year include chair Denise Mina, Jane Harper, Jane Casey, Lucy Foley, Tana French, S A Cosby, Lee Child, Richard Osman, Liz Nugent, Sarah Pinborough, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir, Steve Cavanagh, Nadine Matheson, Gregg Hurwitz, Robert Bryndza, Janice Hallett, China’s bestselling crime writer, Cai Jun, Andrea Mara, Jeremy Vinem Harriet Tyce, Abir Mukherjee, Chris Brookmyre, Callum McSorley, Alex Gray, Lin Anderson, Alan Parks, Louise Welsh and Graeme Macrae Burnet, and broadcasters Robert Peston and Olly Smith. There will also be some fascinating nonfiction events including "Where does free speech end and extremism begin?" with Professor Lara Frumkin; "How to Clean a Crime Scene" with Ben Giles; "How to Pitch Your Book" with Sheila M Averbuch; and "A History of Modern Britain in Twenty Murders" with Professor David Wilson. Plus, there will be a Saturday night game show, an event with the creator and stars of the Netflix hit Dept Q; an interactive murder mystery experience, a screening of the film The Maltese Falcon, introduced by the author’s granddaughter, a True Crime Walking Tour, the annual cabaret night; and much more.


Another great small conference this weekend, also September 18-20, 2026, is Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity in Columbia, MD. The conference offers panels on the craft and business of writing as well as panels tailored to engage and entertain fans. The registration fee includes meals where readers and writers dine side-by-side, plus keynote addresses, author interviews, an onsite bookstore, two giant book signings, and readings open to the public. Special Guests scheduled to take part include SJ Rozan, Ken Bebelle & Julia Vee, K.T. Nguyen, and Jen Furlong. SJ Rozan has won the Edgar, Shamus, Anthony, Nero, and Macavity awards and received the Japanese Maltese Falcon Award and Lifetime Achievement Awards from both the Private Eye Writers of America and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. Ken Bebelle & Julia Vee pen the sci-fi The Phoenix Hoard Series and The Seattle Slayers Series. K.T. Nguyen authored the multi-award winning debut, You Know What You Did. Jen Furlong is the author of the young adult supernatural suspense Hidden City series.


Westminster, Colorado's Public Library is hosting MysteryCon2026, a two-day celebration of Colorado mystery writing. The festivities kick off Friday, September 25th from 6-8pm with an author panel discussing emerging trends in contemporary mystery, from new subgenres to emerging female protagonists. On Saturday, September 26th from 5:30-8pm, there will follow a WhoDunIt? evening of activities, prizes, refreshments, a Q&A, and more. If you're in the area and are interested in more information and registration details, follow the links above.


There will be a night of readings and eating at a Noir at the Bar at Barliman’s in Bangor, Maine, on September 30th at 7:00 p.m. Authors scheduled to take part include Lucas Brilliott, Moe Claire, Matt Cost, Mo Drammen, Laura Giebfried, Amber Hathaway, Victoria Hood, Cory Magee, Katie York, Moe Moeller, Gabriela Stiteler, and Stanley R. Wells.

Laurie R. King, Cara Black, Kelli Stanley, and Michelle Chouinard will take part in a panel titled "Cold Cases, Warm Typewriters: How we dig up the fictional past" on Thursday, October 1 at Leigh's Favorite BooksSunnyvale, CA. Laurie R. King writes the historical Mary Russell-Sherlock Holmes stories, the SFPD Inspector Kate Martinelli series, and numerous others, including her new Cold Case series featuring SFPD Inspector Raquel Laing; Cara Black is the author of twenty-one books in the New York Times bestselling Aimée Leduc series; Kelli Stanley is the creator of the Miranda Corbie series, literary PI novels set in 1940 San Francisco. To reserve your spot, follow this link.


Crime on the Coast Returns to Torquay Museum with "A Day of Mystery, Murder, and Literary Insight" on October 4. The event brings together readers, aspiring writers, and seasoned authors for a thrilling day of crime fiction exploration, celebrating the rich tradition of crime writing in the South West UK. In addition to various panels, there will be opportunities to ask questions, meet the authors, and have books signed (available to buy from the Museum Shop). The event also helps raise funds for Torquay Museum and the Torbay Literary Festival. Follow this link for registration information.


For more news about the latest in short mystery fiction this week, check out Kevin Tipple's Thursday Treats blog and also Art Taylor's The First Two Pages, with the latest features from Hooked on Urban Legends—And Murder! edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley. Plus, catch the latest crime poem over at the  5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly.


In the Q&A roundup, Harlan Coben, author of several bestselling thrillers, several of which were adapted into television series, chatted with the New York Times about Plot Twist, his new tough-talking writing guide that doubles as a memoir and explains why and how to beat self-doubt; Margaret Mizushima, author of the Timber Creek K-9 Mysteries, applied the Page 69 Test to her new Timber Creek installment, Fighting Edge; and Vicki Delany also took the Page 69 Test for her new novel, Tis the Season to Be Scary: A Year-Round Christmas Mystery.