Mystery Melange

A debut author from Glasgow made history by becoming the first to win both the debut crime novel prize and the prestigious McIlvanney prize for the best Scottish crime book at the recent Bloody Scotland festival. Frances Crawford, 63, who started writing later in life, was awarded both prizes for A Bad, Bad Place at the crime writing event in Stirling. This was also the first year with an all-woman shortlist for the debut prize. 

As part of the Word’s WRITE Festival which takes place throughout the whole of September in South Shields, England, there will be a Noir at the Bar on Friday, September 25 with crime writers reading from their works. That's followed on Saturday, September 26, with the one-day South Tyneside Crime Fiction Festival, with author talks, Q&A sessions, and book signings. Authors scheduled to participate include Mark Billingham, Chris Bridges, Ajay Chowdhury, Nicci Cloke, CJ Cooke, Abigail Dean, Araminta Hall, CE Hulse, Zoe Rankin, Emma Styles, and G.D. Wright.


Sisters in Crime New York is presenting a panel titled "Your Anthology Submission: How to Craft a Short Story that Stands Out," on October 4, 2026 at the Jefferson Market Library in New York City. Nina Mansfield will moderate a panel that includes award winning authors Kathleen Marple Kalb, Richie Narvaez, and Lori Robbins to discuss how to put your best foot forward when composing a short story submission. They'll also cover the craft of writing short stories, and submission do’s and don’ts so that your anthology submission will have the best chance of being accepted.

On October 15, 2026, Noir at the Bar returns to Seattle, Washington, at Kells in Pike Place. Scotti Andrews takes on hosting duties, wrangling readings from the participating authors who include: Will Viharo, Bethany Maines, Russ Thayer, KB Anderson, Randy Moon, Hayley M. Moon, Gerald Elias, and Roz Ray.


Venice Noir, the celebrated festival of crime fiction set against the iconic canals and labyrinthine streets in the coastal Italain gem, has revealed its 2026 international program, to be held 12–15 November 2026. Highlights include a discussion by historian and biographer Lucy Worsley on the legacy of "Agatha Christie, Fifty Years On"; Ian Rankin exploring "The Two Faces of Dr Jekyll"; Peter Stothard and Josephine Quinn harking back to Ancient Greece and Rome on "Ancient Terrors, Modern Echoes"; and Anna Mazzola and Gregory Dowling discussing "Venetian Gothic."  Matteo Strukul, Alberto Toso Fei and Ilaria Tuti are amongst the Italian authors slated to take part. (HT to Crime Time UK.)

The 2026 Barbara Neely Scholarship Award is now open to submissions. Two scholarships - one for published Black writers and one for non-published Black writers - are accepting applications until November 1, 2026. Established in 2021, Mystery Writers of America’s Barbara Neely Awards honor the late Barbara Neely, a trailblazing Black crime novelist who was named an MWA Grand Master in late 2019 but who passed away before being publicly honored at the 2020 Edgar Awards banquet. Each award carries a $2,000 cash prize to assist the winner with their writing craft and a one-year membership in MWA, which includes membership in the winner’s local chapter. For more information, follow this link.

Mystery Readers Journal has a call for articles on the subject of mysteries set in India. They're seeking articles, reviews, and author essays (500–1500 words, first person, up-close and personal about yourself, your books, and the theme connection) about crime fiction set in India. The deadline is November 5, 2026.


The International Crime Fiction Association announced a call for papers for the fourteenth Captivating Criminality conference, to be held at Bath Spa University, Corsham Court, UK, from 24-26th June 2027. The theme is "Methods of Murder."  The keynote speakers this year will include Renáta Zsámba alongside two experts on poison, Barbara Hall and John Know, curators of the Poison Garden at the Alnwick Garden, Northumberland, UK. Main questions addressed by the conference will focus on how and why different methods of murder are deployed, both as fiction and true crime; forensics; and how has the representation of murder evolved from Victorian crime (with its emphasis on blunt objects and knives) to more modern, technologically mediated methods? Abstracts are due by by 31st January 2027. (Delegates must be members of the International Crime Fiction Association for 2027 in order to attend this conference.)


The International Thriller Writers organization (ITW) is awarding scholarships in three separate categories for ThrillerFest 2027:  the Fresh Perspectives Scholarship for any underrepresented author, published or unpublished; the Undiscovered New Voices Scholarship for any unpublished author who is writing a mystery/thriller novel (80-100k words); and the ThrillerFest 2027 Scholarship for any ITW member (active members only). Fresh Perspectives and Undiscovered New Voices scholarship recipients will receive a $1,000 (USD) stipend and a free pass to attend ThrillerFest XXII, whereas the ThrillerFest 2027 Scholarship (for ITW members) recipients receive a free pass to attend ThrillerFest, but do not receive a travel stipend. Applications must be submitted by January 15, 2027.


Some sad news to report: Jeff Pierce over at The Rap Sheet blog brings us news about the passing of author Steven F. Havill, best known for his long-running series of mysteries set in fictional Posadas County, New Mexico, who died on August 27 following a bout with bone cancer. He was 81 years old.


Art Taylor's "The First Two Pages" featured Robin Templeton reflecting on her story, “The Legend of Samuel Savage,” inspired both by a story from 17th-century Maryland, which was included in Hooked on Urban Legends—And Murder! edited by Donna Andrews, Barb Goffman, and Marcia Talley.


Kevin Tipple's Thursday Treats this week has news of Short Mystery Fiction Society Mystery Magazine: Volume 1 Number 1; Trifles : a Quarterly for Devotees of Sherlock Holmes Volume I Issue 3; DEATH CAMAS: Best New England Crime Stories 2026, and much more.


This week's crime poem up at the 5-2 Crime Poetry Weekly is "Impostor" by Thomas Piekarski.

In the Q&A roundup, Erin Cotter applied the Page 69 Test to her new Renaissance-set young adult mystery novel, A Dangerous Bargain; and Crime Fiction Lover spoke with Canadian author Anthony Bidulka about QUANT, his new novel that brings back PI Russell Quant after a hiatus of nearly 15 years.