A Mid-Summer Mystery Conference

by Paula Gail Benson

Brian Thiem's Master Class

Maybe the first mystery we had to resolve was figuring out if authors and readers would gather in a town with the slogan “famously hot” when the temperature was guaranteed to be close to triple digits. Two years ago (2017), we learned writers might come when Jeffrey Deaver, then President of Mystery Writers of America (MWA), offered to present a seminar to each chapter. The Southeast Chapter (SEMWA), headed then by Maggie Toussaint, quickly accepted his generous offer and began searching for a location in South Carolina, one of the six states in the chapter. Charleston would have been lovely, but most events are booked there years in advance. Since I live and have contacts in Columbia, the Deaver program took place at my church in late July, with approximately sixty attending.

Cathy Pickens interviewing Nancy Pickard

Fast forward a year to 2018. The Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime teamed up with SEMWA to host a conference featuring about twenty-five authors including special guest, Elaine Viets, whose appearance was underwritten by the Sisters in Crime National’s speakers’ bureau. Again, we planned the event for the end of July and felt fortunate to have about eighty people attending.

So, might it be possible to do it again?

The wonderful answer, thanks to another SEMWA and Palmetto Chapter collaboration, twenty-three authors, and special guest Nancy Pickard, is a resounding yes!

Settings Panel

Our sophomore effort of Mystery in the Midlands (Columbia is in the middle of South Carolina) took place on Saturday, June 22nd. Held at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, the event featured three master classes, four panel discussions, a buffet lunch, and an interview with Nancy Pickard by her good friend and fellow past president of Sisters in Crime National, Cathy Pickens.

Silent Auction Baskets

We put out a call for authors through the SEMWA and SinC networks. Also, some of the authors who participated in 2018 sent in suggestions and those new recruits joined our ranks. We had writers from South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Florida. New York, Georgia, and Tennessee. (Working behind the scenes, Debra Goldstein represented Alabama, and, while we missed her in Columbia, we celebrated her being with a new granddaughter.)

Writing Noels and Short Stories Panel

Except for the three breakout master classes (Paul Barra’s Hemingway POV, Brian Thiem’s Police Procedure for Authors, and Roger Johns’ and Warren Moore’s Humor in Mysteries) from which participants selected one, the conference had a single track of panel and interview presentations. Raegan Teller moderated Stacy Allen, Paul Barra, Tracy de Hahn, and Nancy Sartor talking about settings. Cathy Pickens’ interview with Nancy Pickard preceded lunch. After everyone had been through the buffet line, we played a game of “guess the author.” Interesting facts about each author were read and the audience member who guessed the identity won $5 bonus bucks to spend with our bookseller, Books on Broad from Camden, S.C. In the afternoon, I talked with Kaye George, Terrie Farley Moran, Nancy Pickard, Cathy Pickens, and Jaden (Beth) Terrell about writing novels and short stories. Sally Handley, President of the Upstate Chapter of Sisters in Crime moderated a great cozy panel with Victoria Gilbert, J.R. Ripley, Dorothy St. James, and Maggie Toussaint. Brian Thiem led the final panel of the day with Candace Carter, Elysabeth Eldering, Sasscer Hill, Roger Johns, and Warren Moore talking about their various journeys to publication.

Cozy Panel

In addition to the authors’ generosity in appearing at the conference, many contributed to a silent auction to benefit My First Books, the South Carolina affiliate for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. This program sends a book a month to registered children from birth to age five. I’m delighted to say that we raised $630, which will provide books for 20 children for a year.

Thank you to all the authors and participants. We’re already planning for a third year. Won’t you come join us? P.S. Thanks to Kaye George and others who contributed photos appearing in this post.

Road to Publication Panel

Logo by Krista Anderson