by Sherry Harris, Sisters in Crime President
Thank you so much for inviting me to talk about Sisters in Crime and the many ways we support authors. Our mission is to promote the ongoing advancement, recognition, and professional development of women crime writers. That said, we do have male members as well. All are welcome as long as they believe in and support our mission.
The organization was started thirty-one years ago by Sarah Paretsky and a group of women authors to look into the inequalities between male and female book reviews and to provide camaraderie for female writers. Both of these things are just as important today.
We still have a project run by 20 people who monitor 26 print publications. They break down analysis of female versus male reviews. It’s still not equal, but has improved. They also look at the genres that periodicals cover. We have two monitors who focus on the gender of the reviewers and the comparison of how those reviewers generate reviews between male and female. It gives us a lot of detailed information about what’s going on in the reviewing world and is another way that we can advocate on behalf of women writers.
We have 51 chapters spread across the United States and Canada, including an internet chapter called The Guppies. It stands for The Great Unpublished, although published authors belong to that chapter, too. It’s just a great resource for people who don’t live near a chapter or whose lives are too busy to get to meetings. They have online classes and they give a scholarship that is named for Dorothy Cannell. It provides funds for the winner to attend a conference called Malice Domestic, which focuses on the traditional mystery.
This year we started individual education grants of up to $150 for our members, for writing-related education. It helps pay for programs, like Writers Police Academy, that specifically gear themselves toward subject-matter knowledge, conferences with an education focus, talks on craft, pitch sessions with publishers and agents, critiques, master classes, workshops or classes on the craft and the business of writing. Full details are on our website.
We also have a partnership with the American Library Association’s Book Club Central, where SinC members’ books are featured. Each month our Library Liaison, Shari Randall, comes up with a different theme. Our members can submit their book to be featured. Because of the volume of books submitted, Shari uses a random drawing to select the books featured.
Five years ago we started the Eleanor Taylor Bland Crime Fiction Writers of Color Award. It is an annual grant of $1,500 for an emerging writer of color. The grant allows the recipient to participate in activities related to crime fiction writing and career development. She or he may choose from activities that include workshops, seminars, conferences, and retreats, online courses, and research activities required for completion of their work.
We support libraries with grants through our Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries program, and we support independent bookstores through our We Love Bookstores program.
Another program is our speakers bureau, which matches a selection of Sisters in Crime authors with a SinC chapter that requests a speaker. The speaker flies to the chapter and does a presentation on a topic that the chapter and speaker agree on.
We offer a wonderful YouTube video of past president Leslie Budewitz interviewing our founder, Sara Paretsky.
When I read our history in the Raising Women’s Voices summit report I found a reference to something Margaret Maron and Nancy Pickard agreed on in 1989. They agreed that Sisters in Crime should be about being for as much as possible, instead of against things. That really resonated with me as incoming president. I thought about how the members of Sisters in Crime reach out, support, and help each other throughout our writing journeys.
With all the wonderful programs we provide, one of the best things about membership in Sisters in Crime is the people you meet and the friendships you form. My life is richer for knowing and working with our members.
What kind of books does the President of Sisters in Crime write? This kind:
I Know What You Bid Last Summer is the fifth book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries.
Foul Play in the Gym
When it comes to running a successful garage sale, Sarah Winston believes in doing her homework. She also believes in giving back. But when she agrees to manage an athletic-equipment swap, she doesn’t bargain on an uncharitable killer. The day of the event, the school superintendent is found dead in the gymnasium.
Has Sarah Playing Defense
Suddenly the murder suspects are the school-board members, including the husband of a very difficult client who’s hired Sarah to run a high-end sale and demands she do her bidding. In between tagging and haggling, Sarah studies the clues to see who wanted to teach the superintendent a lesson. But as she closes in on the truth, the killer intends to give her a crash course on minding her own business . . .
Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series. She is the president of Sisters in Crime, a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.
In her spare time Sherry loves reading and is a patent-holding inventor. Sherry, her husband, and guard-dog Lily are living in northern Virginia until they figure out where they want to move to next. Check out her blog: www.Wickedauthors.com
As a member of Sisters in Crime, I’m glad to see it continuing in such good hands.