Welcome

Welcome to the home page of Mystery Writers of America (“MWA”). Come in and explore our website. MWA is the premier organization for mystery and crime writers, professionals allied to the crime writing field, aspiring crime writers, and folks who just love to read crime fiction. In these pages, you will learn about MWA, our programs, our authors and their books, including frequently updated calendars of events, announcements about our authors, their tour dates and their new releases.
 
Founded in 1945, MWA is a storied organization with a golden past and an exciting present. Each Spring, we present the Edgar® Awards, widely acknowledged to be the most prestigious awards in the genre. We sponsor MWA Literacy where we help to rebuild libraries around the US as well as numerous symposiums and events designed to enlighten and inform authors and fans alike. If you’re an author in the mystery or crime genre or an allied professional, you’ll find important services and benefits here. If you’re a reader, fan, librarian, journalist or anybody else interested in learning more about the genre, you’ve come to the right place. We hope you enjoy our site, learn a lot and keep coming back for more.

News & Press

Click here to find out everything you need to know about the 2013 Edgar Awards Banquet, MWA’s Edgar Symposium and the soon to be announced Edgar Nominees.


Press Releases

2013 Edgar Winners - May 2, 2013

Regional Chapters

MWA has eleven regional chapters, ranging in size from one state (Florida) to thirteen (Midwest). Any member of MWA is automatically enrolled in the appropriate regional chapter. All chapters have a newsletter and most have regular meetings; increasingly, chapters also have an online presence. Many MWA meetings are open to non-members.
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Now in Stores:

The Perfect Ghost
Author: Linda Barnes
Published: April 9, 2013 by St. Martin's Press Minotaur Books
Category: Mystery
Main Character: Em Moore

Fearful and shy to the point of agoraphobic, Em Moore is the writing half of the successful celebrity-biography team, T.E. Blakemore. Her charismatic partner, Teddy Blake, does the interviewing, the negotiating, the public glad-handing. But Em’s dependence on Teddy runs deeper than the job – Teddy is her bridge to the world as well as the main source of love in her life. When Teddy dies in a car accident, Em is devastated, alone in a world she doesn’t understand.
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THE BLACK STILETTO: STARS & STRIPES
Author: Raymond Benson
Published: April 2, 2013 by Oceanview Publishing
Category: Thriller
Main Character: The Black Stiletto

The Black Stiletto returns in the third book of the thrilling series that Library Journal calls a “mashup of the work of Gloria Steinem, Ian Fleming, and Mario Puzo, all under the editorship of Stan Lee.” It’s 1960. The Black Stiletto, in her civilian persona as Judy Cooper, volunteers to work for JFK’s presidential campaign, only to become involved in a devious behind-the-scenes plot that could change the course of history.


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More titles that are in stores

Coming Soon:

Of Grave Concern: An Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery
Author: Max McCoy
Published: July 2, 2013 by Kensington
Series Name: Ophelia Wylde
Category: Fiction
Main Character: Ophelia Wylde

Dead Men Tell No Lies - The Civil War is over, and many a young widow has turned to spiritualism to contact their husbands on "the other side." But Ophelia Wylde won't be fooled twice. After wasting her money on a phoney psychic, she decides if she can't beat 'em, join 'em. She leaves New Orleans and heads West, selling her services as a spiritual medium who speaks to the dead. By the time she reaches Dodge City, business is booming.
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Hampton Beach Homicide
Author: Jed Power
Published: June 15, 2013 by Dark Jetty Publishing
Series Name: The Dan Marlowe Crime Series
Category: Crime Fiction
Main Character: Dan Marlowe, Kelsey Sweeney, Michael "Shamrock" Kelly, "Lenny Quarters" Conklin, "Frankie Earring" Quail, Mona Freeman, Ober Sweeney & Dianne

Four quarters.  It's not much, but when 13-year-old Kelsey Sweeney offers the coins to Dan Marlowe to hire him to find his mother's killer, it's enough to buy Dan a ticket to big-time trouble on Hampton Beach.


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More titles that are coming soon