Malice Domestic 2022

The full program for this year’s conference has been posted on their website – malicedomestic.org. More about this later.

They are also offering day passes. So, if you are in North Bethesda any day from April 21 to 24, the conference is being held at the Marriott.

Readers, and attendees at Malice, vote on the Agatha Awards. This year’s nominees are:

The 2021 Agatha Award Nominees

Best Contemporary Novel
Cajun Kiss of Death by Ellen Byron (Crooked Lane Books)
Watch Her by Edwin Hill (Kensington)
The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Forge)
Symphony Road by Gabriel Valjan (Level Best Books)

Best Historical Novel
Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge (Kensington)
Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (Soho Crime)
Death at Greenway by Lori Rader-Day (HarperCollins)
The Devil’s Music by Gabriel Valjan (Winter Goose Publishing)

Best First Novel
The Turncoat’s Widow by Mally Becker (Level Best Books)
A Dead Man’s Eyes by Lori Duffy Foster (Level Best Books)
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley)
Murder in the Master by Judy L. Murray (Level Best Books)
Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes (Crooked Lane Books)

Best Short Story
“A Family Matter” by Barb Goffman (Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine Jan/Feb 2021)
“A Tale of Two Sisters” by Barb Goffman in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders)
“Doc’s at Midnight” by Richie Narvaez in Midnight Hour (Crooked Lane Books)
“The Locked Room Library” by Gigi Pandian (Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine July/Aug 2021)
“Bay of Reckoning” by Shawn Reilly Simmons in Murder on the Beach (Destination Murders)

Best Non-Fiction
The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston’s Struggle for Justice by Jan Brogan (Bright Leaf Press)
Murder Most Grotesque: The Comedic Crime Fiction of Joyce Porter by Chris Chan (Level Best Books)
The Irish Assassins: Conspiracy, Revenge, and the Phoenix Park Murders that Stunned Victorian England by Julie Kavanaugh (Atlantic Monthly Press)
How to Write a Mystery: A Handbook from Mystery Writers of America by MWA with editors Lee Child and Laurie R. King (Simon & Schuster)

Best Children’s/YA Mystery
​Cold-Blooded Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce (Algonquin Young Readers)
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur (Fiewel and Friends/Macmillan)
I Play One on TV by Alan Orloff (Down & Out Books)
Leisha’s Song by Lynn Slaughter (Fire and Ice/Melange Books)
Enola Holmes and the Black Barouche by Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)

I’ve read several of these books and the nominations are well deserved.

Malice 2019

I attended Malice this past weekend and what a great conference – from Victoria Thompson to Parnell Hall to the panels.

I have to give a shout out to my great panel mates. This was truly one of the best I have been on.

 

panel

From left to right: Maureen Jennings, Verena Rose, Mariah Fredericks, S.C.  Perkins, me, Jess Montgomery.

All very insightful and articulate ladies.

I also really enjoyed my conversation with Maureen Jennings at the signings.

maureen jennings

Malice Domestic 2017

 

Another great Malice – except for the renovations to the parking lot and hotel, Nightmare. I heard via the grapevine that next year will be in a different location. I love the area around Bethesda but navigating the parking lot was a sore tiral.

Below is a picture of my favorite panel: Murder Most British. I was so captivated that when a friend said hello I jumped a foot. Although I don’t write mysteries with a British setting, I love to read them.

I also have to give a shout out to the interview with Elaine Viets and Ann Cleeves, two favorite authors. Very very funny. Best line of the weekend: the sandwich looked like an autopsy on bread.

Malice domestic 27

I spent last weekend in Maryland at Malice Domestic. This was my first Malice and I had a great time. I had planned to take lots of pictures but got caught up in the activity and only took two, of a fairly early panel.

malice one

At least this one was with Sara Paretsky.

I always find listening to other authors interesting as I discover how similar our experiences are.

 

 malice two

I always go home with bags of books.