Mystery in the Midlands

by
Paula Gail Benson

Logo by Krista Anderson

Nancy Pickard (Photo by Anita Baker)

For
the second year, the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America (SEMWA)
and the Palmetto Chapter of Sisters in Crime presented a day-long mystery
conference offering master classes and panels in Columbia, South Carolina.
Called Mystery in the Midlands, it featured twenty-one authors, including our
guest of honor best-selling author Nancy Pickard. Known for her own Jenny Cain and
Marie Lightfoot series, continuing Virginia Rich’s Eugenia Potter novels,
acclaimed stand-alone novels The Scent of
Rain and Lightning and The Virgin of
Small Plains, numerous short stories, and the nonfiction Seven Steps on the Writer’s Path written
with Lynn Lott, Pickard graciously shared information about her work and her recent
relocation to Charleston after spending most of her life in Kansas. She was
interviewed by her good friend and fellow past President of Sisters in Crime
National, Cathy Pickens.

This
joint conference effort began two years ago when SEMWA brought then MWA
President Jeffrey Deaver to Columbia to give a writing seminar. The following
year, we organized the first Mystery in the Midlands. With each event, we have
been able to have authors representing multiple states. We plan to continue the
tradition during “famously hot” summers in Columbia.

Special
thanks to this year’s authors: Stacy Allen, Paul Barra, Candace Carter, Tracy
de Hahn, Elysabeth Eldering, Kaye George, Victoria Gilbert, Sally Handley, Sasscer Hill, Roger Johns,
Terrie Farley Moran, Dorothy St. James, J.R. Ripley, Nancy Sartor, Raegan
Teller, Jaden (Beth) Terrell, Brian Thiem, Maggie Toussaint, and Warren Moore. Master classes
explored Hemingway’s POV, Police Procedure, and Humor in Mysteries. Panels
discussed the importance of settings, writing both novels and short stories,
cozy mysteries, and the journey to publication.

Midday,
we had a buffet lunch and a game of “guess the author.” The first person who
picked out the correct author for each description won bonus bucks to be spent with our bookseller, Books on Broad from Camden, South Carolina.

During
the conference, we held a silent auction and raised $630 to benefit My First Books,
the South Carolina affiliate of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, which
provides a book a month to registered children from birth to age five.

Each
year, not only have readers been introduced to new writers, but also the
authors have time to exchange information. This year, on the Friday before the
conference, a local forensic anthropologist welcomed a group to visit his lab and
ask questions about his process.

A
local weekly paper advertised the event and sent a reporter to cover the
conference. It was wonderful to have the stories available online as well as
appearing below the fold on the first page. See https://www.thecolumbiastar.com/articles/local-mystery-writers-conference-features-award-winning-author/