by Sparkle Abbey

We got back from Malice Domestic a week ago and then dove right into prep for our local DSM Book Festival so it’s definitely been a busy couple of weeks. Malice Domestic is one of several great mystery conferences and one of our favorites.

Here’s how Malice describes itself: Established in 1989, Malice Domestic is an annual fan convention that takes place each year in Maryland, just outside of Washington, D.C. Malice celebrates the Traditional Mystery, books best typified by the works of Agatha Christie.

 

There are panels, spotlights, Malice-Go-Round (aka speed dating for authors) as well as booksignings, a charity auction, and the grand finale – the Agatha Awards banquet. But in addition to those there are also many opportunities to connect (or reconnect) with fellow authors, readers, reviewers and bloggers. In other words, others who also love mysteries. In many cases you have the chance to meet in person people you’ve formed friendships with online as well as make new friends.

 

 

And to top it all off,  some of the best parts of the conference are those conversations (and hugs) in the lobby, the bar, the restaurant, or even the hallway. It’s a chance to catch up with people who are a big part of our writing journey and talk – about books, about writing, about publishing. And life. There’s just nothing like it.

 

In addition to Malice, there are several other mystery conferences and we’ve attended many of them at one time or another. And hope to attend some of the others where we’ve not yet had the opportunity. Here’s a short list of a few:  Left Coast Crime, Bouchercon, Sleuthfest, Thrillerfest, Killer Nashville, New England Crime Bake, Book Passage, and the Midwest Mystery Conference.

 

Some conferences are more reader focused while others concentrate on the writing aspect or on publishing information. Most are multi-day but a few are one-day events.  But whether you’re an author, a reader, an aspiring author, an editor or just an innocent bystander – there’s a mystery conference for you. (Mally Becker at MissDemeanors blog did a great overview of major North American mystery conventions and so we’ll link to it here – Clues, Contacts & Craft: Choosing a Writers Conference.

 

But we’d also like to hear from you!

Which conferences have you attended and which ones are your favorites? And, why? Or is there one you’ve not attended, but would love to? And, why?

It’s not too late for some of the 2026 conferences and it’s never too early to start planning for which ones you’d like to attend in 2027. We’d love to chat with you in real life at one soon!

 

 

Sparkle Abbey is actually two people, Mary Lee Ashford (author of the Sugar & Spice mysteries) and Anita Carter, who write the national best-selling Pampered Pets cozy mystery series. They are friends as well as neighbors so they often get together and plot ways to commit murder. (But don’t tell the other neighbors.)

They love to hear from readers and can be found on Facebook. Also, if you want to make sure you get updates about their new series, sign up for their newsletter via the SparkleAbbey.com website