Mystery Writers of America: The Road to Publication

• Adult
• Book Clubs & Author Talks

Nev March is the first Indian-born author to receive the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America Award for Best First Crime Fiction. Her debut novel, Murder in Old Bombay, also won an Audiofile award and was an Edgar and Anthony finalist. Her sequel, Peril at the Exposition, describes conflict during the gilded age which planted the seeds of today’s red-blue divide. Her third book, The Spanish Diplomat’s Secret, traces the origins of the Spanish American war over Cuba from the perspective of her immigrant detective duo.

Nev’s books deal with issues of identity, race and moral boundaries. After a long corporate career, Nev returned to her passion—writing fiction, and now teaches creative writing at the
Rutgers-Osher Institute. She is a member of Crime Writers of Color and sits on the New York chapter board of Mystery Writers of America.

S.W. Hubbard began her fiction-writing career in 2003 with the Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series published by Simon & Schuster. In 2012, she successfully transitioned to indie publishing with the publication of Another Man’s Treasure, Book 1 in the Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series, and has never looked back. She writes the types of books she loves to read: twisty, believable, full of complex characters, and highlighted with sly humor. Her series include the Frank Bennett Adirondack Mountain Mystery Series, The Palmyrton Estate Sale Mystery Series, the Life in Palmyrton Women’s Friendship Fiction Series, and the Hurt People thriller trilogy. Her short stories have appeared in the MWA anthologies The Mystery Box and Crimes by Moonlight.

Verena Rose is the co-owner, chief financial officer, and acquisitions editor for Level Best Books. As its representative, she is a member of the Crime Writers Association (CWA), and
the Crime Readers Association (CRA). While she loves all mystery subgenres, she has a fondness for historical mysteries. In addition to her other duties at Level Best Books, she hosts a podcast: Sunday Tea with V at the Hystery Chronicles. Her passion for the historical mystery led her to write and publish several short stories in that subgenre. She is currently doing research for an historical novel featuring characters that have appeared in her short stories.

Along with Rita Owen and Shawn Reilly Simmons, Verena is the Anthony Award winning co-editor of Malice Domestic 14: Mystery Most Edible, and her work has appeared in numerous other short story anthologies. Verena also is a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA); Sisters in Crime-National and Chessie Chapter, the Historical Novel Society; and the Jane Austen Society of North America.

Hannah O’Grady is a senior editor at St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur books, publishing a wide range of fiction and nonfiction. On the fiction side, much of her list falls within the mystery genre—from cozy to noir—and centers on unforgettable, emotionally complex protagonists. She is particularly interested in mysteries and thrillers that interrogate and critique social structures and the criminal system, and feature characters from underrepresented groups. On the nonfiction side, her list includes memoir; untold stories from history; cultural criticism; and investigative
journalism, particularly narratives dealing with racial justice and queer issues.

Some recent and forthcoming books include Yours for the Taking and The Shutouts by Gabrielle Korn; The Black Agenda by Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman; Savvy Summers and the Sweet Potato
Crimes by Sandra Jackson-Opoku; The Lost House by Melissa Larsen; and series by Mindy Quigley, Celeste Connally, Ellie Alexander, Carolyn Haines, and Katharine Schellman.