Barnes and Noble Fairfax will dive into the world of mystery writing during the upcoming panel discussion, Mystery Publishing Demystified. The panel will be helmed by Sherry Harris, Kathryn O’Sullivan and Maya Corrigan, three local women authors who will speak about how they entered the publishing world and will offer a behind-the-scenes look at how both the genre and industry work.
All three authors will share their paths to publication and speak about their personal experiences, the importance of networking and the resources available to writers. They will also share the inspiration behind their books, current trends in the mystery genre and open up for a Q&A.
“It will be a fairly interactive event,” Harris says. The Burke-based author penned the Garage Sale mystery series, which debuted in 2014 with Tagged for Death. She followed suit with The Longest Yard Sale and All Murders Final, and she will release the latest installment, A Good Day to Buy, in April.
Corrigan, based in D.C., is the author of the Five-Ingredient Mystery series. The first book in the series, By Cook or By Crook, was published in 2014 and was followed by the sequel, Scam Chowder, last year. The latest in the series, Final Fondue, arrived earlier this year. Corrigan won the 2013 Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense in the unpublished division for her novel The Art of Deceit.
Kathryn O’Sullivan, a professor at Northern Virginia Community College, is the author of the Colleen McCabe mystery series set in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. The series debuted with her first novel, Foal Play, which won the Malice Domestic Competition for Best First Traditional Mystery Novel in 2012. It was succeeded by Murder on the Hoof and most her most recent release, Neighing with Fire, which was nominated for the Library of Virginia Literary Award. O’Sullivan is also co-writer and co-producer of Thurston, an online Western drama series that has received a string of awards and recognitions from the Indie Series Awards, the International Davey Awards, the Telly Awards and more.
Mystery Publishing Demystified will take place Saturday, Oct. 29, at 2 p.m. at Barnes and Noble Fairfax. // Barnes and Noble Fairfax: 12193 Fair Lakes Promenade Drive, Fairfax
