Thanks to Dundurn for giving Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) this chance to connect, especially this year when Canada will be celebrating its 150th birthday, CWC will celebrate its 35th anniversary, and Bouchercon will be held in Canada too. It sounds as though it’s going to be a very Canadian year! On behalf of our more than 300 members I’d like to let you know you’ll be extremely welcome if you choose to visit us this year – at our website, by reading our work, or in person.

CWC’s main aim is to promote the work of its members. We have two types of membership: Professional Author Members (published authors who are Canadian by birth or choice) and Associate Members (unpublished writers, readers, editors, publishers, non-Canadian published authors etc. —which means pretty much everyone else). Both categories benefit from a wide, and ever-growing, range of membership benefits. http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/aboutus/joinus/memberbenefits

Another way folks connect with us is through Crime Beat – a free, monthly email containing news about our members’ new releases and events, plus updated versions of Cool Canadian Crime, our digital catalogue – which is the go-to publication for librarians, booksellers, and readers.

You might know that Canada has its own national awards for excellence in crime writing: the Arthur Ellis Awards (named for the nom de travail of one of Canada’s hangmen whose real name was Arthur B. English) but you might not know they are sponsored by CWC and are open to all crime writers who are Canadian – again, by birth or choice. The cycle for entries runs from September 1 to mid-December each year. Several Dundurn authors were shortlisted for their work published in 2016, and Dundurn took an entire table at the Arthur Ellis Awards gala held on May 25, 2017 in Toronto to help celebrate.

If you’re coming to Toronto for Bouchercon in October, please say hello? We’re thrilled to be sponsoring and organizing a Pub Quiz on Friday night; up to 200 can attend, and it’ll be a fun-filled, crime-themed pub quiz like you’ve never seen, with our members hosting teams. We’re also sponsoring the refreshments room for the whole of Saturday – another chance to meet our members face to face, get books signed and drink free coffee. What more could you want? (Note: If you’re both a member of CWC and you have signed up for Bouchercon by July 1, 2017, you’ll be eligible to participate in these CWC events, giving you a good argument to get the dealer room to stock your books, as you’ll have a guaranteed signing time.)

Please check out our website. Please consider signing up for Crime Beat. Maybe even think about becoming a member…especially this year, with Bouchercon participation being such a great way to promote your work.

Thanks for having me along ,

Cathy Ace

Board Chair

Crime Writers of Canada

http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/