The Missing Links

Find out what you're missing. The links below take you outside INK to writing-related sites which may be of interest. INK takes no responsibility for the content of these sites, but hopes you will find something of value.

Click on a topic link to take you directoy to that section:

Writing Advice
Contests and Markets
Online Discussion
Publication
Authors
Organizations
Research
Mystery Conventions
Marketing, publishing, bookstores, mystery-related information guides

Writing Advice and Mechanics

Web address	Description
Hardluck Stories: http://www.hardluckstories.com/winter2005/WritingShort-Black.htm	Rules for writing short fiction
Confusing Words: http://www.confusingwords.com/	A collection of 3210 words that are troublesome to readers and writers.
Marion Zimmer Bradley: http://mzbworks.home.att.net/why.htm	Possible reasons for a rejected ms.

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Contests and Markets

Web address	Description
Writers Digest 74th Annal Contest: http://www.writersdigest.com/contests/annual/74th/	More than $30,000 in cash and prizes! Win a trip to New York City ! Entry Deadline: Monday, May 16, 2005
Lit Idol: www.litidol.co.uk	LIT IDOL aims to find the brightest new crime/thriller writing talent, with the winner receiving representation by Curtis Brown, one of Europe's oldest and largest independent literary and media agencies.
Mount Arrowsmith Novel Writing Contest: http://www.graham123.com/arrowsmith.html	Canadian contest with international entries.
Bank Street Writers: http://hometown.aol.co.uk/bswscribe/myhomepage/writing.html	Short story and prose competition.
Fish Publishing: http://www.fishpublishing.com/	Short historical fiction contest.
Crime Writers Assoc. Dagger Awards: http://www.thecwa.co.uk/awards/	Explains how the CWA Dagger Award nominees and winners are selected.
Spine Tingler Magazine: http://www.spinetinglermag.com/	Fiction publisher; offers multiple category contests.
Bards and Sages: http://www.bardsandsages.com/contest.html	Offers contests in the categories of Poetry, Flash Fiction, Short Story, and Novella.
Penury Press: penurypress.com	Monthly trivia contest promoting and celebrating a mystery author per month.
Glimmer Train: http://www.glimmertrain.com/vershorficaw1.html	Short story journal which offers a Very Short Story fiction contest.
Tony Hillerman : http://www.sfworkshops.com/hillerman.htm	First Annual Tony Hillerman Mystery Short Story Contest. Deadline is October 15th. See web site for details.

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Online Discussion

Web address	Description
DorothyL: http://www.dorothyl.com	Discussion list. This is the trenches of mysteries-readers, authors, librarians-talking about what's going on in mysteries every day. Book reviews, lists of books to read, discussions. This is a high volume list with roughly 60 to 80 messages a day. Available in digest format.

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Publication

Web address	Description
Books and Tales guide to Print on Demand (POD) : http://www.booksandtales.com/pod/index.html ; and http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25187-2005Jan20.html	Gives information and caveats about potential POD issues.

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Authors

Web address	Description
http://members.rogers.com/mystery/authors.html	Links to your favourite Canadian mystery authors.

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Organizations for mystery writers and readers

Web address	Description
The Short Mystery Fiction Society. http://www.thewindjammer.com/smfs/index.html	Membership is free.
Crime Writers of Canada: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com	National organization for mystery writers who live in Canada or write mysteries set in Canada.
Murder Most Cozy: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ MysteryMostCozy/?yguid=90403155	Focuses on traditional mysteries (formerly called cozies). Book reviews, information about authors.
Mystery Writers: http://www.zott.com/mysforum/links.htm	Site specifically for writers. Has information on writing things, like synopsis, agents, submissions.
Mystery Writers of America: http://www.mysterywriters.org	The biggest U.S. mystery writers group.
Private Eye Writers of America: http://www.thrillingdetective.com/trivia/triv72.html	For writers who focus on the private eye as hero/heroine.
Romance Writers of American National Site: http://www.rwanational.org Romance Writers Kiss of Death: http://www.rwamysterysuspense.org/	There's a lot of cross-over between mysteries and romance. The KOD site offers courses and information on what's going on in romantic suspense.
Alberta Romance Writers Assocation (ARWA): www.albertaromancewriters.com	ARWA provides a support network for romance writers in all genres and promotes excellence in the craft of writing romantic fiction.
Calgary Association of RWA: http://www.calgaryrwa.com/	The Calgary association of the Romance Writers of America.
Calgary Association of Freelance Editors (CAFE): www.writtenword.org/cafe	Calgary-based freelance editors' group which holds monthly meetings.
Imaginative Fiction Writers Association: www.writtenword.org/ifwa	Calgary's genre fiction writing group.
The Alberta League Encouraging Storytelling (T.A.L.E.S.): http://ecn.ab.ca/tales/	Celebrating the oral tradition of storytelling.
Short Mystery Fiction society: http://www.thewindjammer.com/smfs/	For writers who write short stories in the mystery genre.
Writers Guild of Alberta : www.writersguild.ab.ca	Provincial writers group representing all genres of writers.
Alexandra Writers Centre Society: www.alexandrawriters.org	Provides a centre for writers, who will support and encourage one another in the art of creative writing.
Sisters in Crime/National site: http://sistersincrime.org/	Open to men and women. Goal is to ensure that women mystery writers have an equal share of publishing contracts, publicity, shelf space, and awards.
Sisters in Crime/ Guppies (beginning writers): http://www.sinc-guppies.org/	Open to men and women. On-line support group for beginning mystery writers.
Sisters in Crime/Internet chapter: http://www.sinc-ic.org	Open to men and women. On-line chapter for people who either don't live where there is a SinC chapter or who want internet contact with other members.

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Research

A web ring is a site that connects to many other sites, all related to the same topic:

Web address	Description
http://cap.medical.org/employment.htm	Canadian Association of Pathologists
http://www.dplylemd.com/	The Writer's Medical and Forensics Lab
http://www.uoguelph.ca/cntc/	Canadian Toxicology Centre
http://www.justice.gov.ab.ca/fatality	Alberta Government Justice web site, Sudden Deaths (thanks to Mahrie Glab for submitting this link)
http://www.justice.gov.ab.ca/ocme/default.aspx	Office of the Chief Medical Examiner of Alberta
http://www.gov.calgary.ab.ca/police/policeacademy/over.html	Citizen's Police Academy (Calgary)
http://crimelibrary.com	True Crime stories and criminals.
http://www.brocku.ca/crimefictioncanada/	Searchable database related to the study of Detective Fiction in English, in Canada and around the world.
http://www.fire-ems.net/	Web ring to reach fire fighters and other emergency personnel.
http://www.firedirectory.com/	Web ring to reach fire fighters.
http://www.officer.com/	Web ring to reach police sources.
http://www.dplylemd.com/	Writers' Forensic Medical Lab. Dr. Lyle is a mystery writer, as well as being a forensic pathologist.
http://www.helenginger.com/	Helen Ginger and Doing it Write Newsletter. Free on-line newsletter about writing. Comes out every Thursday. Site has loads of links to research sites that writers can use. Everyone is welcome to use the links, whether or not you subscribe to the newsletter.
http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm3-19-13.pdf/	U.S. Army Forensic Lab manual in PDF. NOTE: This is an extremely large PDF file (507 pages, 22 MB).
http://writing.shawguides.com/	Shaw Guide to writing conferences.

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Mystery Conventions

Web address	Description
Bloody Words VI: http://www.bloodywords.com/	Canadian mystery convention, June 10-12, 2005 in Toronto.
Bouchercon official site: http://www.bouchercon2004.com/	World mystery convention, named after Anthony Boucher. In October 2004, it's in Toronto. Moves each year and has a new web page each year.
Malice Domestic: http://www.malicedomestic.org/	Mystery convention devoted to the traditional mystery. Held each May in Arlington, VA.

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Marketing, publishing, bookstores, mystery-related information guides

Web address	Description
Mystery Radio Network: http://www.mysteryradio.net/	Interviews and mystery-related information.
Cluelass: http://www.cluelass.com/index2.lasso Deadly Directory: http://www.deadlyserious.com/	Listing of mystery-related conventions, bookstores, and other information. Publishes the Deadly Directory every year.
Sleuth of Baker Street: http://sleuthofbakerstreet.com/	Toronto bookstore devoted to mysteries.
Whodunit? www.whodunitcanada.com/	Mystery Bookstore (Winnipeg, MB)
Thompson Rare Books www.mjtbooks.com	Victoria, BC--specializes in first editions and signed, limited editions of mysteries.
Augustine Funnell Books www.gusbooks.com	Fredericton, NB.
Murder One www.murderone.co.uk/	London, England. Advertise themselves as the largest mystery bookstore in the world.
Something Wicked: http://community.iuniverse.com/mystery/	Internet publishing for mysteries.

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The Missing Links

Writing Advice and Mechanics

Contests and Markets

Online Discussion

Publication

Authors

Organizations for mystery writers and readers

Research

Mystery Conventions

Marketing, publishing, bookstores, mystery-related information guides

Last Updated: April 29, 2005

Thanks to Sharon Wildwind, Anne Jayne, Jayne Barnard and Sherry Wilson McEwen for compiling the above list.

"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."

~ Mark Twain

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