The Edgars
June 1st, 2010
As president, I was privileged to represent the Midwest chapter at the 2010 Edgar Awards held April 29. But it wasn’t just the Thursday ceremony that was amazing. I arrived on Tuesday and, as chairman of the PR committee, had the opportunity to hang out with a group of Edgar nominees and Executive Vice President Larry Light at Sirius Radio Headquarters, where the others (not me) were interviewed on the show Cover to Cover. Here are Stefanie Pintoff, Megan Abbott, and Larry Light at the microphones. Later, those three plus Peter Abrahams, who was also interviewed, posed for my camera.
After that it was off to the Mysterious Bookshop for the book launch for Crimes by Moonlight, the new MWA anthology edited by Charlaine Harris. The event was pretty crowded.
The next day (Wednesday) was the Edgar Symposium, where a lot more of the Edgar nominees shared their expertise with the attendees. The Symposium was recorded and copies of the DVD are available, so I’m not going to spend too much time talking about it. All I can say is that I learned a lot. Here are some selected photos from the Symposium.
Superagent Donald Maass presented a one-hour version of his “Writing the Breakout Novel.”
Hank Philippi Ryan moderated a panel on ‘Falling in Love with your Research.’
SJ Rozan moderated a panel on short stories versus novels.
The Agents and Editors party followed the Symposium. The event was free to all MWA members. Over 100 agents and editors attend the reception. Members had the opportunity to network with this group of the publishing elite and make new connections.
The highlight of Thursday was the Edgar Awards ceremonies. I hung out with the other MWA Board members, like Simon Wood, the Northern California chapter president, and Margaret McLean, the New England chapter president.
Current MWA President Laura Lippmann and outgoing president Lee Child did a great job of keeping the ceremony moving on stage, and Margery Flax (MWA’s Executive Assistant) and the Danielides Agency kept thing moving off-stage. A great ceremony that left me wanting to read nearly every book that was nominated! It was a terrific time. If you are able to swing it, you should take in the Edgars at least once!
Categories: From our MWMWA president, Uncategorized |
