Dear Librarian,

As the old saying goes, one person’s trash is another’s… ephemera? In this month’s issue, Lisa Lieberman writes an essay on the joys of those old papers, books, and letters that authors of historical fiction prize.

SINC announces the winner of a special We Love Libraries grant. Read on to see how your library can apply for the easiest grant you’ll never write.

Joys of Ephemera

by Lisa Lieberman

Ephemera, the kind of material that public libraries discard when they’re short of space, are a valuable resource for writers of historical mysteries, offering a window into the mindset of a bygone era. Browsing the giveaway shelves of my local library, the Jones, in Amherst, Massachusetts, I acquired a serviceable copy of 1950s tourist guide to Rome. The author was a British gentleman who dutifully described the Christian sites of interest but was clearly drawn to the darker, pagan rituals. In a digression from his section on the Piazza Navona, he related the history of “a strange and horrible chariot race [that] took place every October. As the winning chariot passed the post,” he continued with relish, “the horse on the right was stabbed with a spear and its head was cut off and decorated with loaves of bread. Runners were waiting to race to the forum with the bloody tail, which was given to the Pontifex Maximus who handed it to the Vestal Virgins to be ceremonially burnt.”

My forthcoming story, “The Virgin’s Necklace,” which features a British tour guide in 1950s Rome and an Italian aristocrat descended (or so she believes) from the Vestal Virgins, was inspired by this passage.

Lisa Lieberman writes the Cara Walden series of historical mysteries based on old movies and featuring blacklisted Hollywood people on the lam in dangerous international locales. Her books hit the sweet spot between Casablanca and John le Carré. A professor of cultural and intellectual history in her former life, she has published extensively on postwar Europe and is a big fan of noir. Lisa is president of the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime.

We Love Libraries Grant for August 2021

The Bouchercon conference is one of the highlights of the crime writer’s year. This year the conference, named for the influential literary critic, Anthony Boucher, will take place in New Orleans and has designated the proceeds of its charity silent auction to the New Orleans Public Library. Sisters in Crime is pleased to announce that we will partner with Bouchercon to present a special $500 Doris Ann Norris Memorial We Love Libraries grant to the New Orleans Public Library. Congratulations!

How Can Your Library Win a “We Love Libraries” Grant?

Six times a year, Sisters in Crime distributes a $500 Doris Ann Norris We Love Libraries Grant. Since it’s run as a lottery, it’s the easiest grant you’ll never write! If you have questions, please contact our We Love Libraries Coordinator, Susan Hammerman at WLL@sistersincrime.org.

Thank you for all you do for your communities. We love libraries!

Happy reading,

Shari

Former librarian Shari Randall is the Sisters in Crime Library Liaison and the author of the Agatha Award-winning Lobster Shack Mystery series. As Meri Allen, she writes the new Ice Cream Shop Mystery series. The first in series is THE ROCKY ROAD TO RUIN.

Sisters in Crime hosts LIVE webinars each month. Webinars last 60-90 minutes depending on the topic and the audience questions! These webinars are open to all.

Here's a spreadsheet with our members' 2021 books. This month's releases are in a separate worksheet. Sort the spreadsheet by author name, location, title, or release date.

Looking for diverse books? For many years, SINC has curated Frankie’s List, an extensive list of crime novels by people of color and other marginalized groups. Frankie Y. Bailey, building on work by the late Eleanor Taylor Bland, began to compile a list of published Black crime writers over a decade ago. Frankie has expanded the list to include other WOC and LGBTQ+ authors. Here’s a link: https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/FrankiesList

Sisters in Crime is the premier crime writing association focused on equity and inclusion in our community and in publishing. Our 4,500+ members enjoy access to tools to help them learn, grow, improve, thrive, and reinvent if necessary. They also gain a community of supportive fellow writers and readers, both peers to share the peaks and valleys of writing, and mentors to model the way forward.