Dear Booksellers and SinC Members,

 

In an initiative led by SinC Immediate Past President, Stephanie Gayle, Sisters in Crime is hosting a fundraising drive and auction with a goal of raising $35,000 to support the nonprofit organization, the Innocence Project. Bidding on the items in the online auction, which will be held May 18-21, is open to the public. The auction items are amazing! New items are added every day, and all the money raised is going to support a worthy cause. Win win! Please see the official press release below. 

 

I am also thrilled to announce the We Love Bookstores award winner for May is Marcus Books in Oakland, California! See details below. 

Sisters in Crime, an association of authors who specialize in writing stories about justice, are banding together to champion real-life justice. From May 18-21, 2023, the international writing group will host an online auction to support the Innocence Project, a non-profit that works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone.

 

Sisters in Crime aims to raise $35,000 for the Innocence Project. Writers and agents have donated various items of interest to crime novel fans, including signed books, the chance to name a character in an upcoming book, consultations, and manuscript critiques.

 

Fans can bid on the coat worn by Brenda Blethyn, who plays Vera Stanhope on TV in a role created by bestselling mystery author Ann Cleeves. 

 

They can also bid on a 50-page critique by Tracy Clark (Hide) or name a character in a future book by bestselling author Michael Connelly, author of the bestselling Harry Bosch series. Potential bidders can visit the site to see all the items and place a bid.

 

The Innocence Project is well known for using DNA evidence to overturn wrongful convictions. Their policy work addresses each of the contributing factors to wrongful convictions: eyewitness misidentification, misapplication of forensic science, false confessions, unreliable jailhouse informant testimony, and inadequate defense.

 

Stephanie Gayle, the Immediate Past President of Sisters in Crime, created the auction as part of her legacy project for the organization. She was inspired by the work of Mystery Loves Democracy, a coalition of authors who raised funds for Fair Fight Action in 2022. 

 

Would you like to write an entry for We Love Bookstores News about your favorite shop or something else? Did you put together or see an amazing bookstore display? Submit your ideas to Susan Hammerman, Library and Bookstore Liaison at librarian@sistersincrime.org 

We Love Bookstores Winner: 

Marcus Books in Oakland, CA!

 

 

Per the website: “The bookstore’s founders, Drs. Raye and Julian Richardson met at Tuskegee University which they both attended. In 1946 Julian started Success Printing Co. in the Fillmore District of San Francisco and in 1960, the two founded Marcus Books (named after political activist and author Marcus Garvey). Together—and through both the publishing press and bookstore—they fiercely advocated for Black history, exchange, and knowledge of self. They published now canonical books (that had before their resurrection gone out of print) and work by independent authors, poets, and artists. Marcus Books is an institution where those who have written books, produced visual work and more can see themselves on a shelf, wall or counter surrounded by other Black makers.

 

60 years since its opening, the bookstore has become a literary and cultural hallmark that has hosted iconic authors including Toni Morrison, Rosa Parks, Muhammad Ali, Maya Angelou, Walter Mosley, Angela Davis, Terry McMillan, Chaka Khan, Michael Eric Dyson, Iyanla Vanzant, Sister Souljah, Nikki Giovanni, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Patti LaBelle and so many more of our treasured voices. Just as important are the book clubs, intimate poetry readings, and countless customer conversations that unfold at Marcus.

 

Alongside Marcus Books’ legacy of Black publishing is an investment in nourishing Black readership, no matter what age. Generations of families have grown up in the store: the student coming to find course material, our incarcerated brothers and sisters writing to put in book orders, the parents who bring their children to the store much like their parents did for/with them. World renowned author or prophetic local poet, elder or toddler, Marcus Books has provided something for you.”

 

Website: https://www.marcusbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marcus.books/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/marcusbooks?lang=en

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marcus.books/?hl=en

 

It is easy to apply for the $500 Sisters in Crime We Love Bookstores award. Winners are selected every other month. Find details and the application here:  https://www.sistersincrime.org/page/WeLoveBookstores

 

Contact Robin Agnew (WLB@SistersinCrime.org) if you have questions about the application process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Library and Bookstore Liaison: Susan Hammerman, a former rare book librarian, is the Library and Bookstore Liaison and coordinator of the We Love Libraries program. Susan writes crime and neo-noir short stories. Her stories have appeared in Suspense Magazine, Mystery Magazine, Dark City Mystery Magazine, Blood and Bourbon, Retreats From Oblivion, and the Stories (Within) anthology. Website: www.susanhammerman.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/shammerman1

 

 

 

 

WLL and WLB News Editor: Gail Lukasik’s latest book, White Like Her: My Family’s Story of Race and Racial Passing, was named one of the most inspiring stories of the year by The Washington Post. She is also the author of the Leigh Girard Mystery series and the stand-alone mystery, The Lost Artist. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications, such as The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, and The Georgia Review. Gail appeared in the documentary, History of Memory, which is available on Amazon Prime. Her fifth mystery, The Darkness Surrounds Us, a Gothic, historical mystery, will be released in fall 2023. Website: www.gaillukasik.com