March 2025 Dear Booksellers and SinC Members, I am thrilled to share an article by SinC’s 2024 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award Winner, P.M. Raymond, about her favorite local bookstore, Quail Ridge Books, in Raleigh, North Carolina! Speaking of the Eleanor Taylor Bland Award, this year’s submission window is open through March 31st. The $2,000 award is given to emerging writers of color. Find the application and more information on SinC’s website. My heartfelt thanks to Robin Agnew, who is stepping down as the We Love Bookstores Award Coordinator. Robin has served as the WLB Coordinator since 2019 and has given out at least forty awards to bookstores across the United States and Canada. I would also like to announce that the eligibility to apply for the $500 We Love Bookstores Award has been expanded to include all countries with active Sisters in Crime chapters, which currently includes the United States, Canada, the UK, and Europe. Please check the website for the full updated application requirements. Finally, I am delighted to announce that the March We Love Bookstore Award winner is Orca Books Cooperative in Olympia, Washington! |
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Quail Ridge Books by P.M. Raymond |
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P.M. Raymond reading at Quail Ridge Books. |
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I’m thrilled to share my favorite bookstore with you—Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, North Carolina. Quail Ridge has had a tangible impact on the community from its charitable partnerships to supporting hundreds of events for authors and musicians every year. The space is cozy and friendly, just like a good neighbor should be. I attend one of the many book clubs that convene at the store. Quail Ridge Books fosters an appreciation for and actionable ways to engage with literature. I was introduced to the store through one of its events when I relocated to the Raleigh area ten years ago. Quail Ridge Books has hosted local and nationally known writers, and I have been fortunate enough to do a reading in their space in 2024. I was part of a group of authors invited to share our spookiest work. The event coordination was perfection, and the audience was enthusiastic and welcoming. It was one of the largest audiences I had read in front of. Quail Ridge does a great job with author support and promotion. I am amazed at how much the Quail Ridge staff accomplishes. The programming depth is astonishing for a store of its size. The categories of books they carry are incredibly deep as well. What I appreciate the most about Quail Ridge is its author “In Conversation” discussions. As a writer, it is an amazing opportunity to hear another author discuss their creative process. It is not a given that a community will have a thriving bookstore like Quail Ridge Books. I can’t sing the praises of this store enough. Every time I get a chance to visit, I see the store’s mission in action—To promote literacy, to encourage the lifelong enjoyment of reading which enriches one’s life in both mind and spirit. Quail Ridge Books is a beacon for the community, serving readers and writers. |
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P.M. Raymond is an award-winning author from New Orleans, Louisiana who knows a thing or two about good gumbo, grits, and café au lait. She is the Sisters in Crime 2024 Eleanor Taylor Bland Award Winner and 2024 Claymore Award Finalist. Her work has appeared in Punk Noir, Flash Fiction Magazine, Kings River Life Magazine, Dark Fire Fiction, and Dark Yonder, among others. Her debut short story collection, THINGS ARE AS THEY SHOULD BE and other words to die for, is coming in 2026 from Uncomfortably Dark Horror. Connect with P.M. Raymond |
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Prior to having served as SinC’s We Love Bookstores Coordinator for six years, Robin Agnew was the former owner of the mystery bookstore Aunt Agatha’s, a beloved local institution in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The store was open for twenty-six years and closed in 2018, but the extensive stock of books is still available for online purchase. Robin said, “I really enjoyed working with the We Love Bookstores program. After we closed our store it was a wonderful way to stay involved and connected with the work of booksellers. My favorite part may have been during COVID when awards for an entire year were given at once to help folks out; and during the Black Lives Matter protests, when awards were given to Black owned bookstores. Sisters in Crime is a wonderfully generous organization in so many ways. In retirement I'm enjoying working on programming for Malice Domestic.” |
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The We Love Bookstores Winner - Orca Books Cooperative in Olympia, Washington! |
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Below is a note from manager Sierra Templeton. “Orca Books Cooperative is the largest independent bookstore in Olympia, Washington, located in the heart of downtown. Orca has been around since the early 90s but became a worker-run member-owned cooperative in 2020. Orca stocks new and used books and is proud to carry many locally produced items by Olympia authors, artists, and craftspeople.” Support Orca Books: |
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Apply for the We Love Bookstores Award 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 on the website. Write for We Love Bookstores News! 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 |
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To find out more about all SinC offers, including live webinars, please visit our website. Thank you for all you do for your community. Sisters in Crime loves bookstores. Happy reading! Susan Hammerman Library and Bookstore Liaison 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. Connect with Susan: www.susanhammerman.com and, Bluesky, Instagram or email: librarian@sistersincrime.org Website: www.gaillukasik.com |
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We've put our member books in a spreadsheet that we'll update every month, and send as part of this newsletter. This month's releases are on a separate worksheet. Feel free to sort by author name, book title, or author location. |
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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. |
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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. |
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574E Ritchie Highway, #271
Severna Park, MD 21146, United States |
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