Within the historic valleys and state parks of New Jersey’s northernmost county lives an active public library system with a burgeoning community of aspiring writers and, even better, mystery fans. And when a community of mystery loving readers and writers asks for an opportunity to hone their craft, MWA-NY answers the call — no matter the distance.
On Saturday, September 23 MWA-NY members Mistina Bates and Karen Katchur will discuss “The Perilous Path to Publication,” at the Sussex County Main Library, 125 Morris Turnpike, Newton, New Jersey, from 1 to 3 p.m. The authors will share their unique experience navigating the perilous, and sometimes mysterious, path to publication. The program is free and open to the public, but you are asked to register by phone 973-948-3660 or at the library website here. Seating may be limited.
A member of the MWA-NY board and the editor of the chapter’s newsletter, The Noose, Mistina Bates (pictured, left) will offer advice and insight from her own fiction writing and as founder and president of Market it Write, a content marketing agency based in northern New Jersey. Karen Katchur (pictured, right), from the Eastern Pennsylvania region of our chapter, will be sharing her experience of publishing her novels The Secrets of Lake Road (2015) and The Sisters of Blue Mountain (2017) with Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin’s Press.
The presentation came about after Sussex County Librarian Louisa Bann reached out to see what MWA could offer their community. “Sussex County and its six branch libraries have a very large community of mystery readers,” says Bann.
—Robert J. Daniher
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Robert J. Daniher lives in New Jersey where he works as an IT Support Technician for Madison Public Library and Library of The Chathams. He has been a member of MWA since 2009 and assists the MWA-NY Library Committee with planning author events at North Jersey libraries. His short fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine for the Mysterious Photograph Contest and in the annual Deadly Ink Short Story Collections of 2007 and 2008.